Paul Kingsnorth is a British novelist and writer living in Ireland. I’ve reviewed his novel Beast and two of his poetry collections. I have, but have yet to tackle, his novel The Wave, which is written in neo-Anglo-Saxon (really). Known for his green environmentalism, Kingsnorth became a Christian, and has written about faith and belief. He has a site on Substack called The Abbey of Misrule, some of which is available for free and some by subscription. He’s been writing about what he calls “The Machine,” what he sees as the confluence of culture, technology, government, and consumer society. I’m a subscriber, and I look forward to each article he writes. His most recent subscriber-only article is “The Migration of the Holy,” and it is marvelous.
My love for T.S. Eliot’s poetry goes back to high school, when I first read The Love Song of J, Alfred Prufrock and especially Four Quartets. Speechwriting as a career brought me to Dylan Thomas, Wallace Stevens, William Carlos Williams (not the emphasis on the so-called “modern” poets). I still read a lot of poetry, and Leland Ryken at Desiring God may have explained why: poetry can awaken wonder.
These days, poetry can also awaken culture war controversy, as British teacher Kate Clanchy discovered when she was edited a new edition of the poems from her students she’d collected over the years. She explains what happened.
More Good Reads
Writing and Literature
The Tranquility and Wisdom of Old Books – Alan Jacobs and Joy Clarkson at Plough.
Why You Need to Read Fiction to Write Fiction – Lincoln Michel at Counter Craft.
Life and Culture
I’m a Public-School Teacher. The Kids Aren’t Alright – Stacey Lance via Bari Weiss at Common Sense.
On trial for a Bible tweet: Finnish MP’s case could set a precedent for “unacceptable” beliefs across Europe – Kittie Helmick and Sofia Hörder at The Critic Magazine.
Firing the Canon: On the persistence of bad ideas – New Criterion.
Poetry
Bach in Heidelberg – Lionel Willis at Society of Classical Poets.
In Paris and Beyond – Merrill D. Smith at Yesterday and today (H/T: Paul Brookes).
Don’t Fight the Shadows – Seth Lewis.
The Demons of the Night – Peter Hartley at Society of Classical Poets.
Faith
An Antidote to Anxiety – Clint Archer at The Cripplegate.
The Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2022 – Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition.
The God of Mercy in a Time of Plague – Cyril O’Regan at Church Life Journal.
What to Do with News: Learning Wisdom at Walden Pond – Jeffrey Bilbro at Desiring God.
A Message for Young Men – Tim Challies.
Music
Unfinished? Don’t Start! A new project to restore Beethoven’s incomplete symphony borders on pathological necromancy – Norman Lebrecht at The Critic Magazine.
Agnus Dei – Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith
Painting: Vittorino da Feltre (1470s) by Justus van Gent (1410-1480).
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