Patrick Slattery is a professor of Curriculum Development and Philosophy of Education at Texas A&M University. He holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Teaching, Learning, & Culture and Educational Administration & Human Resource Development. He is a former president of the Arts-Based Educational Research Association, an artist who specializes in large abstract canvases in acrylic and oil, and the author of the internationally translated "Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era" (Routledge, 2013). In this article, Slattery shares his musings as he reflects upon literary works such as "The Bear" by William Faulkner, which is a coming-of-age hunting story of 16-year-old Ike McCaslin, embedded in a complicated history of the destruction of the land and culture in the south of the USA. Slattery writes here that "The Bear," which he devoured in high school, and the insights that particular work revealed to him as a young person, remains his constant companion today as he travels on his personal and academic journeys through what he refers to as the current devastation of universities in this post-planetary existence. This article invites the reader to join Slattery on his literary journey as he reflects on his readings, and re-readings, and the lessons these works teach as he adds them to every syllabus he creates. He feels that literature invites deconstruction and complicated conversation of curriculum theory, ethics and leadership, fundamentals of administration, teacher education, philosophy of education, or any of the courses he teaches.