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Non-Fiction Briefs |
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Albert Camus and the Minister by Howard Mumma. Paraclete Press, 2000. 215 pages. In the 1950s, Howard Mumma served as a guest preacher at the American Church in Paris. Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus attended services there in order to hear the playing of the organist Marcel Dupre, but was drawn as well to Mumma through the latter's preaching. A friendship ensued, one that lasted several years and was renewed each time Mumma visited Paris. Now in his nineties, Mumma tells the story of his conversations with Camus, the "wearied existentialist," who wished to explore Christianity. The passing of the decades and the existence of language barriers at the meetings of the two men make Mumma's narrative occasionally awkward, but it is a fascinating story nonetheless. It is an instructive privilege to witness one our great literary and philosophical figures engaged in an honest, even heartbreaking, search for truth beyond his own famously established moorings. One hopes that Mumma's recollection will become a chapter, and not just a footnote, in the story of philosophy in the twentieth century.
Do Not Go Gentle: My Search for Miracles in a Cynical Time by Ann Hood. Picador USA, 2000. 264 pages. Novelist Ann Hood, author of Ruby and Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine, has written a memoir of her search for a cure for her father's inoperable cancer. The cure would have to be a miracle, which leads Hood to visit a New Mexican shrine and, later, to revisit the sources and history of her family's Catholicism. Hood's novelistic talents enable her to draw the reader into her heartfelt and difficult search for meaning in the face of death.
A Place Like Any Other: Sabbath Blessings Doubleday Image, 2000. 232 pages. Canadian writer Molly Wolf posts weekly meditations to Internet mailing lists. For Wolf, as for most of us, "life's just a matter of putting one foot after another." But she finds that "God keeps intruding, almost always in very small matters," leading to a collection of meditations that are honest and accessible. Wolf is more likely to recognize God in the midst of Canada's two "mud seasons" than in the sentimentality of disembodied spirituality, and her insights hit home like a shovel cutting into a garden plot. A Place Like Any Other can be enjoyed in small helpings or as a meal in itself, each bite a reminder of God in the details.
The Raft Is Not the Shore: Conversations Toward a Buddhist-Christian Awareness by Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Berrigan. Orbis Books, 2001. 154 pages. More than twenty-five years ago a series of recordings were made of conversations between Daniel Berrigan, the American Jesuit priest, poet, and peacemaker, and Thich Nhat Hanh, the exiled Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and peacemaker. Originally published in 1975 and long out of print, these dialogues are now restored to print by Orbis Books. Although these conversations took place at a specific point in history, one marked by the just-ending Vietnam War and the social and political turmoil of the nineteen-sixties and early seventies, they transcend their time and remain instructive and inspiring for our time. The activism of people of faith is still needed in a world of dotcom economics, polarization between rich and poor, and scientific and technological developments that take us to the top of many slippery slopes. Through The Raft Is Not the Shore, Nhat Hanh and Berrigan, prophetic poets who break the bounds of their traditions, remain available to guide our discussions of death, exile, community, Jesus, and Buddha, to name just few of their topics. Their conversations are, to borrow words from Robert Ellsberg's introduction, "a source of both hope and challenge."
The Psalms: An Introduction by James L. Crenshaw. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001. 188 pages. The Psalms are perhaps the pinnacle of the literature of spirituality in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and James L. Crenshaw's new book will encourage the reader to understand them better as literature, prayer, and theology. Crenshaw, professor of Old Testament at Duke University Divinity School, examines the Psalms in both macro and micro fashions. He begins by looking at the collection in and of itself and in terms of its place within the biblical literature. He then looks at various ways of approaching the Psalms -- as prayer, history, theology -- and applies his expository skills on four specific Psalms. The result is a solid and challenging introduction that will draw the reader on to further engagement with the literature.
Thomas Merton: Essential Writings selected with an introduction by Christine M. Bochen. Orbis Books, 2000. 192 pages. Thich Nhat Hanh: Essential Writings edited by Robert Ellsberg, introduction by Sister Annabel Laity. Orbis Books, 2001. 164 pages. The impressive Modern Spiritual Masters Series from Orbis Books includes recent volumes focused on two men whose influence promises to resonate for generations to come. For many, Thomas Merton and Thich Nhat Hanh need no introduction, but these collections of their essential writings will make both men accessible to new readers while also finding a place in the libraries of those of us already in possession of dozens of books by both writers. The selections provide the reader with a broad range of each writer's work -- essays, letters, poems -- that demonstrate both the highly substantive nature of their work as well as the reasons behind their enduring popularity. Introductions by Merton scholar Christine M. Bochen and Buddhist abbess Sister Annabel Laity offer biographical and critical background. The books serve well as both introductory compendiums and summaries of Merton's and Nhat Hanh's life work. Whether you are a new or old hand at reading Merton and Nhat Hanh, you will find much to value in these books. |
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