Brandywine Books
Friday, May 27, 2005
Read a Great Book This Summer
I was thinking about summer reading this evening when I came across this press release. "Experts Agree, The Difference Between Good Students and Great Students is What They Read." The Great Books Summer Reading Program at Amherst and Stanford report that reading challenging literature at a young age improves your mind and test scores. "Read more challenging books, more hours a week, starting when you're younger -- and you'll develop the kind of mental muscles that will help you rise to the top. That's the basis of real education and real success," said the president of the organization that developed the 2005 SAT. By reading and discussing well-written books which deal with the big questions--"What is the good life? What do I owe my neighbor?"--a teenager's mind and heart can gain the strength his circumstances may restricted.Evan came to the Summer Reading Program as a 14-year old from Mississippi and from one of the lowest-rated schools in the nation. Evan's teacher, Annette, described him as a very curious child but discouraged from his disadvantaged circumstances and no one believing in him except his teacher. Evan speaks of his "life changing experience" at Great Books Summer Program. "Evan will never be the same again," gleams Annette.What would you think if a publisher, say Penguin Classics, promoted classic literature as great summer reads? Maybe they would offer special editions with new or at least sound essays on the work in question. I would pass on Kafka for something like this, but I would be tempted by Hawthorne or Ralph Ellison, Thoreau or Langston Hughes. I suppose publishers think these works are promoted enough through schools and attention to literary awards. But what do you think? A good idea?
Author Jim Wallis at the Heritage Foundation
On Monday, May 16, I watched the webcast from the Heritage Foundation called, "God and Party Politics: A Conversation." Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners, represented the Left, and Joseph Loconte, HeritageÂ?s William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society, represented the Right. Both said the other misconstrued their words a bit.Wallis opened by saying "religion should not be ideologically predictable" or loyal to a political party. He called himself "a nineteenth century evangelical," praising Charles Finney for devising the altar call and using it as an opportunity to sign people up for an antislaveryy campaign. "The Right," he said, "needs to broaden its thinking on values." The most surprising of his statements was that Americans had the resources to end world poverty, if we only had the moral and political will to use those resources.
Loconte argued that Wallis was wrong to promote direct applications of Old Testament commands to the U.S. He said that Israel was a theocracy, and God made the rules for them; but the U.S. is a secular democracy, so some kind of translation must be made if a truth in the Old Testament is to be applied to our country. In this way, Loconte said, Wallis and the Religious Left were using a "literalist," even "fundamentalist," interpretation of the Bible, something the Right is often accused of.
I think Wallis made some good points, but I find that political liberals can make plenty of good or seemingly good points which don't pan out in the end. For instance, Wallis opposes the intervention in Iraq, but claims to support intervention "to save civil rights" in general when the time is right. I fear that the time is never right when real opportunities come. To this, Loconte said that it isn't the government's role "to turn my neighbor's cheek," giving no practical help to the one who suffers injustice. The government's role, as I understand it from Scripture, is to promote mercy and defend justice.
Wallis went on to say that most of the world's evangelicals agreed with him on the Iraq war.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Trollope: Writing Is a Craft
"I find Trollope's insistence that writing novels is a craft like making shoes, and his pride in the money he got by writing them, sympathetic. He was aware, of course, that craft and art are not the same: a craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished it. But it is unbecoming in an artist to talk about inspiration; that is the reader's business. Again, Trollope would never have denied that his primary reason for writing was that he loved the activity. He once said that as soon as he could no longer write books he would wish to die. He believed that he wrote best when he wrote fastest, and in his case this may well have been true: a good idea for a novel stimulated his pen. Though large sales are not necessarily a proof of aesthetic value, they are evidence that a book has given pleasure to many readers, and every author, however difficult, would like to give pleasure." -- W.H. AudenThis quote was shamefully stolen from terryteachout.com. I deeply regret it.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Ambition
Again from Poet Donald Hall (1983): "I see no reason to spend your life writing poems unless your goal is to write great poems. . . . If our goal in life is to remain content, no ambition is sensible. If our goal is to write poetry, the only way we are likely to be any good is to try to be as great as the best."But for some people it seems ambitious merely to set up as a poet, merely to write and to publish. Publication stands in for achievement?as everyone knows, universities and grant-givers take publication as achievement?but to accept such a substitution is modest indeed, for publication is cheap and easy. In this country we publish more poems (in books and magazines) and more poets read more poems aloud at more poetry readings than ever before; the increase in thirty years has been tenfold. So what? . . .
