The list of Nobel laureates for Literature contains more French men than it does of any other demographic. That should not put you off reading Mauriac. But you may have trouble locating his work. His most famous novel, Thérèse Desqueyroux, is possibly the only one you’ll find in a bookshop today, due to the recentContinue reading “Uncovered Gems #4: François Mauriac”
Tag Archives: God
Uncovered Gems #3: “The Singer” by Calvin Miller
“How did you manage to make them cherish all this nothingness?” he asked the World Hater. “I simply make them feel embarrassed to admit that they are incomplete. A man would rather close his eyes than see himself as your Father-Spirit does. I teach them to exalt their emptiness and thus preserve the dignity ofContinue reading “Uncovered Gems #3: “The Singer” by Calvin Miller”
After Rosemary Dobson
Worn, I long for the simplicity of desert, for Abba Poemen’s knee to rest my sleeping head. I call to heart the peace of silent communion, of neighbour and myself in essential speech. But mind is Baroque in its impulse. Chiaroscuro in substance, it curlicues toward ceilings, rhizomatic and elaborate, frantic in its downward andContinue reading “After Rosemary Dobson”
Uncovered gems #1: Eleanor Spence, “Me and Jeshua”
“We’ll have follow-the-leader,” Jacob decided, “and Jeshua can be the leader.” “No – you do it,” said Jeshua. “I like it better being last.” (Eleanor Spence, Me and Jeshua, 1984) Australian author Eleanor Spence has not been completely forgotten. Text Publishing recently reprinted her novel Lillipilly Hill as part of their Australian classics collection, andContinue reading “Uncovered gems #1: Eleanor Spence, “Me and Jeshua””
At the Right Time (Glenroy Lent #8)
…the war he brought back with him is never far away in this suburb. (Steven Carroll, The Gift of Speed) Do you remember water from the rock? How you quarried homes in this ancient soil, when these broad meadows were the stuff of dreams? Remember when the men came back from years and years ofContinue reading “At the Right Time (Glenroy Lent #8)”
Avenue (Glenroy Lent #6)
What a discrepancy between the joyful winging of birds and the fear in men and women… (Jean Vanier, The Broken Body) And how one cricket starts a neighbourhood symphony in the grass of our roaming near the concrete of our homing in these streets and these footpaths at a Friday-pink dusk while the street inContinue reading “Avenue (Glenroy Lent #6)”
In Transit
…lucky to be leafless: Deciduous reminder to let go. (Eugene Peterson, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”) Lost in auto-pilot, I find myself, false turn on false turn, circling in this airport country where lanes diverge to let the suitcase-laden taxi-bound find ways to cities, and ways away. A loop, and again I am whereContinue reading “In Transit”
“You are God’s field, God’s building”
Good news. He also works in earthy things: not only stars but soil and grass, carves churches from stone souls, makes mud-houses whole, and knows the ways a seed must break. Good news that maimed bodies are his building, that the one-eyed, the lame, may be fed in his field, good news that his isContinue reading ““You are God’s field, God’s building” “
Resolution: No Clutter
Too fidgety the mind’s compass (R.S. Thomas, “Adam Tempted”) I pile books on books and thought on thought. I pile obligation onto guilt, and duty onto resignation. This is panic in my breath and limbs tingling with the pace of things. There is no end, the wise teacher said, to all flesh-weariness of thought. IContinue reading “Resolution: No Clutter”
Welcome, God’s Year
For many, 2016 will be a year that few will miss or wish to repeat. It was the year of Brexit and Trump, of many beloved public figures dying, and seemingly also a year of much personal hardship for many people. It was certainly the case for my wife and I this year. Yet I’m determinedContinue reading “Welcome, God’s Year”
The Consolations of Writing 