Letters
from 16 to 22 January 2006
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"Take
my camel, dear," said my aunt Dot
Many
thanks for your attention to
Anglican fiction, which I've followed for many years. I think it's
John Henry Shorthouse, not "Joseph." And
my Duke colleague Reynolds Price is not an Episcopalian, so far
as I've heard, but Presbyterianish. As for the novels of Dr./Fr./Professor
John Rathbone Oliver, I have a pretty complete collection of his
first editions: it would be good to have these, or some of them,
revived. Had I entered Johns Hopkins a couple of decades earlier,
I would have met him when he was "Warden" of the graduate dorm
I lived in for a year, and we could have traveled together on Sundays
down to Mount Calvary, where he served as priest. And what good
news that "Heathen Valley" has been reprinted: see Peter Anson's
beautiful account of the revival of Anglican monasticism at Valle
Crucis in his "The Call of the Cloister." But how could you have
failed to mention my/our beloved "Towers of Trebizond"?
Keith
Stanley
Transitional, from Episcopalian towards Moravianism
Durham, North Carolina, USA
winteringham@verizon.net
16 January 200
You
left out some of my favourites
Thank
you for your article about
Anglican literary works. I have noticed, for a while now, how much
of my reading and praying and believing has been shaped by these
authors and works (some since my childhood), and I am very grateful
for them. Other authors that you didn't mention who have been important
to me have been Madeleine L'Engle, Charles Williams, and Elizabeth
Goudge (among others). I don't know if Laurie R. King, with her
two mystery series featuring Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes and the
other a modern day police detective in San Franciso, qualifies
for your list. King has a degree from Church Divinity School of
the Pacific, but I don't know if she is a practicing Episcopalian.
Certainly there are themes in her books that are of a spiritual
nature and raise theological questions and are consistent with
a nuanced Anglican approach to faith and life.
I was
glad you highlighted "I Heard the Owl Call My Name." We just finished
reading it with our parish book group. I had read it first for
my Sacraments and Pastoral offices class in seminary. I found myself
in tears both times I read it, as the author described the generous
love and trust of the relationship between priest and people and
the life they share -- in a very quiet and important way this is
a description of parish life at its best.
(The
Rev.) Victoria Geer McGrath
All Saints', Millington
Chatham, New Jersey, USA
allsaints_rector@patmedia.net
16 January 2006
All
your list are belong to us
In
a recent message, you speak glowingly of your readings in Anglican
fiction, and many authors are mentioned. But I am greedy; I want
the entire list. I teach a class in Anglican Studies; each year
one assignment is for students to read a novel in which Anglican/Episcopal
institutions and characters play significant roles. I would like
to compare my list with yours to see what I've missed. Thanks so
much.
John
Wall
St. Mark's Episcopal Church
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
jnwall @ncsu.edu
17 January 2006
(Ed:
Yes. Soon.)
We
prefer beer batter, and haddock
On the
subject of Anglican fiction.
This is a vile and shameless self-promotion. Eight months ago, Turnstone
Press of Winnipeg -- a secular publisher of fiction and poetry --
surprised itself by bringing out a novel that celebrates a loving
and vibrant Anglicanism. That novel, Battered Soles: Lakefield's
Multicultural Pilgrimage, is also, against all odds, funny. Here is
one of several favorable reviews.
While
Battered Soles is available in bricks-and-mortar bookstores
across Canada, the best way of securing a copy in the rest of the
world is through an online bookseller -- Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,
etc.
Paul
Nicholas Mason
St. John the Baptist Anglican in the Village of Lakefield
Peterborough, Ontario, CANADA
pmason@lakefieldcs.on.ca
20 January 2006
(Ed:
As long as you promise us it's a good book, we'll publish your
letter.)
In
the bishops' den
My
initial reaction to
the "Book of Daniel" was anger at what seemed to me
a deliberate attempt to discredit the Episcopal Church, which is
still reeling from the Robinson brouhaha. But after seeing the
next two episodes, and especially after hearing the producer Jack
Kenny interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air," I have changed
my mind. Kenny conceived the show "in order to get a job," he said,
and was astonished to find it in production. So there was no "intentionality" here.
True, it is hard to imagine that one man, priest or not, could
possibly have so many dysfunctional family members, but the only
character I find completely unbelievable is his bishop, who seems
to have nothing else to do but to hover around his parish. I'd
be happier if the two bishops made an early exit on some pretext
or other.
Unlike
the "conservatives," I find the character of Jesus
completely "in character" as Daniel's mental companion. It's the
way many Christians do--and all should--"talk" to Him, as the fellow
human that He is, rather than only as a transcendent Being. Unfortunately,
the show is not likely to survive for long, as our society does
not yet have the theological maturity to accept the thoughtful
and generally compassionate point of view that "Daniel" presents.
(A reminder: Gross's interview can be listened to on npr.org.)
Joan
Falconer
Trinity Episcopa
Iowa City, Iowa, USA
joan-falconer@uiowa.edu
22 January 2006
Earlier
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