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.
Ideas
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Pope Francis loved literature and film—and artists loved him for it
Pope Francis trusted the imagination and regarded it as a gift from God. Instead of being suspicious and fearful of its power, he urged artists to follow its promptings.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
What will the restoration of Notre-Dame mean for the future of the French Catholic Church?
If the burning of Notre-Dame was a fitting symbol for the de-Christianization of France, could the restoration of Notre-Dame be a hopeful omen?
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
A March Madness to remember: The St. Joseph’s Hawks’ 2004 N.C.A.A. run
In 2004, the St. Joseph’s University men’s basketball team made a long run in the N.C.A.A. tournament, falling just short of the Final Four. This excerpt from Aaron Bracy’s ‘A Soaring Season’ tells part of that thrilling story.
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Dick Button taught Americans how to watch, judge and love figure skating
Dick Button, the voice of figure skating for half a decade, taught us what figure skating was supposed to be.
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Van Gogh’s holy family—and mine
Looking at the Van Goghs we see a few parallels with the Holy Family, who knew humiliation and repudiation.
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The Fellini film that scandalized Catholic audiences—and the Jesuits that defended it
Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” scandalized Italian audiences. But it was a group of Jesuit priests who were determined to offer a more nuanced interpretation of the film.
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Puccini, opera and the arts as a gift from God
Giacomo Puccini, the composer of “La Bohème,” “Tosca” and “Madama Butterfly,” has been called the world’s most popular songwriter, and with good reason.
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A.I., C.S. Lewis and the dangers of artificial prophets
There have always been false prophets, but now we have something else: artificial ones.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Comedian Matt Rife’s crowd work depends on marginalized people in the audience in ‘Walking Red Flag’
Rife’s humor of the quick, off-the cuff variety is best suited to these more conversational modes of presentation. He is lucky that he has a gift for improvisation and interacting with crowds, because his straight up standup is pedestrian.