Saturday Good Reads

At one time, executions of convicted criminals were considered good “object lessons” for the public, and so they were held (or staged) for the public to see. Spitalfields Life has an example of what that was like, in “The Executions of Old London.”

A good week for poetry: Oxford University has a digital archive of the poetry of World War I, while Giles Fraser at The Guardian has a column about the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, who died in world War I. Marilyn Nelson at Image Journal has a poem about camp meetings.

Tim Challies reminds us that, despite the current fad (especially among Christians) of knocking everything about evangelicals, they are actually doing some good and fine work. Thomas Kidd has a warning about opinion polls, and how unreliable they are when it comes to the term “evangelical.” Michael Kelley at Forward Progress has another kind of reminder – the gospel does indeed elevate our souls, but it first brings us to our knees. And Jeanne Damoff has some pictures of grace and faith from an art and talent show.

And a lot more.

Poetry

Camp Meeting – Marilyn Nelson at Image Journal.

Hedd Wyn: the shepherd poet whose story shows the stupidity of war – Giles Fraser at The Guardian (Hat Tip: J of India).

First World War Poetry Digital Archive – Oxford University.

Thomas Merton – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

British Stuff

The Executions of Old London – Spitalfields Life.

Faith

The Gift of Grace: The Young Life Capernaum Art and Talent Show – Jeanne Damoff at The View from Here.

The Gospel Cuts the Knees Before It Lifts the Soul – Michael Kelley at Forward Progress.

Remembering Father George – Caroline Langston at Image Journal.

The Level Playing Field – Martha Orlando at Meditations of My Heart.

The State of Evangelicalism in America and all that Blah Blah Blah – Tim Challies.

Opinion Polls and the ‘Evangelical’ Illusion – Thomas Kidd at The Gospel Coalition.

Wretchedly Familiar: When Life Seems Unfair - Diana Trautwein at She Loves Magazine.

Life and Culture

Where Are You From? – Jeff Rakestraw at Random Thoughts.

The Importance of Forgiveness in the Professional World – Maya James at Thin Difference.

Art and Photography

Churches of East St. Louis, Part 8 – Chris Naffziger at St. Louis Patina.

Layers of the Night – James BO Insogna at Striking Fine Art iGallery.

Rudbeckia triloba – Tim Good at National Geographic / Your Shot.

Writing and Literature

How a Writer Gets Free of the Struggle – Mick Silva.

The Paralysis of Perfectionism – Ann Kroeker.

New Book: Love Letters to Writers by Andi Cumbo-Floyd – Lisa Deam at The Contemplative Writer.

“Crime and Punishment:” A Timeless Psychological Masterpeice – Daniel Ross Goodman at The Imaginative Conservative.

The Paris Review Podcast.

Writing Rules, Critique Groups, and Literary Inbreeding – Mike Duran at deCompose.

Edinburgh 1544 Townscape – Smart History

Painting: Girl Reading in a Sunlit Room, oil on canvas by Carl Vilhelm Holsoe (1863-1935).