Light On Dark Water

August 12, 2015

Mockingbird and Watchman

Has anyone read Harper Lee's "new" novel, Go Set A Watchman? Intrigued by the event, I decided to do something I've had in mind for a while to do, which was to read To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time since I was a teenager. I think we were assigned it in school, which, if true,
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August 9, 2015

52 Authors: Week 32 – Thomas Mann

I have met few people who have read Thomas Mann extensively, and, among those few, fewer still who hold him in as high regard as I do. The problem, therefore, seems to be one mostly of neglect, and only secondarily of poor judgement. My own view is that he ranks with the finest novelists of
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August 7, 2015

Sigur Rós: Varúð

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August 5, 2015

Pro-Life vs. Anti-Abortion

I wrote about this some time ago (here) saying that I thought it had been a mistake for the movement against abortion to adopt the term "pro-life." Not that it's not accurate, and not that I don't understand the rationale for it. But it invites the response which it regularly gets: "You're not truly pro-life,
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August 2, 2015

52 Authors: Week 31 – Newman

I am not a Newman enthusiast. I find his prose to be dense, difficult, and often obtuse, not to mention unnecessarily long-winded. This is probably one of those differences in sensibilities between 19th century Victorians and 21st century blog readers. I find much more pleasure reading Lewis. That being said, Newman is one of the
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August 1, 2015

I Need to Watch This Once Or Twice A Year

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July 26, 2015

52 Authors: Week 30 – Yeats

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) has the distinction of being a significant poet of both the 19th and 20th centuries. Had he died in 1900—or, blurring the century line to include 1904's In the Seven Woods—he might not have been considered a major poet, but he certainly would have been remembered. “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”
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July 25, 2015

Wendell Berry and Pope Francis

Thanks to Rob G for the link to this piece at First Things connecting Laudato Si and the thought of Wendell Berry. I am one of those whom the author mentions as being disappointed by a number of Berry's recent statements on same-sex marriage, not only the content but the tone. Nevertheless, one must try not to
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July 22, 2015

An Interview With P.D. James

While looking up something or other about P.D. James relating to a conversation on another post, I came across this interview. You'll like it. It's in two parts: Part One. Part Two
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July 19, 2015

52 Authors: Week 29 – Josephine Tey

I love mysteries. My affection for a good mystery began with Nancy Drew when I was in the third grade (Nancy Drew was better then.), and has continued for 57 years unabated. There are some authors currently writing mysteries that I enjoy, but my very favorite authors are the women who began writing in what
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