"If even to entertain such ambition reveals monstrous egotism, let me argue that the common alternative is petty egotism that spends itself in small competitiveness, that measures its success by quantity of publication, by blurbs on jackets, by small achievement: to be the best poet in the workshop, to be published by Knopf, to win the Pulitzer or the Nobel. . . . The grander goal is to be as good as Dante."
I quote Hall in light of the discussion on writing in previous posts. It seems to me that all writing advice should be taken under advisement. Certainly a writer should write his best and, in a sense, be content with writing the best works he can; but how hard should he push himself? To what height should he aspire? Is literary greatness a suitable ambition? I think it is, and the writer must define it for himself.
The Christian writer should aspire to glorify and enjoy God, which is his primary purpose; but he has no reason to define his literary quality by the standards of modern publishing. He can strive to be as good as Dante, Milton, Hopkins, or Longfellow, if that is his call. And shouldn't we, as literary bloggers or readers in the blogosphere, encourage new or experienced writers to reach for great heights like these?
Friday, May 20, 2005
Let Me Back Up
In writing on Christian retailing (first on Collected Misc., then here), I complained about the poor quality of most Christian fiction. This morning, I began to think that I wasn't thinking, if you follow me, and before Pilgrim called me to task on it in the comments, I thought I should blog on it again.You know, it's easy to complain. It's easy to look at the bestseller list and say that the people of America, those great unwashed masses, are stupid or lack moral conviction because the listed titles are not the ones we want to see. It's easy to complain about the lack of subscribers to an excellent literary magazine and to accuse publishers of being greedy for promoting (or even simply printing) books that sell. What about great literature? we say. Better--Why isn't this book which we love promoted as much as we think it deserves?
But what does this accomplish? Far better to promote that which we love, to promote the love of language, and write well ourselves.
So am I saying that I really don't believe that most Christian fiction is written "for the people who don't like to read"? Well, no--only sort of (I should go into politics with statements like that). I'm saying that I don't have much respect for most of it; but I could say that for most books.
Who is writing good Christian fiction? As far as I understand the field (which isn't much), Bret Lott, Walter Wangerin, Larry Woiwode, perhaps Marilynne Robinson, Leif Enger . . . oh wait, I said good, not great, and perhaps that's the problem with my complaint. Despite some visible problems in Christian fiction, I may be in the habit of complaining about it because my plumbline for judgment is the undefined aura of the Next Great American Novel. Who can compare to that? Why should I complain about a book whose author didn't want to write the Next Great?
Growth and Attrition in Christian Retailing
The cover of next week's BusinessWeek is on the business of Christian ministry. "Earthly Empires: How evangelical churches are borrowing from the business playbook" delves into megachurches and high-profile ministries, both sound and unsound. If you have not heard the message of Joel Osteen, pastor of America's largest congregation Lakewood Church of Houston, TX, then let me offer my brief opinion: It isn't the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (see "Who is Joel Osteen?")The magazine has several online parallels, one on the Christian media market. Left Behind, which was rejected by several publishers before Tyndale House accepted it, The Purpose-Driven Life and it's precursor The Purpose-Driven Church, The Prayer of Jabez, and a number of other strong sellers in religious non-fiction have convinced corporations to wade or jump into the Christian publishing pool. Left Behind alone "brought in more than $650 million and helped establish Christian fiction as a huge market." Now if only we could publish something truly worth reading.
Thomas Nelson has styled New Testaments as fashion magazines, spinning the timeless Scriptures as modern advice, and found the market they wanted. Now they have several versions of "Bible zines." I shouldn't complain when things like this are published for willing buyers. I probably should hope they do someone some good. But I'm not encouraged by a Christian retail industry which seems to pursue trinkets over gold, elementary Sunday School over seminary, local bluff view over Grand Canyon. I want to hope for the best, but this paragraph captures my impression of the majority of the industry.
"I write for the people who don't like to read," says inspirational author Max Lucado, who also pastors a megachurch [and] has sold more than 40 million books.Oh, for the day when we publish strong sellers written for those who not only enjoy reading, but love English as well. And I think that day is coming.
