Amanda Shaw

Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Life by Paul Mariani Viking, 496 pages, $34.95 Too often, Gerard Manley Hopkins is lost in the halo-glow of hagiography” Glory be to God for dappled things! ”or the searchlight of psychoanalysis” To seem a stranger lies my lot, my life . That, or the man . . . . Continue Reading »

First it was Mary, next Liz, and Rachel followed soon after. Three close college friends, who left the the world of careers and connections to devote their lives to Christ and his Church. That sacrifice is beautiful but also poignant to their friends left behind, to whom understanding often comes . . . . Continue Reading »

Irena’s Vow is a striking contrast to the gilded nihilism and glitzy escapism that marks much of Broadway. “I hung a sign on my heart and nerves,” says Irena ( Tovah Feldshuh ), looking back over her young adulthood. “Do not disturb.” It is easy to see why. For the memories . . . . Continue Reading »

From our friends at Grassroots Films comes some good news. First, their full-length documentary, The Human Experience , currently in pre-screenings, has continued to garner international accolades and compelling testimonies. Among the recent honors are the Award of Excellence from the Indie Film . . . . Continue Reading »

“Digital literacy, that darling of techno-utopians, competes now with physical books and the solitary, contemplative print culture nourished by them,” writes artist and cultural critic Maureen Mullarkey , introducing her new exhibition at New York’s Kuoros Gallery. . . . . Continue Reading »

The “s” is important. Do keep reading , writes Mark Edmundson in The Chronicle Review . It’s readings that are the problem, readings that hinder reading. Often masked under the title “theory,” readings don’t just provide sophisticated language for voicing . . . . Continue Reading »

Earlier this week, the Connecticut Senate approved religious-exemption clauses for their recent gay-marriage bill, following the model set by Vermont. The Hartford Courant reports : Opponents of gay marriage, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Family Institute of Connecticut, had sought . . . . Continue Reading »

Chesa Boudin, “radical royalty,” was raised by Bill Ayers after his own parents had been incarcerated for violent activities with the Weather Underground. He has gone on to attend Yale, to win a Rhodes scholarship, and to travel throughout South America on a journey of self-styled, . . . . Continue Reading »

Perhaps I go too far in thinking, or hoping, that art leads to God. It is ultimately about seeing and showing the good, the true, and the beautiful, whether clearly or through inversion (our delight at Miranda’s “brave new world,” or our shudder at Kurtz’s “the horror, the . . . . Continue Reading »

Here’s one good sign (or at least one it-might-have-been-worse sign), in the midst of the recent same-sex marriage bills, noted by the New York Daily News : Echoing the names of gay marriage bills in other states, the Vermont law is entitled “An Act to Protect Religious Freedom and . . . . Continue Reading »