Links about W. H. Auden’s Christian beliefs, In Utero Book Reviews, Leah Libresco Sargeant’s new Tiny Book Club, Rubens’ paintings about the triumph of the Eucharist at The Ringling Museum in Saratoga, Florida, and advice about how to pitch a non-fiction book in one very good email.
What Auden believed
At “The New Criterion” David Yezzi writes, “On Auden’s religious beliefs, and Arthur Kirsch’s ‘Auden & Christianity.’”
The difficulty of where to draw the line—does his seriousness begin here, or here?—becomes particularly acute when considering Auden’s lifelong and wildly varied relationship with his Anglo-Catholic faith. This relationship is now the subject of a quite serious and respectful book by Arthur Kirsch. “
My Unborn Baby Has Strong Opinions About Classic Literature
A Comic by Kate Gavino featuring In Utero Reviews
Introducing my Tiny Book Club
From Leah Libresco Sargeant, former atheist blogger, Catholic convert, and recent author of Arriving at Amen: Seven Catholic Prayers that Even I Can Offer and Building the Benedict Option (compiled from several tweets):
My newsletter, Tiny Book Club, kicks off tomorrow!
It’s a book club for essays and articles. Every month, I pick one piece for sustained discussion (it doesn’t have to be recent) and invite a guest to join me for a conversation. … I’m aiming at something I miss about blogs—the way a meaty article led to sustained discussion. That “scribbled arguments in the margins of a library book” feeling. . . . Our first reading is John Ahern’s essay “Contrapuntal Order” from @firstthingsmag. A good starting point for a project of many voices. . . . Subscribe here.
Triumph of the Eucharist by Rubens—at the Ringling Museum
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling, was an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. In 1925, John, the most well known of the seven Ringling brothers, became for a time one of the richest men in the world, and he began to build an art museum on his Sarasota, Florida estate. In building his collection, John Ringling purchased a series of paintings on the Triumph of the Eucharist from the estate of the Duke of Westminster in 1926 and designed a gallery to display the paintings in the museum.
“Defenders of the Eucharist” c. 1625, by Peter Paul Rubens at The Ringling Museum of Art. Oil on canvas, 14.25 ft. x 14.6 ft. Leading the procession are Sts. Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great, wearing gold copes. Ambrose and Augustine are crowned with bishop’s mitres, while Pope Gregory wears the papal tiara. In the center, St. Clare carries a monstrance showing the Blessed Sacrament. Rubens has portrayed his patroness, the Archduchess Isabella as St. Clare. St. Thomas Aquinas follows with a large book under his arm wearing a gold chain from which is hung a blazing sun. Behind Aquinas is a monk in a white habit who is probably St. Norbert. Last in line is St. Jerome dressed in red as a cardinal, intently reading from a large book.
A New Album Re-Creates The Work Of The 1st Known Female Composers In America
Avery Keatley at NPR.org writes about the discovery of music attributed to women in an eighteenth century religious commune. The find is considered important because “it was a “complete anomaly” for women in the Colonies to be credited for any kind of creative work.” . . . “With the recording of these early compositions on Voices in the Wilderness, Chris Herbert brings us a step closer toward recognizing the contributions of women in the history of American music.”
Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster, PA, where a religious commune was founded in the mid-1700s by a “radical, religious, pietist” named Conrad Beissel
How to Write an Email Well Enough to Land a Book Deal
Anne Trubek, founder and publisher of Belt Publishing, writes about how to secure an agent and a traditional publisher for your nonfiction book idea. After you determine there is a demand for such a title, your next step is to write a really good email. “Remember: IT IS NOT THAT HARD TO STAND OUT IN THE INBOX OF AN EDITOR OR AGENT. YOU. JUST. NEED. TO. WRITE. ONE. REALLY. GOOD. EMAIL.” See the link for her advice.