BusinessWeek reports that Christian books and music are now a good percentage of media sales in large discount stores, like Walmart and Target. That's good for the publishers, but has led to the closing of almost 1000 Christian bookstores over the past few years.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Reformed Book Suggestions
The Baylies are looking for book suggestions that make a "winsome introduction to Reformed/Puritan thinking" for a friend from a Catholic background. If you have a title to recommend, drop them a note. Some books already suggested are The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, by Jeremiah Burroughs (I want to read this one too), and Pilgrim's Progress.The Need for Popular History
Kevin of Collected Misc. responds to the rant of a bitter writer at Slate.com (please forgive my redundant description):Writers who make history more interesting and more accessible are valuable. They disabuse the public of the notion that history is boring and dry; only about dates and cold facts. Greenberg seems caught up in the progressive intellectuals trap that holds that only that which challenges the conventional wisdom or that requires "critical thinking" is somehow worthy. What he forgets is that the kind of engagement he is looking for is beyond the capability or interest of many readers. They don't have the time to dig into the issues and debates of academic specialists and many aren't interested in dense arguments. They are too busy and too tired after work to choose historical scholarship as a hobby.
New Criterion Poetry Prize
The New Criterion announced their sixth annual poetry contest for "a book-length manuscript of poems that pay close attention to form." The winner will receive $3000 and have the manuscript published by Ivan R. Dee. Submissions are due by September 30. More details here. Past winners are Geoffrey Brock, Deborah Warren, Charles Tomlinson, Adam Kirsch, and Donald Petersen. (Now, I am facing the temptation to buy one or more of the winning volumes from these poets. Skywriting looks appealing. (I failed to mention that The New Criterion's April issue was dedicated to poetry.))Monday, May 16, 2005
Writing Quote:
"If you want to accomplish anything, you have to act like a paid professional and hold yourself accountable for getting your work done and getting it out there." -- Quinn Dalton, in a 2003 Writer's Digest. Dalton's collection of short stories, Bulletproof Girl, was released in paperback last month from Washington Square Press.
When Will It Go Too Far?
Newsweek's May 9 issue reported that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Koran by places in on a toilet one time and flushing it another. Now the news magazine says their unnamed sources may be inaccurate. The error met with rage and the retraction disbelief. "The death toll in a week of rioting in Afghanistan rose to at least 15 and several hundred clerics issued a statement Sunday saying they would call for a jihad against the U.S. if those responsible for the alleged desecration were not handed over to an Islamic country for punishment within three days," reports CNSNews.com.Frank Salvato, writing for CNSNews.com, says, "It is unconscionable for 'reporters' to unleash such inflammatory accusations based on anonymous sources. Those in the mainstream media have abused the privilege of the 'anonymous source' for far too long."
Newsweek claims other reports of desecration have circulated before, but their report came at "a particularly delicate moment in Afghan politics" and was exploited by Muslim radicals. "That does not quite explain, however, why the protest and rioting over Qur'an desecration spread throughout the Islamic region," Newsweek reasons. "After so many gruesome reports of torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, the vehemence of feeling around this case came as something of a surprise."
World Editor Marvin Olasky states, "The 'surprise' is one more example of the theological illiteracy of many major journalists, since no one familiar with Islam would be surprised by the reaction. Ardent Muslims treat copies of the Quran reverently and never place it on the floor; Christian missionaries to Muslim countries are taught never to put their Bibles on the floor, because that would make Muslims feel that Christians held their own religion in contempt."
Is there a new generation of journalists coming who will understand the value of their words and the influence the living in the Digital Information Age? Errors like this are not acceptable. I think this is proper response to Newsweek, though probably for reasons contrary to the protestor.
The LitBlog Co-op's Read This
The first "Read This!" from the new Litblog Co-op has been announced. It's Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. A reviewer at Powells.com writes of the book, "What makes Atkinson's award-winning debut and her subsequent writing so beguiling is her ability to delicately measure humor and pathos — always a tricky balance." The co-op recommends Atkinson's prose, saying, "Each paragraph, each page, each chapter unfolds with perfect precision, the prose and pacing fully shaped. There's nothing flowery about the words, but no stripped-down drama either. Atkinson's a pro - a juicy pro."It's a literary murder mystery. Have you noticed it before? Do you plan to look into it?
