Finished reading: The Bible and Poetry by Michael Edwards.
A fascinating and very idiosyncratic look at Scripture, from an unexpected quarter: Edwards is a member of the Académie Française and one of the world’s leading Racine scholars. If you’ve …
'What man needs is silence & warmth; what he is given is an icy pandemonium.' ~Simone Weil
Reading
The Power Broker
Robert A. Caro
Finished reading: Meet Me at the Lighthouse by Dana Gioia.
A delightful collection of poems, songs, & a few translations. I especially loved the closing sequence, “The Underworld.” I read “The Ballad of Jesús Ortiz” aloud to me daughter, & …
Tyler Cowen draws attention to the remarkable life and work of the Catholic religious scholar R.C. Zaehner, whose Wikipedia page is, indeed, fascinating and wild. 📚
Currently reading: The Bible and Poetry by Michael Edwards 📚
Finished reading: Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.
I love Bradbury’s simple, relentless enthusiasm for writing. 📚
Current listening: Johnathan Blake, Passage. Blake is a master. Always brings the fire. 🎶
Do not hurry; do not rest.
~Goethe; h/t Annie Dillard 📚
Currently reading: Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury 📚
It’s incredible how many good book groups, seminars, & tutorials the Catherine Project is offering this fall—and all for free! I’d love to join them all. 📚
Currently reading: In Search of Lost Time Volume I Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust.
It’s been a decade or so. Just 25 pages in, I can’t believe how many gems I’ve already forgotten. 📚
Current listening: Tyshawn Sorey Trio, Continuing.
Four tracks, 53 minutes. As wide-ranging as ever for this group, which features Matt Brewer on bass and Aaron Diehl on piano. 🎶
Click through for more detail—it’s worth it. Suddenly considering a trip to the Netherlands just to see it.
Finished reading: The This by Adam Roberts.
Lots to think about with this delightful book. Roberts calls it a Hegelian sequel to his Kantian book The Thing Itself. I think it can be equally read as a sort of hellish prequel to Purgatory Mount (is …
Rest in peace, my dear old friend David MacKay
David was already retired from IU by the time I started grad school there, but he and his wonderful wife Carole hosted grad students at their house weekly for discussion & dessert. Quick-witted, opinionated, kind-hearted, …
Currently reading: The This by Adam Roberts 📚
Finished reading: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
Rather sobering to have finished it on Father’s Day. But, like all of Austen, full of wisdom: a reflection on good judgment. 📚
My friend Rick recently helped design a book of poems about Parkinson’s disease.
The book is written by John Foley and illustrated by the great Mary GrandPré of Harry Potter fame.
Download a copy for free here. Hope you find it encouraging! 📚