Ruminate Magazine: Faith in Literature and Art

I have had the great privilege over the last few weeks of helping a company write a book . . .

Over the weekend, I moved into a new apartment, and once again realized that 60% of my possessions are books . . .

Whew. Teaching 30 or so kids about poetry--all under the age of 11--is much harder than I ever imagined. . . .  

In our world today, it does not seem that Christians are intensely and purposefully engaged in the arts.  Tim Keller, a pastor of a large church in Manhatten, has spent years creating an environment within his church that encourages creativity and pushes the members to become patrons of the arts.  Check out his article titled "Are You a Patron?" It is an incredible resource for those ready to question their involvement in literature, dance, music, theatre, and other forms of art.

I am getting really excited for Ad Lib's 2009 retreat at the Fransiscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs this September . . .

We all get stuck in ruts.  From our social activities to our jobs to our reading habits.  I recently felt such a rut coming on in the poetry bookclub that I lead.  Let me first say that I LOVE the bookclub.  It is so refreshing and enlightening to get together with a group of intelligent, insightful poetry readers and share our impressions, disagree completely, and always leave with a deeper appreciation for the book and/or poet.  That said, we know what we like.  We all tend toward fairly narrative, somewhat traditional, metaphor-driven, lyrical poetry.  I sensed the rut when recently discussing U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan's work, which was deemed "out there."  Anyone who achieves the position of Poet Laureate is guaranteed to have a pretty widely accessible style, so I thought a sense of perspective might be gained from breaking free from our usual lineup and trying a so-called "experimental" poet.