tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post4509705654332929815..comments2023-12-25T05:12:46.199+01:00Comments on ORA ET LABORA: The Old New AtheismFelix Culpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-15146437457347155542008-01-27T04:00:00.000+01:002008-01-27T04:00:00.000+01:00Both and then some, and then some more some, as my...Both and then some, and then some more some, as my monthly student loan bills eloquently testify.Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-65811025046156172152008-01-27T03:56:00.000+01:002008-01-27T03:56:00.000+01:00ah good. I am a recent convert.. not even a year o...ah good. I am a recent convert.. not even a year old yet. Just finished undergraduate work and going to be working on languages before heading to grad school.<BR/><BR/>I love the Sound and the Fury. I actually wrote a paper on Quentin's section. I have O'Connor's short stories and correspondence, I have been eying that volume. <BR/><BR/>Alas, Berry's idea of place is theoretical for me also. I have grown up and lived in the South, but I have deep ties to the Midwest (my parents were both Hoosiers). Faulkner, Berry, and the Fugitives have returned a love for the South that I needed to reclaim. I went through a youthful and stupid phase hating the South and its rural aspects. I know long for a garden and some simple living. <BR/><BR/>I am guessing you studied theology? or literature?Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-582160652973304882008-01-27T03:43:00.000+01:002008-01-27T03:43:00.000+01:00That's on her most recent album, "Fox Confessor Br...That's on her most recent album, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood." (And if that isn't a religious title, I don't know what is.)<BR/><BR/>I'm actually Russian, grew up in the Midwest, studied on the East Coast, and have been splitting my time between Europe and the US most of my life. My interest in Wendell Berry's idea of "place" is, as you can imagine, largely theoretical.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, I think Faulkner's strongest novel is "The Sound and the Fury." As for O'Connor, the Library of America's edition of her collected works has all her fiction, as well as a good selection of her essays and letters.Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-84817755005588844252008-01-27T03:21:00.000+01:002008-01-27T03:21:00.000+01:00haha,I have two of her albums and that song isn't ...haha,<BR/>I have two of her albums and that song isn't on there. I presume you enjoy Neko also?<BR/><BR/>Am I to guess you are Serbian from your blog's references to St. Justin Popovich? I had the great pleasure of visit New Gracanica Monastery in Illinois recently. It was breath taking.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-46492883140731552792008-01-27T03:17:00.000+01:002008-01-27T03:17:00.000+01:00Google the lyrics for "John Saw That Number." It s...Google the lyrics for "John Saw That Number." It starts like this:<BR/><BR/>Old John the baptist, old John divine<BR/>Leather harness round his line<BR/>His meat was locust and honey<BR/>Wild honey lord, wild honey<BR/><BR/>John saw that number<BR/>Way in the middle of the air<BR/>Cryin' holy, holy to the Lord<BR/><BR/>So much for Biblical literacy!Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-64884696904374087652008-01-27T03:12:00.000+01:002008-01-27T03:12:00.000+01:00I hope to pick up more of Berry's fiction too also...I hope to pick up more of Berry's fiction too also. Before I do so I have a lot of other reading stacked up for myself. (Dostoevsky (crime and punishment) Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor, and finish some William Faulkner. All the while working through some R.S. Thomas and Seamus Heaney. And also working through the Gospel of Matthew with Chrysostom. Robinson will also have to fall somewhere behind this list.<BR/><BR/>I look forward to that post. I have found this blog to be quite delightful and always a pleasure to read. Where abouts are you from?<BR/><BR/>I unfortunately don't know the Neko Case reference you are making? I know the singer, but I don't know of the confusion with John you speak of. Fill me in brother.<BR/><BR/>in Christ,<BR/>MaximusDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-25652514492891094222008-01-26T23:08:00.000+01:002008-01-26T23:08:00.000+01:00I had always thought of Berry as an essayist in th...I had always thought of Berry as an essayist in the Agrarian model and, to a lesser extent, as a short story writer. That is, I always thought of him more of a man of ideas than as an author. (I know that distinction doesn't speak well for writers of fiction!) He was someone in whom I always had a distant and abstract interest, but it wasn't until my friend recommended 'Jayber Crow' that I gained the initiative to start. I'll read it as soon as it shows up in my mailbox, and then I'll post about it.<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry that you couldn't find 'Gilead,' but, for all the critical praise it received, I can't imagine it being a big seller. I really can't think of all that many people who would appreciate it: it might be taken as too slow by some readers, and too "American" for some Orthodox. It really is a gem, though.<BR/><BR/>At some point I hope to post on the difficulties of depicting goodness, let alone holiness, in literature. Not many people can do it; so far I can count only Robinson and Solzhenytsin, and arguably Pushkin. (Depicting evil, of course, is much easier, and therefore much more boring.) I suppose one could include more authors if one could include children's books: no book inspires more warmth in me than 'The Wind in the Willows,' which also has a very good depiction of spiritual epiphany.<BR/><BR/>(Incidentally, is it just me, or does Neko Case think that John the Baptist and John the Divine are one and the same person?)Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-53052003933570209262008-01-26T22:55:00.000+01:002008-01-26T22:55:00.000+01:00I haven't read either of Robinson's fiction, just ...I haven't read either of Robinson's fiction, just her essays. I spent the day looking for Gilead and some poetry by R.S. Thomas today at the local bookstores here in Bloomington. Unfortunately I came up empty handed.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-62260679094763064932008-01-26T22:54:00.000+01:002008-01-26T22:54:00.000+01:00Wendell Berry is breath taking also. I had the hon...Wendell Berry is breath taking also. I had the honor of hearing him read one of his short stories @ the University I just graduated from (western kentucky university). I have yet to read very deeply in his fiction or poetry, but have had the distinct pleasure of reading many of his essays. They are wonderful! He is a heir of the Agrarians or the Fugitives of Vanderbilt University. He is a stalwart advocate of being rooted to a place and the agricultural life.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-146545514043007552008-01-26T16:23:00.000+01:002008-01-26T16:23:00.000+01:00Thanks for your recommendation. I'm aware that it ...Thanks for your recommendation. I'm aware that it exists, but I haven't yet gotten around to acquiring it. I see that she also has a previous novel, Housekeeping, and a book on environmental pollution, Mother Country. Have you read either of those?<BR/><BR/>I came across Gilead quite by accident very recently, which may explain at least a small part of my enthusiasm. A correspondent suggested that a good place to go after Gilead is Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry, which I should be getting in the mail any day now.Felix Culpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18062279686869827534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5134782302655515338.post-58232752807142523452008-01-26T15:41:00.000+01:002008-01-26T15:41:00.000+01:00My friend have you read Robinson's book of essays ...My friend have you read Robinson's book of essays "The Death of Adam"? They are superb. She is a wonderful writer.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12462791786546752315noreply@blogger.com