Friday Links, April 30, 2021

What is the State of Catholic Fiction Today?

In case you missed the event last night, you can now watch it on YouTube. 

The Church and the Fiction Writer: From March 30, 1957

After I nominated this 1957 essay by Flannery O'Connor—which was republished by America Magazine recently—for inclusion in Friday Links this week, the following dialogue ensued.

Rosemary Callenberg (Dappled Things Associate Editor): "This is also in Mystery and Manners. It's a wonderful essay."

Roseanne T. Sullivan: "I know. I think it's interesting to see it in its original publication too. Right?"

Rosemary: "Very cool."

Popular fiction and the Catholic Literary Renaissance

Karen Barbre Ullo, until recently Managing Editor of Dappled Things—and current Editor of nascent Chrism Press—recommends this essay by Rhonda Ortiz, who is co-founder with Ullo and fellow editor of Chrism Press.

"As praiseworthy as Catholic twentieth-century literature is, many people do not read it, for understandable reasons. Flannery O’Connor’s stories are strong sauce. So too the rest of the Catholic literary crew. A straight diet of twentieth-century anything is a heavy diet indeed, and not everyone has the calling, interest, aptitude, or stomach for it. . . ."Yet whatever the situation, everyone deserves good stories. Stories birthed in prayer, imbued with sacramental imagination, pressing upon perennial truths, solidly written, and accessible and attentive to the needs of a wide range of readers."—Ortiz

Catholic Art Takes on New Forms During the Pandemic

Katy Carl, DT Editor in Chief, recommended this video report from Current News in January.

Three artists from different disciples have managed to keep hope and their careers alive despite their industries taking major hits during the pandemic. Tony Lipari a musician, Mindy Steffen a cartoonist and Jake Hart a filmmaker, have honed in on their skills and refined their focus during the pandemic and are now pumping out new material, ready to show the world what they’ve got."

Mindy Seven, one of the artists interviewed, writes, "It was exciting & refreshing to go so public with my faith! I also realized that most people in the comic world don't even know I'm Catholic. I guess it hasn't come up in conversation much, but in the past few years I've been more open about it."

 

This Is Not a Defense of the Power of Art

Web Editor Fr. Michael Rennier shared the above link to an essay by Joel Cuthbertson at The Millions. Fr. Rennier writes, "We'll publish a piece by Joel soon. Not this one but I wish we could (the one we're publishing is wonderful, too)." Katy Carl liked the suggestion.

The Remarkable Heritage Of Patrick Healy, S.J., One Of Its Georgetown's Most Famous Presidents—Who Was Born A Slave

Patrick Francis Healy, S.J., the 29th president of the Georgetown and one of its most famous presidents, is especially remarkable because he was one of ten brothers and sisters who were all born slaves. It was not until the 1950s that Healy’s true racial identity became commonly known. After the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Fr. Patrick Healy was widely recognized as the first man of African ancestry to earn a Ph.D., first to become a Jesuit priest and first — and so far only — to serve as president of Georgetown University. . . .Oddly enough, stories about the Healys who became priests show that they were more often insulted for being Irish than being black. In those days as in ours, there were prejudices of all kinds floating around.