Synopses & Reviews
Literary culture has long been antagonistic to faith. For writers who have faith commitments of one degree or another, they often wonder how to reconcile the two worlds to which they are committed. In this engaging volume, twenty-one writers examine the often perilous intersections of literature and belief. They use approaches that are as diverse as their biographies, from Barbara Brown Taylor's calling to behold, to David James Duncan's exploration of the wreckage in the grass around this particular intersection. The volume also contributions from Doris Betts, Frederick Buechner, Will Campbell, Betty Smartt Carter, Elizabeth Dewberry, David James Duncan, Ron Hansen, Silas House, Jan Karon, Joy Kogawa, Anne Lamott, Madeline L'Engle, Brett Lott, Thomas Lynch, Kathleen Norris Katherine Paterson, James Schaap, Paul Schrader, Luci Shaw, Barbara Brown Taylor, Walter Wangerin Jr.Taken together, this wonderful collection will encourage and inspire anyone seeking to work out the connection between faith-full writing and writing faithfully.
Synopsis
Flannery O'Connor once wrote that "to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost-blind you draw large and startling figures." Some of the twenty-one well-known writers included in this book prefer to "shout," as O'Connor did, while others offer what Doris Betts calls "whispering hope."
Shouts and Whispers contains a fascinating array of reflections on topics surrounding the often-perilous intersection of writing and faith. The authors all agree that literature can help us to be more faithful, yet they approach the subject in ways as diverse as their biographies. Some, like Katherine Paterson and Frederick Buechner, propose models of how literature and belief can fruitfully intersect. Several authors offer insightful metaphors for the experience of doing faith-filled writing, while others speak of writing as finding hope in the midst of brokenness. Finally, in essays by Madeleine L'Engle, Thomas Lynch, and others, readers are encouraged to make the connection between writing and embodiment, translating words into actions.
While the essays, addresses, and interviews in Shouts and Whispers are by no means the final word, they will provoke rich and nuanced reflection on the dynamic relationship between faith and writing.
Interviews with:
Joy Kogawa
Anne Lamott
Kathleen Norris
Paul Schrader
Essays by
Doris Betts
Frederick Buechner
Will Campbell
Betty Smartt Carter
Elizabeth Dewberry
David James Duncan
Ron Hansen
Silas House
Jan Karon
Madeleine L'Engle
Bret Lott
Thomas Lynch
Katherine Paterson
James Calvin Schaap
Luci Shaw
Barbara Brown Taylor
Walter Wangerin Jr.
Table of Contents
Introduction / Jennifer L. Holberg -- Way beyond belief : the call to behold / Barbara Brown Taylor -- Image and imagination / Katherine Paterson -- The eyes of the heart / Frederick Buechner -- Whispering hope / Doris Betts -- Why have we given up the ghost? : notes on reclaiming literary fiction / Bret Lott -- Kathleen Norris : an interview / by Linda Buturian -- Glory into glory / Walter Wangerin Jr. -- Writing as subversion / Will Campbell -- Writing as an act of worship / Elizabeth Dewberry -- Faith and fiction / Ron Hansen -- Paul Schrader : an interview / by Garry Wills -- The miracle and the myth / Jan Karon -- Writing and knowing / James Calvin Schaap -- No Bible-beating allowed / Silas House -- Joy Kogawa : an interview / by Henry Baron -- Tired of victory, bored by defeat : restoring proper sadness to Christian art / Betty Smartt Carter -- The collision of faith and fiction : cleaning up the wreckage / David James Duncan -- Anne Lamott : an interview / by Linda Buturian -- Reversing entropy / Luci Shaw -- The cosmic questions / Madeleine L'Engle -- Faith and fashion blunders : shifting metaphors of mortality / Thomas Lynch -- Making meaning / Katherine Paterson.