Friday Links, July 2, 2021
+ Lost in Thought: the Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life, interview with author, Zena Hitz.
+ Catholic Artists Directory: where sacred artists can be listed, to help patrons find you.
+ Another review, at least the start of one, about Kristin Valdez Quade’s The Five Wounds.
Can faith help us live an 'intellectual life'? An interview with Zena Hitz
Katy Carl, Dappled Things Editor in Chief: “So glad to see this interview! I love, love, love Hitz's book.”
Mike Aquilina at Angelus interviews Zena Hitz’s about the book, which is titled, Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life (Princeton University Press, $16.95).
“Lost in Thought” is part-memoir and part self-help book. Hitz tells the story of how she achieved early success in academia, only to find the joy drained from her work. She had entered the field of classics because she loved literature, but then learned that literature was often less important to academic life than cliques, competition, and gossip.
“So she dropped out. She left a high-prestige position and spent several years revaluing the elements of her life: work, friendships, reading, and thinking. She also converted to Catholicism.
“She spoke with Angelus about her discoveries, and why the life of the mind is for everyone, not just the elites.”
Resource: The Catholic Artists Directory
John Paul Sonnen writes at Liturgical Arts Journal about the Catholic Sacred Artists Directory, a resource created to help Catholic sacred artists get their work before possible patrons.
“Christian culture has existed in Europe for over 1,000 years, producing the greatest number of artists and art imaginable. Meanwhile, Catholic artists stand tall on this foundation, a patrimony of the ages. We find ourselves living in an age of recovery, a new Renaissance where many arts are being restored and revived, flourishing under the patronage and munificence of the Church.
“In many ways history is essentially a creative process where progress in sacred art is only possible when there is a capacity to incorporate the past into the present. This allows for proper growth. Catholic artists showcased in the Directory aim to create in the present from the best of the past for the glory and honor of God while committing themselves to a noble vocation where they can provide for their families as gainfully employed professionals ("for the laborer is worthy of his hire"; cf. Luke 10:7).”
The categories include:
Architect, Bookbinder, Calligrapher, Choir, Composer, Designer, Illuminator, Illustrator, Painter, Sculptor, Traditional Craftsman, Vestment Maker.
“If you are a professional Catholic artist and would like to be considered for the 2022 Directory of Sacred Artists, please email Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs gwyneth@gwyneththompsonbriggs.com or use the contact form at the website.
Snapshot of the Illustrators in the Catholic Artists Directory.
The Idea of the Catholic Novel (Part II)
In “Friday Links for June 18, 2021,” Katy Carl recommended a review by Jessica Hooten Wilson of The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade. This is another Carl recommendation, a link to a review of the same book; this review is by Jonathan Geltner, published in “Close Reading” at Slant Books. The review is the start of a longer analysis of the book to be continued. Two questions he poses are, is this book Catholic, and is it a novel? This essay is less of a review, and more like an undigested rumination— about a book he hasn’t finished reading yet.
“The topic what follows are a few preliminary thoughts. And actually I’m looking forward to sitting with these thoughts for a little while as I finish the book, amplifying and modifying them in the next post.”—Jonathan Geltner