The co-op plans to publish interviews with the author and editor as well as other nominees for this season's Read This!
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Winnie the Pooh Chess Set from England
Of all the ornamental chess sets I've seen, I think this one tops my wish list. "This delightful chess . . . [is] based the pieces on the original illustrations by E.H.Shepard. Meet your favourite character Pooh as the King, Kanga as the Queen, Owl as the Bishop, Eeyore as the Knight, Tigger as the Rook and sweet little Piglet as the Pawns."Now, the Isle of Lewis set is cool in a different way.
"Well," said Pooh . . . "The fact is," said Pooh . . . "Well, the fact is," said Pooh . . . "You see," said Pooh. . . . "It's like this," said Pooh, and something seemed to tell him that he wasn't explaining very well, and he nudged Piglet again.
"It's like this," said Piglet quickly. . . . "Only warmer," he added after deep thought.
Highschoolers Filibuster Prom King Nomination
I enjoy satire done well, and news satire jars my funny bone like the desks in elementary school would at least once a year. I hated that, but I like this from Eric Seymour at In the Agora.The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible
Kevin of Collected Misc. draws attention to a new study Bible which has been five years in the making. The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible is edited by Richard J. Foster and Dallas Willard among others. It intends to "capture the reality of living with the Trinitarian community in the ever-present kingdom of God" and to present the Bible "as the primary written resource for informing our minds and transforming our spirits in Christlikeness." If that latter part is news to anyone who considers himself a Christian, then he may not only need to spend a lot of time in this Bible but also find himself a church that respects the authority of Scripture.You can view the list of contributors on the Renovare website and sign up for excerpts by email. This Bible uses the New Revised Standard Version, and I have to ask if they publishers understood that the cover, while attractive in itself, is very similiar to the hardcover edition of the English Standard Version. I can't tell from the images if the fonts are the same, but they are very close to each other.
Ambition and the Unwritten Art
Poet Donald Hall wrote in 1988 that a poet must strive to excel, if he's to do anything.I see no reason to spend your life writing poems unless your goal is to write great poems.This fascinating article is available on poets.org, which will undergo a nice redesign soon. Also on poets.org, John Brehm writes of the poems he has yet to write:An ambitious project--but sensible, I think. And it seems to me that contemporary American poetry is afflicted by modesty of ambition--a modesty, alas, genuine ... if sometimes accompanied by vast pretense. Of course the great majority of contemporary poems, in any era, will always be bad or mediocre. (Our time may well be characterized by more mediocrity and less badness.) But if failure is constant the types of failure vary, and the qualities and habits of our society specify the manners and the methods of our failure. I think that we fail in part because we lack serious ambition.
I'm so wildly unprolific, the poems
I have not written would reach
from here to the California coast
if you laid them end to end.
And if you stacked them up,
the poems I have not written
would sway like a silent
Tower of Babel, saying nothing
and everything in a thousand
different tongues.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Music in Earthen Vessels
I love the music on Jars of Clay's latest album, Redemption Songs. It resonates with me so well; my spirit must be tuned to it.Thursday, May 05, 2005
We Have Some Great Teachers Under Pressure
(You know, I enjoy blogging when I have the time for it. I enjoy it even when I don't have the time, but I don't do it then so I enjoy it less.)May 3 was National Teacher Day, a recognition day stirred up by an Arkansas teacher in the 40s and observed regularly since 1980. I would like to belatedly applaud my friend who works in the Philadelphia public school system. He has been employed (I believe) under two principals don't care about educating their students. They only want to push them through the system. I'm told they think the school will look bad if too many students fail; but when a classroom has no discipline and work cannot be required, only the exceptional student who can shun peer pressure will learn anything. My friend is sick of it, and yet he perseveres. May the Lord give him strength, and may He spare the children who are being neglected by selfish school administrators who will not educate.
Few Things Are Important, Really Only One
Here's a Mother's Day quote which applies to the literary life:"At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent. Fathers and mothers, if you have children...they must come first. You must read to your children, you must hug your children, you must love your children. Your success as a family...our success as a society...depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house." --Barbara Bush [taken from today's Presidential Prayer Team page]
May you have a fulfilling Day of Prayer before Cinco de Mayo.
