faith and writing
Literature in the wild
Nick Ripatrazone invites us into the wilderness with some of his favorite writers.
Writing about faith in the golden age of television
“If you want to make a room full of liberal, compassionate people turn on you, talk about God in an unironic way.”
On forming clay and chipping marble
There’s something amazing about holding your own book in your hands. Like magic, all of those stories and thoughts have moved from fleeting, drifting notions in your mind into the stark reality of paper and ink.
How do novelists write about faith in a culture that's moving past it?
Oddly, the less people know about something the harder it is to tell them about it.
Gratitude for the poppies
We cannot always create something out of nothing. Rather, we change what already exists, and these tiny alterations give us meaning and purpose in our lives.
Brian Doyle’s ferocious attention
Doyle’s exuberant writing praised particular things in rich detail. It cut to the pulsing heart of life.
Anne Lamott, Ernest Hemingway, and a Gospel writer commiserate about revelation and disclosure
Who I'd invite to my writers' dinner party
Dancing on the Head of a Pen, by Robert Benson
Robert Benson is a guide for people who don't know how to get from a blank page to a pile of pages called a book.
Wilderness venture: Toward a more honest sermon
Our hunger is for words that evoke our deepest emotions, that name the wilderness in which we live—but not alone.
Writing to Wake the Soul, by Karen Hering
Karen Hering believes that writing is a way to tune into your inner voice and discover the relationship you have with whom or what you believe in.
Book fare
I think and convey ideas more clearly at a desk with a pen in hand than I do on my feet in front of a group of listeners. That’s why books about writing and reading occupy much of my time.
Reasons for writing: An interview with P. D. James
I think that writing is therapeutic. I agree with the psychologist who said that creativity is the successful resolution of internal conflict. But when it comes to autobiography, I myself don’t want the beasts roaring around. It’s not that I’m suppressing them. I know who and what they are. But I think there’s something a bit self-indulgent in feeling that we can say absolutely everything. I think there are things that have happened in our lives that we have to accept and come to terms with, but I don’t think that we necessarily have to write about them.