Posted by Kevin Belmonte in Literary History | 0 Comments
Tennyson and Moody: The Poet and the Preacher
When many hear the name Lord Tennyson, their thoughts turn at once to poems like “In Memoriam,” or the Arthurian “Idylls of the King.” Perhaps they recall that Tennyson’s name is synonymous with the Victorian Era, since he was Poet Laureate for much of Queen Victoria’s reign. All this one might learn in a survey of British literature, or a brief reading of Tennyson’s...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Culture, Literary Apologetics | 1 Comment
The Importance of Excellence in Christian Art and Literature (Part 2)
In the first post in this series, I suggested that we consider writing as a way to honor God as Creator. Now let’s consider the way in which we can use literature to present the Gospel. How can we use storytelling, poetry, drama to help people to know Christ? These two purposes intersect with each other. Let’s consider a passage from an essay by C.S. Lewis called “Sometimes...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in Culture, Literary Apologetics | 2 Comments
The Importance of Excellence in Christian Art and Literature (Part 1)
The very fact that I could title an essay in this way sums up the problem that I intend to address here. Who would argue with the importance of excellence in engineering, or medicine? We wouldn’t want bridges and skyscrapers built by people who believed that good intentions are sufficient. We wouldn’t want our doctors and nurses to skip their lengthy training on the theory that...
Read MorePosted by Ken Mann in Apologetics, Culture | 1 Comment
The Physics of Anger
There are not many “universal truths.” By that I mean an observation that is practically an axiom of reality, something that says, “This is how things work!” The most common example, used for both good and ill, is gravity. If you are holding an object in your hand and you release it, barring any other influences, it will fall to the ground. In the realm of apologetics,...
Read MorePosted by Mario Alejandre in Apologetics, Culture | 0 Comments
God in the Details: A Tale of Two Brothers (Apologetics and Spiritual Formation Part V)
Storytelling is powerful. It has a way of inviting us to consider things that we might otherwise ignore. A good story can often expose us to a reality that may have eluded us previously. Stories can give hope, inspire and engage our imagination. They can touch on our deepest longings or reinforce our most closely held fears. Storytelling can take us places we’d never been to...
Read MorePosted by Doni Wilson in Literary Apologetics, Poetry | 0 Comments
Emily Dickinson and the Art of Doubt
Sometimes designating herself the “Queen of Calvary,” nineteenth-century American poet Emily Dickinson is known as a poet of emotional extremes. In one moment she is “inebriate of air” and “debauchee of the dew,” the next, she is wallowing in deep despair, acknowledging that she “likes a look of Agony” because she knows “it’s true.” While tracing the sublime...
Read MorePosted by Holly Ordway in All Nine Muses, Poetry | 1 Comment
Looking at a Sonnet from the Inside
Constraint begets creativity, and the particular demands of the sonnet form are conducive to the kind of poetry that I am drawn to write, with a focus on vivid images or states of mind. A finished poem, if successful, feels complete; it’s hard to imagine it being other than it is – and so I’ve decided to write about the revision of a sonnet of my own, one that has its merits...
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