On Books & Writing Introducing... The Curator! Ladies and gentlemen... The Curator, an adventurous foray into examinations of art and culture, courtesy of the International Arts Movement, with my friend Alissa Wilkinson at the helm! The CuratorInternational Arts Movement In keeping with IAM’s belief that artistic excellence, as a model of “what ought to be”,
On Books & Writing Norris Returns With "Acedia and Me" Kathleen Norris's new book, Acedia and Me, is coming in just a few weeks. A new book by Norris is always a reason to celebrate, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one. I ordered mine from Eighth Day Books.
On Books & Writing A Lott of Good Reading Hardcovers of Bret Lott's new book Ancient Highway are everywhere. And that's reason for rejoicing. The blurbs tell me that Lott's latest "weaves together the hopes and regrets of three characters from three generations as they reconcile who they are and who they
On Books & Writing Farewell to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Last week, as I was walking past a newspaper vendor, I stopped in my tracks. The headline was a stunner: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had passed away. I wasn't blogging last week, but I still want to take a moment to acknowledge the departure of this incredible human being. (Can
On Books & Writing Yancey: How C.S. Lewis shaped my faith and writing Philip Yancey in CT: Lewis has taught me a style of approach that I try to follow in my own writings. To quote William James, "... in the metaphysical and religious sphere, articulate reasons are cogent for us only when our inarticulate feelings of reality have already been impressed in
On Books & Writing "We care for the environment precisely because God will create a new earth." If you ever overhear me muttering threats while I read Christian media, it's likely that I've discovered more "Christian" shows of contempt for environmentalists. It's amazing how often I find fellow believers putting down those who strive to save the natural world
On Books & Writing Veith on Tolkien's "Children of Hurin" As the Over the Rhine song goes: "Like all true believers, I am truly skeptical of all that I have said." Those words apply to most things I write. And they apply especially to this post, now that I look back on it. I was so weary of
On Books & Writing The Gospel of Judas: The Hoax Gene Edward Veith notes: Chronicle of Higher Education
On Books & Writing Many Thanks to the Christy Award Judges. (Updated. What *is* Christian fiction, anyway?) Many thanks, again, to those who chose the nominees for this year's Christy Awards. I'm told it is a rare honor to have a book nominated in two categories, and this year, Auralia's Colors was nominated for Best First Novel and "Visionary"
On Books & Writing Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" Series: Good for Teens? For Anybody? The books of Stephenie Meyer are appearing on bookshelves everywhere I turn. And her latest, The Host, is on Anne's nightstand. There's a movie of Twilight on the way. Vampire sagas are a dime a dozen these days, and it'll take some serious persuasion
On Books & Writing A reflection on Calvin's Festival of Faith and Writing Wow. The whole trip to Calvin's Festival of Faith and Writing to speak about faith and art was worth it, just to read this reflection on the festival's presentations. My thanks to Justin Boyer for his generous words... Eternity is written on the hearts of men
On Books & Writing So, I'm was reading some great poetry this morning... I'm enjoying a new feast of poetry. The new issue of DMQ Review has just been published. There's one poet in particular that has particularly intrigued me...
On Books & Writing A Little Milton on a Monday Afternoon My new friend Kelly Foster just emailed this to me. It's a quote from John Milton's Areopagitica, which I haven't read since 1991, so it's time to revisit it: He that can apprehend and consider vice with all her baits and seeming
On Books & Writing Focus on the Family says "Christianity Today Relishes Sexual Perversion." Call That What It Is: A Lie. Once a month, I talk with Kim Ketola about movies, faith, and culture on her "Along the Way" radio program. She runs a great show, and isn't afraid to ask tough questions. This week, Kim and I talked about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
On Books & Writing The New Quotes Page! Inspired by my friend Jen Zug, I decided it was time for a Quotes page. Submit your own favorite quotes in the comments there, and I'll consider posting it.
On Books & Writing What a speech. No, I have not decided on my vote yet. There is still a long way to go, a lot of debates. And I have a lot of questions that need answering, a lot of problems with both candidates that need resolving. (For example, this and this are giving me serious
On Books & Writing Congratulations, Tina Ann Forkner! My friend Tina Ann Forkner has been waiting for this week for a long, long time. Her first novel, Ruby Among Us, has arrived. I've only heard an excerpt from it — Tina read some to a group of authors at a writers retreat a while back. She
On Books & Writing Happy Birthday, G.K. Chesterton! When asked to list my ten Desert Island Books, I always include G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. So I would be embarrassed if I did not mark today's importance. From today's Writer's Almanac: G.K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton Here are a few of
On Books & Writing Things Mean Things?! Can art mean whatever a reader or viewer or listener wants it to mean? If so, then what's the point? But that is the claim of the postmodern world we live in. If we affirm that there is such a thing as "absolute truth," then we
On Books & Writing Is the World Going to Hell in a Handbasket? Let's Hear From Gregory Wolfe. Image's Gregory Wolfe, with a little help from Annie Dillard, starts Monday morning off right, asking, "Is the end near?" I feel a responsibility to alert you whenever my favorite Annie Dillard book, For the Time Being, is quoted online.
On Books & Writing Mick Silva's Advice for Writers; Narnia's Makeover for High King Peter Silva ponders Mick Silva on the voice of the Christian writer. * High King Peter of Narnia's "small mind" In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, High King Peter did not have a "small mind." But it seems that American filmmakers are
On Books & Writing Leif Enger Returns Not many novelists have so impressed me with their first novel that I would literally jump for joy in the bookstore to discover their second novel. But when I stumbled unexpectedly onto THIS yesterday, yes, I did jump, and it was for joy. I have my copy sitting next to
On Books & Writing "It is the birthday of Annie Dillard..." I'm grateful to Garrison Keillor for reminding all of us that... It's the birthday of Annie (Doak) Dillard, (books by this author) born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1945). After writing a master's thesis on Thoreau's Walden, she moved to a cabin along Tinker
On Books & Writing Stephen Lamb wraps up Calvin-fest coverage Stephen Lamb is still blogging about that amazing Calvin College Festival of Faith and Writing. He was able to attend the session I most wanted to see for myself. Alas, I was busy, so I'm copying Lamb's notes about a conversation between Kathleen Norris and Scott
On Books & Writing Good News, Bad News from the Calvin Festival of Faith & Writing Good news: I had an extraordinary time at Calvin's Festival of Faith and Writing. So many new friends, so many books signed, so many inspiring encounters and lectures and conversations! My friend Stephen Lamb has been blogging about his experiences there. Bad news: My laptop blew up. Yes.
