Robert Ferguson, author of The Vikings: A History, claims “a mastery of poetry was a must for any young Viking who wanted to make a name for himself. . . . Young Icelandic warrior-poets (or ‘skalds,’ as they were known) such as Gunnlaug Snaketongue, Kormak Ogmundarson, and Hallfred the Troublesome Poet, were documenting the ecstasies and despairs of romantic love as early as the late 10th century, some 200 years before the medieval troubadours we typically credit as being the world’s first true Romantic poets.”
Category Archives: Non-fiction
Untrustworthy Memory in Print
Jonathan Yardley writes about some of the great memoirs of the past and the dredge we have clogging the half-priced bookshelves today. He says, “On the one hand, we want ‘authenticity and credibility’ in autobiographical writing; on the other, we want to be entertained, which can sometimes lead writers to exaggeration or invention. . . . [But] what the memoir boom has in fact given us is too many dull or forgettable memoirs, precious few of which have enriched our literature but most of which have simply encouraged the narcissism of their authors.”
Is America Becoming Undemocratic?
John Fund says voter fraud maybe be stealing your vote. It already has stolen others. Fund is the author of Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy.
Aren’t Looking For Something Appealing
Our friend Jimmy Davis reviews Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different by Tullian Tchividjian.
The State of English, or There Stands a Nave Without, Sire
I heard of this book recently, and it appears you can read it online. If not, you can at least read several pages of John McWhorter’s Doing our own thing: the degradation of language and music and why we should, like, care. I think the media-saturated world has given great influence to people who care more about being cool and comfortable than being eloquent, educated, or edifying. How did valley girl slang spread throughout the country? Because the pretty, young hedonists live near one of the media-centers of the world.
Loving the Unlovely
Amy Henry has a post on the new book, Same Kind of Different as Me. I doubt this kind of Christian unselfishness can be taught in sermons. It has to be modeled, challenged, and inspired by those around us.
WWI Reading
Here’s a link to an archive of World War I poetry.
And here’s what soldiers in trenches were reading.
An Interview with Hunter Baker
To the Source, a weekly email on cultural issues, has interviewed Hunter Baker about his new book, The End of Secularism. Hunter says:
I think Christians should kindly refuse the invitation to take their religious activity and speech private. They should maintain the validity of the faith for their approach to community life and politics. They should point out that secularism provides little guidance for dealing with big political questions and that the values have to come from somewhere. Too often, secularists selectively crib Christian values without acknowledging the source. We didn’t just get here by accident. We don’t appreciate things like liberty, equality, and democracy by sheer accident. Christianity has been a major civilizational force.
Serious Biography on Louis Armstrong
Terry Teachout has a copy in hand of his new biography on Louis Armstrong. He writes that his book is a bit different than other biographies on jazz musicians or popular figures. “I’ve sought to write a narrative biography of Louis Armstrong that is comparable in seriousness, scope, and literary quality to a ‘definitive’ high-culture biography of a great novelist–or a great classical composer,” he says. Bravo, sir.
Cool Notice
I’ve been occupied away from the blog lately, so I have not yet linked to this cool post by world famous author Hunter Baker on the reception of his book by ubercool and famous author Andrew Klavan. Klavan said, “I’m startled to report I glanced at it while laying it aside, then picked it up again, then read it through. This is a very well written, concise and learned primer on the secularization of the public square.” I love it.
What’s your next book going to be, Dr. Baker?