On Books & Writing

A collection of 204 posts

On Books & Writing

Grand Rapids, Here I Come

I'm packing for an early-morning flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing, and I won't be home until Sunday night. So, I probably won't have much opportunity to blog from there. I'm looking forward to seeing

On Books & Writing

Poem of the Week

Yesterday as I was driving home from work, I heard Garrison Keillor's daily "Writer's Almanac," and when he read the poem for the day, I almost had to pull over for the tears in my eyes. It's a beauty. I need to

On Books & Writing

Hemingway's Advice for Storytellers

Hemmingway, via my friend David Habecker: I ran across this reference to Hemingway today and thought you might appreciate it, with its obvious application to much so-called "Christian literature": "No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in,

On Books & Writing

Are you Visigoth or an Athenian?

This interesting question is even more interesting when it is being asked by Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death. Take the time to read these fleeting 85 sentences by Mr. Postman, and get your week off to a great start. Thank you, Adam Walter, for sharing the link!

On Books & Writing

The Eagles are Coming!

The Eagles are Coming!, my essay on the power of fantasy storytelling and fairy tales is published in the new issue of Response magazine. It features a new, original illustration by Bryan Pollard of the eagles rescuing Frodo and Sam at the climax of The Return of the King.

On Books & Writing

"I'm not religious. But I'm a very spiritual person."

"I'm not religious. But I'm a spiritual person. Very spiritual. I'm not into organized religion." Can't think of a claim I've heard more often in my interviews with filmmakers, actors, and artists. I've always wondered, if

On Books & Writing

"We Call This Friday Good"

Thank you, Andy Whitman. And T.S. Eliot. Best words I've read all day.

On Books & Writing

Highlights from Image: Amazing Grace; Bono and Christian music

This new Image blog? I'm loving it. Brave, thought-provoking, substantial new material every week. Check out A.G. Harmon's skepticism regarding the celebrated movie Amazing Grace. And Lukas Kwong's excellent consideration of church music and the Christian musician. Should Christian musicians be following Bono&

On Books & Writing

Texas-bound...

The world may have to find a way to go on without any new blog posts from me for a few days. I'm on my way to a small gathering of Christian writers. I have the privilege of being invited to speak to the Chrysostom Society, and this

On Books & Writing

Gregory Wolfe on William F. Buckley, Jr.

At the new Image blog, Gregory Wolfe, editor of Image, eulogizes William F. Buckley Jr., who happened to be his "first boss."

On Books & Writing

100 Writers of Faith

Thanks to the folks at Image for this: A central part of Image's mission is to showcase the wealth of contemporary writing that grapples in a serious way with religious faith. But, of course, we are also always mindful of Image's "patron saints" — T.

On Books & Writing

What Was It You Wanted?

  Jean Bethke Elshtain, in Books and Culture, contemplates Todd Haynes' film about Bob Dylan -- I'm Not There -- and Andrew Dominick's film about a different, but similarly enigmatic, hero -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And she contemplates the

On Books & Writing

Congrats to Colleen Lindsay!

Several months ago, I received some encouraging words regarding Auralia's Colors from fantasy-lit enthusiast Colleen Lindsay, otherwise known as La Gringa, who blogs at The Swivet. That prompted me to contact her, and I've enjoyed our correspondence ever since. Previously, she was director of publicity at

On Books & Writing

Cuss words, James Dobson, John McCain, and Dubya

And while I'm directing traffic to Peter Chattaway 's blog... ...let me hand the microphone to him again. Chattaway links to a story about why James Dobson won't vote for John McCain. Why? Well, there are several reasons related to policy, but there's

On Books & Writing

Sweethearts: Sara Zarr's New Novel Wins Raves (Of Course)

Just as Sara Zarr's first novel starts out on a journey to the silver screen, here comes here second novel: Sweethearts. And it's not just for kids. Here are two reviews. Congratulations, Sara! You're unstoppable!

On Books & Writing

Winners in the Cyndere's Midnight Contest

Thanks to everyone who submitted creative and frightening names in the "Name the Character" contest! After playing around with many of the names, I had to go with the names that "stuck." Yes, some of you put a lot of thought and study into finding words

On Books & Writing

A Day of Poetry and Fantasy: Celebrate Anne's Birthday!

It's Anne's birthday!! If you want to send me an email with birthday wishes for Anne, please do, and I'll pass them along. In celebration of this great day, I'm asking you to think about some of Anne's favorite things:

On Books & Writing

Congratulations (again) to Sara Zarr!

  I remember sitting in the writer's workshop where a witty young woman named Sara passed around a chapter of her project. And we were all impressed. And then, she had a few words of critique for the chapter that I contributed to the discussion... from a project called

On Books & Writing

Scott Cairns in Seattle!

Scott Cairns Reading at Elliott Bay Book Co. Saturday, February 9, 5:00 p.m. Please join Image as poet, essayist, and Eastern Orthodox convert Scott Cairns reads from his new memoir Short Trip to the Edge: Where Earth Meets Heaven - A Pilgrimage, a chronicle of a unique midlife

On Books & Writing

Barack Obama Sets the Record Straight at Christianity Today

Barack Obama, interviewed at Christianity Today: I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe

On Books & Writing

Saturdays are Better with a Dash of Flannery O'Connor

I'm taking a break from my four-day editing marathon to give the editor in my head some rest. In the meantime, I'm meditating on a few quotations from Flannery O'Connor. The Christian writer does not decide what would be good for the world and

On Books & Writing

Hope

Thanks to Jim Janknegt for sharing this, from paragraph 35 of Pope Benedict's latest encyclical: "All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action. This is so first of all in the sense that we thereby strive to realize our lesser and greater hopes, to complete

On Books & Writing

Happy Birthday to Madeleine L'Engle and C.S. Lewis!

Thanks to Martin Stillion for pointing out that today is the birthday of two writers whose work has been an inspiration to me since childhood. I wish I had been able to present them with copies of Auralia's Colors in person, as a gesture of gratitude and evidence

On Books & Writing

A Fascinating Interview With Philip Pullman From 2000

I linked to this interview when Philip Pullman's book The Amber Spyglass, the concluding chapter in His Dark Materials,was published. In view of the current discussions about The Golden Compass, it might be worth revisiting. It was published at Third Way.

On Books & Writing

Luci Shaw in The Washington Post

Luci Shaw's friendship, generosity, and writing has been an inspiration to Anne and me. Luci was the one who persuaded Madeleine L'Engle to write Walking on Water: Reflections on Art and Faith, a book that transformed my understanding of creativity and Christianity. And Luci herself has