Hillbilly Thomists

Fr. Thomas Joseph White and Fr. Austin Litke from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. graced a small audience at the World Youth Alliance last Wednesday with a little bluegrass concert. Enjoy a snippet here. (Note: This song represents only one of the three pillars of bluegrass music, namely God, unrequited love, and murder.)

The name, by the way, comes from Flannery O’Connor who used the term in a 1955 letter regarding an upcoming TV interview:

“Everybody who has read  Wise Blood  thinks I’m a hillbilly nihilist, whereas I would like to create the impression over the television that I’m a hillbilly Thomist, but I will probably not be able to think of anything to say to [the interviewer] but ‘Huh?’ and ‘Ah dunno.’ When I come back I’ll probably have to spend three months day and night in the chicken pen to counteract these evil influences.”