Lauren Groff’s new novel inverts Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” by casting a girl—and only briefly, much later on in the novel, the woman—as its heroine.
Books
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Integralism, liberalism and the future of Christendom
In “All the Kingdoms of the World¸” Kevin Vallier engages with Catholic integralists, but he opens a bigger question: Is there such a thing as a Catholic politics?
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Mary Beard on Roman imperial power
An account of “what it meant to be a Roman emperor,” Mary Beard’s new book is also a sustained exploration of tradition embodied by an individual ruler.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
How Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’ helped me become Catholic
‘Brighton Rock’ made me feel ready to become a Catholic after so many years of deliberately not being one. I, too, frequently felt lost and agnostic. The story of Rose and Pinkie—so similar, so different, both human—was like a piece I found that had been missing from my puzzle.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
E. B. White is one of the most famous children’s book authors. But he should be better known for his essays.
I was well into adulthood before I realized the co-author of my battered copy of The Elements of Style was also the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
John Cogley: the man behind JFK’s controversial speech on his Catholic faith
John Cogley was once called “the most prominent American Roman Catholic journalist of his generation.” The onetime executive editor of Commonweal also played a key role in the election of J.F.K.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Why Thomas Merton was suspicious of psychedelic drugs
Aldous Huxley convinced me to try psychedelic drugs. Thomas Merton gave me a healthy suspicion of them.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Father Hootie McCown: Flannery O’Connor’s Jesuit bestie and spiritual advisor
James Hart “Hootie” McCown didn’t just have an amazing nickname. He was one of Flannery O’Connor’s best friends and spiritual advisors.
Posted inArts & Culture, Vantage Point
My friend Flannery O’Connor, the most honest person I ever knew
In this article from 1979, a Jesuit priest recalls his friendship with Flannery O’Connor.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
‘Death of a Salesman’ turns 75. And we’re still haunted by Willy Loman.
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” which turns 75 this year, was a huge hit by any commercial or critical standard. In 1949, it pulled off an unprecedented trifecta, winning the New York Drama Circle Critics’ Award, the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. So attention must be paid!