One of the many reasons I love U2 is the way they keep reinventing themselves. It's not easy for artists to keep moving forward creatively, especially in a collaborative way. If it were easy, more people would manage it, right? This band makes me believe in synergy. Their vision is responsive, … [Read more...] about U2: Holding Onto Love
Olive Kitteredge, by Elizabeth Strout, a book review
Please read this book. It won a Pulitzer for fiction for good reason. Olive Kitteredge is fiction in a unique format: linked short stories. Each story includes the character Olive Kitteredge, a tall older woman, a schoolteacher, the sort you might call a "battleaxe". And yet I would gladly have read … [Read more...] about Olive Kitteredge, by Elizabeth Strout, a book review
Stone Heart, by Diane Glancy, a book review
I became acquainted with the work of Diane Glancy when I lived in Minnesota. She's an interesting person, with a rather bifurcated background (Cherokee/Baptist) who has been incredibly prolific, producing award-winning poetry, plays, fiction, and non-fiction. I enjoyed hearing Ms. Glancy speak at … [Read more...] about Stone Heart, by Diane Glancy, a book review
Car Talk: Rules About Bumper Stickers
I'm not referring to the radio show. ?I'm being literal here. How much should cars be allowed to talk? My family and I have debated this when we're stuck in traffic, and have established the following Rule of Thumb (which I believe should be widely adopted, if not become the Rule of Law): Cars may … [Read more...] about Car Talk: Rules About Bumper Stickers
Got Acedia? Who cares.
Acedia is an ancient term for a sin which can be defined as apathy, or boredom, or more precisely, "why bother." I heard Kathleen Norris talk about acedia at the Festival of Faith & Writing. She quoted some very profound writers on the subject. Acedia was a big problem in monasteries in the 4th … [Read more...] about Got Acedia? Who cares.
Singing Harmonia Sacra to Greet the New Year
I spent New Year's Night singing hymns in a church, unaccompanied, with 300 or so other people. ?The crowd was diverse in age, but entirely white in skin color. Everyone was dressed very nicely in what I called "church clothes" growing up. I've sung with Old Order Mennonites before, it's a memorable … [Read more...] about Singing Harmonia Sacra to Greet the New Year