65 years ago, the Berlin Wall divided that city in two and became an enduring symbol of the Cold War. But do walls really ever work?
Books
Posted inBooks
Review: Michael Mewshaw’s latest novel dwells in darkness—but offers a way out.
Readers of ‘Not Heaven But Paradise’ may feel like they have been through the hell of our contemporary world and also seen the only way out of the darkness.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
James T. Farrell was condemned by the church—and paved the way for American Catholic writers
James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan trilogy in the 1930s set him up as an enemy of a church that was aghast at his portrayal of human nature and, frankly, of the Catholic Church itself.
Posted inFaith and Reason
Thomas Merton: Monk. Mystic. Existentialist?
A lifetime of re-reading Merton has convinced me that the existential note ringing through his body of work is key, not only to making sense of his wide-ranging thought, but to any real understanding of the man himself.
Posted inBooks
Review: Richard Bausch’s stories of grief, hope and memory
Richard Bausch’s latest collection, ‘The Fate of Others,’ affirms Bausch’s reputation as one of America’s greatest storytellers.
Posted inThe Good Word
For the love of God, pick up a book
A homily on how the “end of reading” has profound implications for our society—and for the church, too.
Posted inBooks
‘Winnie the Pooh’ made A. A. Milne rich—but not for the reasons he wanted.
A. A. Milne created “Winnie the Pooh” and all his fantastical friends—but was also a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and, by many accounts, a disappointed intellectual.
Posted inBooks
Review: Columbia’s former president on Trump’s ‘existential threat’ to universities
In his new book ‘University: A Reckoning,’ Lee Bollinger grapples with the reality that universities across the country are facing—one characterized by challenges to their independence from what he labels “authoritarian” attacks.
Posted inIdeas
No one reads anymore. But you should if you want to be a good Catholic.
If we really are entering a postliterate culture, what does that mean for faith?
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Caryll Houselander: Britain’s ‘rocking-horse Catholic’ and bohemian disciple
The writings of Caryll Houselander, a mid-century British artist, poet and spiritual writer, remain for many a treasure trove of honest reflections on faith.