To be the writerly son of a writerly father is not always the easiest vocation. When that parent is as famous as Andre Dubus, it must be doubly difficult. But who knows: Maybe it can make for great art? One might ask Andre Dubus III.
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Pope Francis caused a stir by quoting Teilhard de Chardin. Here’s what you need to know about the ‘often misunderstood’ Jesuit.
Pope Francis mentioned Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., at the close of his Mass in Ulaanbaatar on Sunday. Might this mean the great priest-paleontologist is finally being recognized by the Vatican for his genius?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
America magazine writers who dreamed they saw St. Augustine
Saint Augustine still captures our imaginations 16 centuries after he lived. What is it about this theologian, philosopher, preacher and memoirist that makes him such a perennial favorite?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Going back to school this week? Here’s some advice from generations of America writers.
The dog days of August are also the first week of school for millions of students, parents and teachers. Want some advice on how to handle it? Generations of America contributors have had thoughts on the subject.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: A Florida family’s explosive life
in ‘Fireworks Every Night,’ the debut novel by Beth Raymer, is an ode to Florida—to the rattlesnakes, the humid heat and the Palm Beach pretensions of those who out of necessity live a life apart from that glitz and glamor.
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Review: Biography opens new windows into the life of MLK
Jonathan Eig’s new biography, ‘King: A Life,’ is the first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in decades and will take its place among the foremost of the many treatments of King.
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Review: Henri Nouwen’s profound encounters in Ukraine
Henri Nouwen’s observations in ‘Ukraine Diary’ are even more relevant today than they were at the time of his writing, offering valuable insight into the ongoing tragedy of the war in Ukraine.
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The Catholic woman who mastered the art of a brutal movie review
Over 27 years beginning in 1947, Moira Walsh wrote over 750 movie reviews for America—each one possessed of an invincible authorial voice and informed by an encyclopedic knowledge of film history.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The America editor who ruined nuclear fallout shelters forever
Why don’t we have fallout shelters anymore? It’s a long story, but an editor at America had something to do with it.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
Catholic Book Club: The interstellar Jesuit spirituality of Mary Doria Russell’s ‘The Sparrow’
With ‘The Sparrow,’ Mary Doria Russell imagines an alien world in intimate and fascinating detail—and then sends along some humans with deep questions about faith, God and the universe.