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.
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
A tribute to Alice Munro, true master of the short story
This review by Andre Dubus III of Alice Munro’s short story collection ‘Open Secrets’ was originally published in America magazine in 1995. Ms. Munro, a Nobel Laureate and acclaimed author, died on May 13, 2024, at 92.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
PBS’s ‘Dante’ introduces the divine poet—and neglects his Catholic faith
Ric Burns’s splendid two-part PBS documentary, “Dante: Inferno to Paradise,” has brought Dante’s achievement beyond the groves of academe and into America’s living rooms.
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 inFaith, Podcasts
Ron Hansen on bringing fiction-writing techniques to homily writing
Ron Hansen has written award-winning novels that have been turned into Hollywood hits. As an ordained deacon, he crafts equally compelling homilies.
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!
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Patrick Leahy, Senate stalwart
In ‘The Road Taken,’ Patrick Leahy’s deeply personal new memoir, he writes lovingly about his family, his Catholic faith and his home state but seems focused largely on describing the Washington, D.C., that was—and what it has become.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Flannery O’Connor’s sacramental vision
Jessica Hooten Wilson builds ‘Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Why Do the Heathen Rage?’: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress’ around the previously unpublished manuscript pages of O’Connor’s third novel, which was never finished.