On Books & Writing

A collection of 365 posts

Lost & Found in the Cathedral of Cinema

Book Report #2: What another reader says about Lost & Found in the Cathedral of Cinema

Here's what a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic is saying about the new film memoir Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema.

Journal

Three Colors: Blue at 30

My 10,000-word deep-dive on Kieslowski's masterpiece is published in a new anthology.

Journal

A conversation with Frederick Buechner in my quiet, snowbound house

Wondrous things can happen at Christmastime. And so it was that I found myself in deep conversation with the late Frederick Buechner just before Christmas. I wrote it down, and as it's probably relevant for many of us, I'm sharing it.

On Books & Writing

All-Stars: Steven D. Greydanus and 20+ years of extraordinary writing on film

Star-gazing again, I'm pointing to one of the brightest in the cosmos of criticism: Steven D. Greydanus. I'd be hard-pressed to think of a critic who has had a more consistently inspiring influence on me over the last 20 years of my engagement with film and with film essays.

On Books & Writing

Two new essays in one week: The Enlightened Replicant and the Liberated Marionette

New writing is heating up my laptop these days. I have two new essays — my first ever contribution to my favorite film-essay website, Bright Wall Dark Room, and the second in my new series on faith and fantasy at The Rabbit Room, a reflection on Disney's 1940 feature Pinocchio.

Podcast

Animator and author Ken Priebe talks about his three fantastic children's books in the latest Looking Closer podcast episode

In this "Master Shot" episode of the Looking Closer podcast, Overstreet interviews animator, illustrator, and children's storybook author Ken Priebe about his three wild and whimsical books of wild, wacky, and scary characters.

On Books & Writing

Whale Writer: Peter Wayne Moe on his passion for whales, writing, and teaching

If you are on the hunt for great books about writing, great books about teaching, great books about faith, or great books about whales — yes, whales — have I got a recommendation for you!

On Books & Writing

In space, no one can hear you scream. But on a podcast?

Listen to the latest episode of Looking Closer, which features a conversation with Sarah Welch-Larson about her new book on the theological implications of the Alien franchise.

Journal

SPU Voices: Overstreet on meeting movie stars, storytelling, teaching, and faith

This week on the Seattle Pacific University podcast Voices, host Amanda Stubbert interviews me about my experiences in film criticism, my encounters with movie stars, my life of storytelling, and my new adventures in teaching. We had a great conversation, and I'm happy that I can now share

Journal

New adventures in hi-fi: Check out the new Looking Closer podcast!

It seems inevitable: a Looking Closer podcast!

Film Review

At long last — a substantial documentary on Flannery O'Connor

Listen to a podcast reading of this review and additional commentary from Jeffrey Overstreet at the new Looking Closer podcast. How I wish this film had been available last winter when my Seattle Pacific University students and I were politely arguing about Flannery O'Connor. From January to March,

Journal

Hard times are good times for Auralia's Colors

The people of House Abascar have been betrayed by false promises and robbed of colors, robbed of hope. But there are rumors of a girl in the woods who gathers colors that no one else has ever seen. And now, you can hear those colors. During these stay-at-home days, you're invited to a reading of Aur

Journal

Cinemarginalia: Justin Chang & Ins Choi at The Glen Workshop; Criterion sale; Scorsese in Seattle

You can spend a week in Santa Fe with Justin Chang, Ins Choi, Over the Rhine, and more. Also: The new Scorsese film is getting the best possible projection in Seattle. Read about these things and more here...

Journal

Practicing the Prophetic: James K. A. Smith on liturgy and discernment

Behold — James K. A. Smith's plenary lecture from Seattle Pacific University's Day of Common Learning.

On Books & Writing

In the Cosmos of the Arts, a Christian Cosmonaut Is Born Again

“NASA Twins Study Confirms Astronaut’s DNA Actually Changed in Space.” That’s the headline that makes you choke, then narrow your eyes, and forget what you were searching for.Come on. This isn’t The Twilight Zone. A man left earth and came back as somebody else? If you

On Books & Writing

Turn and Face the Strange: a challenge to artists and churches

In April, I closed the Sacrament & Story conference in Seattle by posing a challenge to artists and churches, and by addressing a question that has kept you awake at night, I'm sure: If you go into space, will your DNA be rewritten and turn you into an alien?

On Books & Writing

The best book-to-movie achievements... and the worst

In which I talk about the art of book-to-movie productions, a lot of great movies, and a few terrible movies, with David Kern and Steven Greydanus. Listen to our lively, in-depth exploration of the art of adaptation!

Journal

A tale of two podcasts: my visits to Forma and Libromania

In which I find myself as a special guest on two separate podcasts, both of them hosted by David Kern, for conversations about Madeleine L'Engle and the best movies of 2018.

Journal

Good with crayons? Enter Auralia's Coloring Contest.

As the four volumes of The Auralia Thread reach their decennial anniversaries, here's a challenge for imaginations of kids young and old: the first-ever Auralia's Coloring Contest.

Journal

Three qualities of beauty

I think I might just scrap all of my syllabus explanations regarding how I grade essays and short stories in my writing classes. I'll just replace those with this passage from Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose: For three things concur in creating beauty: first

On Books & Writing

Carolyn Forché on the Image Podcast

Image editor Greg Wolfe interviews poet and social activist Carolyn Forché.

On Books & Writing

Innocence Mission: past, present, future

A new interview with Karen Peris raises the question: Who are your favorite children's book illustrators?

Journal

Essay of the year?

Ta-Nehisi Coates' latest essay "Donald Trump is the First White President" was posted today. It's drawn from his upcoming book We Were Eight Years in Power. And I think it's the most significant examination I've read about what has led

On Books & Writing

Why Watership Down belongs alongside Narnia and Middle-Earth

Among the many artists we lost in 2016, the one who influenced me the most passed away on Christmas Eve. Without his imagination, I might have lived a very different life.

Journal

The difference between Gandalf and Saruman

I grew up in a Baptist church. There were a lot of good-hearted people there. I'm still in touch with some of them. But at 14, I began to smell, in that community, a certain stench. It wasn't the hairspray of the church ladies who