Five decades ago, ‘The Exorcist’ proved to be a box office juggernaut—and caused America’s editors to devote a special issue to the film.
James T. Keane
James T. Keane is a Senior Editor at America.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
James Dickey, America’s ‘bare-chested bard’
James Dickey’s public persona of fighter pilot, champion athlete and hard-drinking woodsman who wrote of “country surrealism” gave him an everyman appeal, even as he was perhaps the nation’s greatest poetic talent.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
A bloodier version of Catholicism than you might be used to
A reflection for the Memorial of Sts. John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs, by James T. Keane
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Holy sinners and doubting saints: The fiction of Brian Moore
Despite his public antipathy toward Catholicism, a number of Brian Moore’s novels dealt subtly and deftly with the profound emotional impact of struggles with faith.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
A sense of wonder: Remembering Brian Doyle
Brian Doyle’s essays, fiction and poetry all offered powerful reflections on finding the beautiful and the divine amid life’s struggles.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Who was S. J. Adamo? This priest-columnist spilled all the tea.
The Rev. S. J. Adamo wrote over 130 columns for America on “The Press,” and seemingly had plenty of fun along the way.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Is it moral to watch football? Here’s what America magazine said over the years
A spate of football injuries—and news that the longterm effects of the game can be catastrophic for the human brain—raise the question: What is the future of football?
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
The atheist author Jesuits loved: Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch might seem like an unlikely candidate for praise from America reviewers, but her philosophical novels about love and alienation earned many praise-filled reviews over the years.
Posted inFaith, Scripture Reflections
What if Jesus really meant it? A guiding question for interpreting the Gospel
A Reflection for the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the church, by James T. Keane
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Andre Dubus III on faith, fiction and his absent, famous father
To be the writerly son of a writerly father is not always the easiest vocation. When that parent is as famous as Andre Dubus, it must be doubly difficult. But who knows: Maybe it can make for great art? One might ask Andre Dubus III.