...is now online, wherein you can read a fine essay by Lydia's 'dearest husband' (don't worry, she's got only one), Tim McGrew, who describes the spiritual evolution of perhaps the most prominent evolutionist of his time, George John Romanes. Another beautiful reflection comes from sometime W4 commenter Beth Impson, who looks back at a not-quite-forgotten little classic by John Gardner, and in the process reminds us of the first impulse and final purpose that gives (or ought to give) birth to art that is true and lasting. Painter, novelist, poet and screenwriter William Mickelberry takes apart Peter Taylor's "Venus, Folly, Cupid, and Time," and one of Beth's former students, Millie Jones, shows great promise as a poet, proving that very good things can come out of a Christian college.
And then there are the magnificent paintings of Chicago resident Nanci Mertz-King. We offer a pretty fair selection, and one was especially included for the pleasure of Michael Bauman. He'll know it when he sees it.
There's some other good stuff, too. An essay by Andy Nowicki attempts to reconcile a scriptural difficulty with Christian morality, and riveting fiction from Rick Barnett, an excerpt from a forthcoming novel, describes a world in which the government has "gone Darwin".
Enjoy.
[Update]: It's appalling, I know, but I forgot to mention the collective thanks we owe to Todd McKimmey's web genius, without which this fairly worthwhile thing could not get done.
Comments (6)
Whoo-hoo! Millie just got engaged last week, so this quite a memorable month for her, with her first publication as well!
Posted by Beth Impson | November 13, 2010 4:40 PM
I hope she doesn't let love interfere with her calling.
Posted by William Luse | November 13, 2010 4:57 PM
She couldn't be called to both? :-)
This is a really good issue so far; I've browsed quite a bit of it. Your poem is lovely, Bill.
Posted by Beth Impson | November 13, 2010 6:01 PM
Beth -- great piece on Gardner. As far as other contemporary fiction writers go who have a strong moral center, I'd highly recommend Mark Helprin. And for critics, you can't go wrong with Marion Montgomery, even though he's not the easiest read on the planet.
Posted by Rob G | November 15, 2010 10:20 AM
Thanks, Rob. I'll put those names on my list to find!
Posted by Beth Impson | November 15, 2010 11:23 AM
I'd recommend starting with Helprin the same way that the friend who introduced him to me recommended I start: get his book of short stories The Pacific and read stories 1 and 3. If they don't hook you you're probably unhookable as far as Helprin goes. Another good place to begin is his novella The Dove of the East.
His A Soldier of the Great War is my favorite late 20th century novel, and one of my favorite novels of all time. It's the only novel I ever read where, upon finishing it, I immediately wanted to read it again. In fact, I went back to the beginning and reread the first 70 pages.
Posted by Rob G | November 15, 2010 12:20 PM