A good friend of mine is across the pond, as they say, studying abroad in London. As a theater major, she’s doing some exhaustive “homework” taking in a whole slew of London stage productions. Naked Harry Potter, for one (Daniel Radcliffe in Peter Shaffer’s Equus) to which Rachael reports that “he’s definitely growing up.”
A naked [...]

Tags: King Lear, McKellen, RSC, Shakespeare

I’ve spoken before on this blog of the pleasures to be had from audiobooks. Indeed, if it weren’t for the books I “read” while taking walks, I’m not sure (with my too sedentary occupation) I’d get any exercise at all.
Personally, I use a cheap MuVo, and subscribe to audible.com. But here’s perhaps a reason [...]

Tags: audiobooks, education, podcasting

Associated Press journalist Rachel Zoll has written a story on the sudden glut (and publishing success) of books by angry atheists, accusing religion of being the source and summit of human evil.
“Religion kills”, she quotes the ubiquitous Christopher Hitchens as saying. Gotta love that guy, who delights in taking controversial, allegedly unexpected and independent stances, [...]

Tags: anti-Catholicism, atheism, books, intolerance, Publishing

Christian sci-fi writer Simon Morden gave a talk at the 2005 Greenbelt Arts Festival entitled “Sex, Death and Christian Fiction” in which he (quite cogently, I believe) critiques “Christian fiction, its theology and its shortcomings” as it is presently being published, particularly by US publishers adhering to Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) guidelines.
Here’s a sample:
Discovering the [...]

Tags: Catholic fiction, theology of the body, Writing

This blog, as you know, largely focuses on Catholicism and the Arts, particularly literature. Indeed, I have an almost constitutional (if you’ll forgive the pun) aversion to contemporary politics—see my 2004 Godspy piece, “Holding My Nose in November”; but it looks as though there might just be one candidate out there with whom I might [...]

Tags: John Paul the Great, politics