Saturday Good Reads

One rainy day last October in London, I made my way from the Temple tube station to the Samuel Johnson House, walking through windy alley ways and streets of the area known as Temple. I peeked into courtyards and caught a glimpse of the Temple church. It’s an area known for solicitors and law firms (like Rumpole’s – I passed several pubs which could easily pass for Pomeroy’s Wine Bar). BBC has a story about the area.

Last Sunday was the 70^th anniversary of the death of writer and novelist Charles Williams. The Englewood Review of Books posted video commentaries on Williams – one by C.S. Lewis and one by Malcolm Guite. Williams, the author of several rather strange novels (think “magic surrealism”), was one of the Inklings with Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Pew Research Center did a study, and found that, yes, indeed, the American middle class is shrinking (the fuel of the presidential candidacies of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump).

And good poetry, good advice on writing (like when to ignore advice), a conversation with poet Dana Gioia, a beautiful photograph of the city of York, and a video about how far back in time could you go and still understand English?

British Stuff

London Stone in seven strange myths – Museum of London.

The hidden world of the Knights Templar – BBC.

Writing

When to Ignore Writing Advice – Mike Duran at deConpose.

The Second Golden Rule of Writing – Mick Silva.

Faith

The Greatest Miracle in History – Richard Scott at  Plough Magazine.

C.S. Lewis and Malcolm Guite on Charles Williams (videos) – Englewood Review of Books.

Letter to the Church at Market Street – Jay Cookingham at Soulfari.

Arriving Where We Started – Leilani Mueller at Curator Magazine.

Poetry

Yesterday’s News – Darlene at Simply Darlene.

Why Poetry Matters: Dana Gioia at Trinity Forum – via C-Span.

Cold Can Be Beautiful – Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper.

End of School Year – Chris Yokel.

The all-new buick enclave -- Aaron Belz.

Life and Culture

The Myth of Progress – Victor Davis Hanson at the Hoover Institution.

America’s Shrinking Middle Class – Pew Research Center.

Art and Photography

Autumn’s Stripes – Tim Good at Pixels.

All Saints Across the River Ouse – Stephen Candler.

Pompeian Quality – M. Laine Wyatt at Oxford American.

How far back in time could you go and still understand English?

Painting: Girl in Grey, oil on canvas by Louis le Brocquy (1939).