In 1958, Joel Wells of Chicago’s “The Critic” contributed a somewhat unique story to America. How, he wondered, would some of our most famous authors tell the story of a dog that had been hit by a car?
Arts & Culture
Posted inArts & Culture, Music
Irish legends get a proper sendoff: Carnegie Hall honors Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan
Celebrating the lives and songs of Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan, a wealth of artists performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 20 to give new life to the departed artists’ ballads.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
‘Immaculate’ is not your mother’s nun movie. It’s a feminist convent-horror film.
“Immaculate” is a cut above its cinematic cohorts, due in no small part to its decidedly feminist take.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Karl Rahner’s theology of The Beatles
A newly available compilation of Rahner’s writings on the arts, edited and translated from the original German by Gesa Thiessen, traces Rahner’s thinking about the phenomenon of inspired enthusiasm.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
In ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’ Jimmy Stewart has a Palm Sunday moment
An idealist—like Jesus or Jefferson Smith—can be dangerous because he refuses to accept the compromises that form the foundation of their power.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
March Madness: Your guide to the Catholic schools in the 2024 men’s tournament
March Madness is upon us, and (as usual) there are a lot of Catholic schools in the mix. Can any of them prevail?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Baseball, Brooklyn and Seoul: It’s finally time for Opening Day.
Opening Day is a reminder that there are, to quote Bill Veeck, only two seasons: winter and baseball.
Posted inArts & Culture, Vantage Point
Los Angeles and what makes a great city
From 1957: Los Angeles is a large city. In some ways it is an important city. But it is not (yet) a great city.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
A St. Patrick’s Day question: What is the greatest novel ever written about Irish New York?
Chicago has James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan. New Orleans has John Kennedy Toole’s Ignatius J. Reilly. Boston has Edwin O’Connor’s ‘Last Hurrah.’ And William Kennedy’s Albany Cycle series has “ironweeds” like Billy and Francis Phelan. What, then, is the greatest book ever written about the New York City Irish?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Secret of Kells’ proves that even in dark times, Ireland created beautiful things
When we create, we refuse to let darkness have the final say.