I love her voice. This is a recording of Flannery O’Connor reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find” at Vanderbilt University in 1959. (via Twitter)
All posts by Phil
C.S. Lewis Day
On this day in 1898, Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, making our favorite Oxford don more Irish than English (wait, is Tolkien our favorite or Lewis?). Despite being productive mostly with my cough, I put several C.S. Lewis facts on our BwB Twitter feed in honor of the day.
- On this day in 1898, C.S. Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland. What follows today will be #CSLewis facts.
- A good starting point for Lewis’ birthday is following @CSLewisDaily 414,861 followers can’t be wrong. (n.s.)
- My #CSLewis facts today come from Colin Duriez’ biographical book ow.ly/7IDKt
- Lewis met Owen Barfield, one of his best friends, first in 1919 at university. Learn more about Barfield ow.ly/7IDue #CSLewis
- G. MacDonald’s “Phantastes” is a very influential book in Lewis’ life. He first found it on March 4 at a train station. #CSLewis facts
- One of #CSLewis poems hangs on a wall on Addison’s Walk, Oxford. ow.ly/7IKkU
- When his father learned #CSLewis had been elected Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, he cried for joy.
- Oxford, Magdalen College, The Kilns, and The Eagle and Child #CSLewis facts ow.ly/7IJGi
- #CSLewis first met JRR Tolkien during his first year at Magdalen, 1926. They become life-long friends.
- Tolkien described the Inklings as “undertermined, unelected circle of friends who gathered around #CSLewis”
- #CSLewis Tutor Kirkpatrick said of 17yo Jack, “He has read more classics than any boy I ever had or indeed…I ever heard of.”
- #CSLewis was an great literary critic. He wrote essays on Bunyan, Austen, Shelley and topics such as myth, story, lingustics, and metaphor.
- You’ve heard of The Eagle and Child, but #CSLewis “local” pub, that closest to his home, The Kilns, is The Six Bells ow.ly/7IWYE
- #CSLewis fully believed “Jesus Christ was the Son of God” on Sept 28, 1931, a few months after his brother Warren did the same.
- On receiving #CSLewis letter of praise, Charles Williams replies, “My admiration for the staff work of the Omnipotence rises every day.”
- #CSLewis adopted mom, Mrs. Morris, argued furiously with him over his Christian faith.
- What books most shaped #CSLewis vocational attitude? Charles Williams’ “Descent into Hell” Chesterton’s “The Everlasting Man”
Stocking Stuffers and More
Gifts recommendations from several guests of National Review (via Terry Teachout)
Zombies and the Abortion Taboo
Kate Arthur describes a fascinating kerfuffle over a personhood issue touched on in an episode on AMC’s The Walking Dead. A character decides to abort her weeks old baby, but can’t go through with it.
“What’s also troubling,” Arthur writes, “is that this discussion coincided with a storyline in which Lori’s hosts—at an idyllic farm seemingly untouched by the zombie apocalypse—are discovered to be keeping a group of “walkers” alive in a nearby barn. When asked why, one of the characters responded, “They’re people.” The show’s heroes, however, accused of “murdering” such people, had a much more limited definition of what life is.”
Breaking the Contract
Nathaniel Lee has a good, 100-word story on dealing with the devil (or a likeness thereof). Congratulations to him for his new collection of stories called Splinters of Silver and Glass.
A Hymn for Thanksgiving
Stephen Paulus’ “Pilgrims’ Hymn” from his 1997 opera, The Three Hermits.
Reviewing the Review of Your Novel
This piece by Andrew Shaffer may be all we ever need to believe authors should not read reviews of their books. It’s a piece about a review which author Lethem writes on a review of his novel. “Reviewing Lethem Reviewing Wood Reviewing Lethem”
“When authors confront critics,” Shaffer assures us, “sparks are guaranteed to fly. On this front, Lethem does not disappoint. While he admits that he’s “not actually trying to read James Wood’s mind, or to change it now,” he spares no expense when it comes to that time-honored literary tradition: Name-calling.” (via Ed Rants)
Interview with a Plagiarist
Author Jeremy Duns has a lengthy analysis of the plagiarism in Assassin of Secrets and posts an interview with the author in the comments section. The disgraced author, Quentin Rowan, begins with his initial motivation:
When I was 19 a poem I wrote in high school was chosen for The Best American Poetry 1996. Up until that time I was an indifferent writer, a dabbler really, at the best of times. I was in college and like everyone trying to figure out what I wanted to do with myself. (Mostly I just wanted to play Rock music.) I took this anthology business as a sign that I was meant to be a famous writer. However, unlike any normal person who works at something a long time and eventually gets good, I decided I had to be good then and there. Because I was already supposed to be the Best.
It's the Story Craft, Stupid
Robert Bruce offer some good advice on writing, illustrating it with reference to Sherlock Holmes singular focus on crime solving. “Choose. Focus. Become an idiot.“
Hold That Thought
And now for something completely different: The Keep Calm Gallery, where one may buy all manner of things to calm oneself among other things.
