We all knew it would happen eventually—a “Friday mornings” post sent out after Friday morning had passed. But at least it’s still going out in the morning . . . For your weekend reading, seven quick items from my week.
I finished rereading one of my favorite books, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Circle of Quiet. It’s the first book in her four-part autobiography series called the Crosswicks Journals, and I think it’s the best of the four, although I’ll wait to decide until after I reread the others. I’ve enjoyed a lot of her children’s books, but her nonfiction is incredible, especially when she writes about the creative process and her life as a writer.
From L’Engle, on pushing through “the fear that accompanies all beginnings”:
There is a lovely Talmudic story that when the Children of Israel reached the Red Sea, and Moses struck his staff on the shore, the waters of the sea did not part to let them through. The Israelites stood there at the edge of the water and nothing happened until one of the men plunged in. Then the waters rolled back.
My EPPC colleague Nathanael Blake has a great article in The Federalist about how critiques of the Sexual Revolution should do more than critique; they also need to provide a positive moral vision based on a sound anthropology. I’ve explored similar themes in some of my past essays, including “Reactionary Feminism Isn’t Radical Enough,” a review of books by Christine Emba (whose work Nathanael discusses) and Louise Perry.
I read Christopher Lasch’s essay “The Sexual Division of Labor” in his book Women and the Common Life. Lasch offers fascinating insights about the effects of a consumer economy, the decline of volunteerism among women, and the move to the suburbs. One of his most interesting points: Betty Friedan and her fellow feminists launched a crusade to push women out of their homes and into the workforce in search of equality and fulfillment without seeming to notice that nearly all of the men working outside the home weren’t actually finding their careers especially fulfilling. I plan to write about some of the themes from the essay at greater length eventually.
The latest farmers market update: Fresh peas made their first appearance of the spring. They’re delicious with butter, but my favorite part about fresh peas is getting to shell them. There’s something nice about working with your hands more than usual in the kitchen.
I revisited the book Theology of Home for a project I’m working on and was struck again by how beautiful and rich it is. My EPPC colleagues Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering did an amazing job with it. I highly recommend checking out the whole series.
Stanley Tucci—who I’ve probably already written about in a previous edition of this newsletter, if I had to guess—has a new show, “Tucci in Italy.” It’s on Disney+, produced by National Geographic. In a way, it’s the third season of his show: He hosted two seasons of “Searching for Italy” with CNN before the network canceled it. Thankfully, his idea has found a new home. We’ve only seen the first episode, but so far it’s excellent. The two previous seasons are great, too.
As always, I’d be glad to hear from you. Leave a comment or send me a message, and please share this newsletter with friends who might enjoy it.
"... one of my favorite books, Madeleine L’Engle’s A Circle of Quiet... I’ve enjoyed a lot of her children’s books, but her nonfiction is incredible, especially when she writes about the creative process and her life as a writer."
Couldn't agree more! I've read all four of her Crosswicks Journals, and they ARE incredible. 👍