Friday Links
March 21, 2025
Catherine of Siena Invested with the Dominican Habit by Giovanni Di Paolo
Ekphrastic Sacred Poetry Contest from Catholic Literary Arts
Christopher Scalia: “Mending Wall” and the Defense of Tradition
To Save Our Cities, Let’s Go to the Movies by Jon Bishop
Matthew Milliner: Mary Underground
WSJ reviews some children’s books
Mark Bauerlein talks with Cheryl Hughes about Fulton Sheen: Master Evangelist
Cassandra Nelson talks to Andrew Klavan about her book, A Theology of Fiction
Ekphrastic Sacred Poetry Contest from Catholic Literary Arts
Catholic Literary Arts is now accepting entries for the 2025 Sacred Poetry Contest—an ekphrastic challenge inviting poets to craft a poem inspired by one of eight curated works of art. Poets may submit up to three entries (one per artwork), with final judging by the esteemed poet Sally Read. Although hosted by a faith-based organization, the contest welcomes poets of all backgrounds. The submission deadline is March 31.
Christopher Scalia: “Mending Wall” and the Defense of Tradition
Christopher Scalia offers his own take on Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall”:
I want to propose a reading of the poem that shows it to be a deceptively complex work offering important insights into the nature of argument and persuasion, especially about the challenges inherent in the defense of established traditions or institutions. More than a century after Frost wrote "Mending Wall," we can gain much from paying attention to its layered presentation of the conflict between tradition and reform.
To Save Our Cities, Let’s Go to the Movies by Jon Bishop
Jon writes on the dearth of movie theaters and how remedying this might just “save our cities:”
Along with the decline of the form itself, the collapse of moviegoing portends the continued collapse of our common culture. Going to the movies with family and friends and then talking about what you saw, perhaps over a meal, after the film was something a lot of people once enjoyed doing. And it was an activity that was truly democratic, as it was something the rich and the poor could do equally. And popular films also led to water cooler conversations. It doesn’t help that popular films are pulled quickly by the studios and aren’t given a chance to breathe. I remember when My Big Fat Greek Wedding was in theaters in 2002. It was seemingly there for an entire year. And everyone was talking about it.
Matthew Milliner: Mary Underground
Matthew Milliner writes on how a “global network of subterranean Marian churches illustrates a quiet, secret, lasting form of faith.”
Mary’s tomb—empty owing to the tradition of her body’s assumption into heaven—is behind a cluster of tacky gilded paintings of the funeral itself, with a bad copy of Leonardo’s Last Supper thrown in to ward off the art snobs. In the iconography for this event, known in the East as the Dormition (falling asleep) of the Theotokos (Mother of God), Mary’s carrying of the infant Christ is reversed, as son carries mother instead. (I expect anyone who has had to care for aging parents, or who has witnessed them die, can especially relate.) If Mary’s soul is tiny in depictions of this occasion, the door to the tomb itself is deliberately tiny as well.
WSJ reviews some children’s books
Including AM Juster’s new book, Girlatee, which seven of my nieces and one of my nephews loved. And here’s another review of the book by Sofia M. Starnes.
Mark Bauerlein talks with Cheryl Hughes about Fulton Sheen: Master Evangelist
Cassandra Nelson talks to Andrew Klavan about her book, A Theology of Fiction
Nelson and Klavan “discuss the importance of pursuing Godly truths in a secular culture, as well as the need to provide wisdom through literature.” A Theology of Fiction is a wonderfully engaging tale and it’s available from Wiseblood Books HERE.
