Saturday Good Reads

With an announcement by Abingdon Press that it would no longer publish Christian fiction (the second time the publisher has made this announcement), a debate erupted over whether the genre is dead or alive. Across the pond, old notebooks belonging to Charles Dickens and recently discovered may well rewrite what we know about Victorian literature in England (my wife found this story). Rod Dreher discovered a premonition of his “Benedict Option” in a book published in 1978 by Barbara Tuchman, A Distant Mirror – the first book I read after arriving in St. Louis.

And some good poetry, and more good stuff.

Poetry

Stasis – Jerry Barnett at Gerald the Writer.

Jane Kenyon – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

First Light – Brendan MacOdrum at Oran’s Well.

This is not (good / bad) news – Lise at All the Words.

I Don’t Fear Death – Sandra Beasley videopoem via Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

Reliving – Into the Wild – Nithin RS at My words.

Art and Photography

Twisting and In the Shade – Tim Good at Photography by Tiwago.

Max Beckmann at the St. Louis Art Museum – Episode 192 of the Modern Art Notes Podcast.

Writing

Christian Fiction is Not Dead – Steve Laube.

Christian Fiction’s Old Guard vs. New Guard – Mike Duran at deCompose.

Healing in the Simplicity of Your Story – Mick Silva.

Charles Dickens’ notes solve the mystery of unidentified Victorian authors – The Independent (Hat Tip: Janet Young).

How to Find Your Muse – Tanya Marlow at Thorns and Gold.

The Slow Growth of Ideas, Part 2 – Chris Yokel at The Rabbit Room.

Faith

The One who was and is to come – Troy Cady at T(r)oy Marbles.

Integrity of Life – Damaris Zehner at Internet Monk.

The 14^th Century Dutch Benedict Option – Rod Dreher at American Conservative.

Something I Want for My Boys Even More than Their Happiness – Ron Edmondson.

Photograph: The first installment of A Tale of Two Cities in All the Year Round, 1859. The recent discovery of the notebooks Dickens kept for the journal identifies who the various “anonymous” authors of articles and poems were. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.