Posts Tagged ‘society and culture’
Sunday Morning at Wegmans, Prince George’s County, Maryland
June 12, 2015
And on this festival day, I am feeling once again my status as the Chief of Sinners, slipping out of the house with unwashed hair in a faded, above-the-knee, sleeveless, beach sundress.
Read MoreThe Thing Itself: Art and Poverty, Part 2
June 9, 2015
Among those who work on behalf of them, it has become a truism that our first obligation toward our less fortunate brothers and sisters is to first recognize and celebrate their humanity. What is less often recognized is the vital role that art can play in such a process.
Read MoreScience and Faith: an Evolving Conversation
February 24, 2015
We are at a gathering of scientists, religious leaders, and people who write about science and religion. We are discussing how people in these often counterposed domains can collaborate for the betterment of mankind.
Read MoreLetting It All Hang Out
February 25, 2014
I was zoning out at a red light when a shiny object—or, shall I say, two shiny objects—caught my eye. Dangling from the back of a pickup truck a pair of large metal testicles sparkled in the subzero sun. I shot a picture before the light turned green and posted it to Facebook when I…
Read MoreOpting for Paradox: 25 Years of Image
November 22, 2013
The poet Ezra Pound made the phrase “Make It New” the rallying cry of artistic modernism. In one of life’s little ironies, he obtained the phrase from an ancient Chinese text. It seems that every time you get excited about making it new, you are forced to recollect the words of another ancient, the moralist…
Read MoreSpielberg’s Godly Sniper
June 7, 2010
This post is my first for Good Letters—hi, everyone!—and I’m going to start with something that is small but, I think, important. “Small but important” describes a lot of what I plan to do in this space—describe little moments of religious reflection and representation in film, TV, books, and music, and see if we can…
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