Since the 1970s, Don DeLillo has been the wry and cool Jeremiah of American life. His new novel, ‘Silence,’ continues that tradition.
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: Can we find real community online?
Chris Stedman’s new book is the perfect guide to unpacking what identity means in the digital age.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: A parent faces the ultimate sorrow
In stunning, raw prose, Liz Tichenor’s memoir invites readers into a heartrending but ultimately hopeful story of grief, life and renewal.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
When poetry meets spirituality
Eleven different poetry collections reviewed by four America editors offer a sample of the God-haunted and the God-hunted contemporary literary artists who work out their spiritual, intellectual and emotional conundrums through lyrical compositions.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
He resisted writing about typical Irish tropes for so long. Now, John Banville is embracing his roots.
Something has changed for the novelist John Banville in the last 15 years. In a twist worthy of his own byzantine fiction, Banville has adopted a new persona and writing style, and even—perhaps—a changed attitude toward “the Irish thing” he once derided.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Can we reimagine the sacramental life? Ask this poet/farmer/educator.
In this time when so much seems to be falling apart, the writer/philosopher/farmer Michael Martin is reimagining and even building anew.
Posted inArts & Culture, Last Take
Mary Gordon asks: What kind of Catholic are you?
I believe that because the people about whom I am writing share with me a vocabulary, a set of images and shared practices, there are some firm grounds on which we can all stand.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
John S. Dunne: A theologian (and author) for our dark times
Just as St. Augustine had aimed “to kindle the light of things eternal in human hearts no longer supported by temporal institutions which had seemed eternal but which were crashing on all sides,” so did John S. Dunne, C.S.C., in his many erudite books.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
When America magazine rejected William Faulkner, J.K. Rowling and Taylor Swift from our pages
Going through old files, America’s editors found a few interesting submissions (and rejections).
Posted inArts & Culture, Features
An American Catholic Pilgrimage
Daniel Hornsby’s debut novel, ‘Via Negativa,’ is the story of a Roman Catholic priest on the road to many destinations, both material and spiritual.