Vergil’s Coffee Table is a place for thoughtful beginnings.
I’m Chris Judson — a longtime English educator, writer, and consultant. My work has centered on helping people notice where they are, name what matters, and take the next honest step forward. Sometimes that work happens in classrooms and workshops. Sometimes it happens quietly, alone, with a notebook and a cup of coffee.
This site grew alongside Start Anywhere, a book about movement, clarity, and the courage to begin before everything is figured out. The writing here reflects the same spirit: reflective, practical, and grounded in lived experience rather than quick fixes or grand plans.
The tools you’ll find on this site — including The Vestibule, Turn, Circles of Change, and Threshold — are designed as companions, not solutions. They offer simple structures for noticing, choosing, and returning to the work that matters.
If you’re already in the middle of things — teaching, writing, building, changing — you’re in the right place.
Pull up a chair. Start where you are.