For many young American Christians, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” wasn’t the soundtrack to a painful breakup, but to a spiritual and in some cases traumatic experience.
Michael O’Connell
Michael O’Connell is the inaugural fellow at the Jesuit Media Lab, author of Startling Figures: Encounters with American Catholic Fiction and editor of Conversations with George Saunders. You can find more of his work on his Substack Nothing Gold.
Posted inBooks
Review: The joy of fandom
There are any number of excellent books about sports that shine a spotlight on particular teams or seasons or even players, but Michael Schur and Joe Posnanski’s “Big Fan: Two Friends, 82,490 Miles, and the Wild, Wonderful Sports We Love” is the new standard for celebrating the multifaceted nature of fandom itself.
Posted inBooks
George Saunders loves telling ghost stories
George Saunders’s place among the best living American writers is secure. And while Saunders is not often included in discussions of the best Catholic writers, in both his upbringing and his thematic concerns, his work fits solidly in the Catholic literary tradition.
Posted inBooks
Review: the catholic Catholic imagination of John Darnielle & the Mountain Goats
John Darnielle’s ‘This Year: 365 Songs Annotated’ collects lyrics from, and brief reflections on, 365 different Mountain Goats songs. Catholicism saturates his lyrics, which include references to saints, heretics, the rosary and the Bible.
Posted inIdeas
A summit for Catholic creators: Art, community and spirituality
The Ignatian Creators Summit is a unique blend of professional conference, artistic workshop and spiritual retreat.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
David Foster Wallace, A.I. and the future of the humanities
Twenty years ago, David Foster Wallace delivered one of the most widely shared and admired graduation speeches of all time. It still rewards close analysis.