Ask someone for the title or author of a favorite book, and most could give you an answer. Ask the same question about a favorite poem or poet, and some might come up with a reply. Even a 5-year-old might recite “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Ask about a favorite essayist, and the responses would likely be on the slim side. Those who have read and admired such writers might mention past luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson, E.B. White, Joseph Mitchell, or the recently deceased Joan Didion. Others might bring up contemporary authors such as Theodore Dalrymple, Marilynne Robinson, Victor Davis Hanson, or names from a battalion of pundits that can be found online. Many essays, particularly those published for consumption on our screens or in our daily papers, such as the one you are reading, are ephemeral: read today and unremembered tomorrow. Some are obliterated because of the topic …