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Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

November 2019

November 18, 2019

God bless you, Bill Lyon: Remembering the great journalist who wrote of his fight with Alzheimer’s

"Al lies in ambush in my brain, and the only way I can put a...

September 2015

September 10, 2015

“Chesterton was married? I didn’t know that.”

Here’s an intriguing glimpse at a side of the celebrated writer’s life that many may...

September 10, 2015

“Chesterton was married? I didn’t know that.”

Here's an intriguing glimpse at a side of the celebrated writer's life that many may...

May 2015

May 13, 2015

Thank you, William Zinsser

When I was in college—wearing pretentious tweed caps and drinking gallons of bad coffee and...

May 13, 2015

Thank you, William Zinsser

When I was in college—wearing pretentious tweed caps and drinking gallons of bad coffee and...

April 2015

April 20, 2015

What a small town obituary writer learned about living

This is something to read and share—and, I suspect, there is abundant material here for...

April 20, 2015

What a small town obituary writer learned about living

This is something to read and share—and, I suspect, there is abundant material here for...

November 2014

November 10, 2014

Bringing it all back to Jesus

Writer (and former Paulist priest) James Carroll offers his thoughts on what's ailing the Catholic...

November 05, 2014

Flannery O’Connor added to American Poet’s Corner at Episcopal cathedral

Details: The writer Flannery O'Connor was inducted into The American Poet's Corner at the Cathedral of St....

July 2014

July 31, 2014

What we have come to: language blogger fired for writing about “homophones”

Really: Homophones, as any English grammarian can tell you, are words that sound the same...

June 2014

June 04, 2014

“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc”

Incredibly, this Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Which means this marks...

May 2013

May 17, 2013

All That Jazz: How F. Scott Fitzgerald Wound Up in a Catholic Cemetery

Some days back, I wrote about the Fitzgerald grave, which rests just outside the church...

March 2013

March 02, 2013

The peculiar Catholicism of Roger Ebert

The Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic takes note of recent papal news, waxes nostalgically about his...

February 2013

February 16, 2013

What about the pope’s last, unfinished encyclical?

His planned trilogy on the theological virtues will remain, it seems, incomplete. Catholic News Service...

January 2013

January 24, 2013

“We must aspire to the life of perfection”

"When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit...

December 2012

December 28, 2012

Victor Hugo: miserable Catholic?

As I mentioned, the movie of "Les Miserables" is teeming with Catholic references. It lead...

December 21, 2012

Has fiction lost its faith?

That's the provocative and sobering question that headlines this essay by Paul Elie in the...

December 20, 2012

How Charles Dickens saved Christmas

The story behind the most famous Christmas story since the Nativity, from the Capitol Hill...

November 2012

November 09, 2012

Obama, Palin, Jobs and the Beach Boys enter Bartlett’s—and there’s an app for that

Check it out: The 18th edition of the venerable reference work has just been released,...

September 2012

September 16, 2012

Jack Kerouac, Catholic

And the beat goes on. I confess that I haven't read a lot of Kerouac,...

September 09, 2012

Writing as sacrament: meet Deacon Ron Hansen

When my worlds collide: a former colleague of mine from CBS News, Bob Faw, profiles...

August 2012

August 30, 2012

Peggy Noonan jumps into the blogosphere

I noticed this the other day, and wondered when she had started blogging. I presume...

August 17, 2012

The write stuff: Bulwer-Lytton winners announced!

And here's a good one, winner in the category of Vile Puns: Though they were...

July 2012

July 24, 2012

How to turn your Mac into a noisy old typewriter

Read all about it. And check out the video below. I'm in love. Clackity clackity...

July 09, 2012

They remember Nora

The stars came out in the afternoon in New York City today -- all to...

February 2012

February 08, 2012

Nevermore: did you know you can actually see the raven that inspired Poe?

I sure didn't. Details: When it comes to literary greats, inspiration can come from anywhere....

July 2011

July 28, 2011

"The world is charged with the grandeur of God": Happy Birthday, Gerard Manley Hopkins

In tribute, a great poet reads a great poem by another great poet. Stanley Kunitz...

July 27, 2011

RIP John Chervokas, "squeezable" Catholic

The man who came up with the idea to tell the world "Please don't squeeze...

July 26, 2011

The color purple: prose (and cons) from the Bulwer-Lytton prize

Well, this one didn't nab the top prize, but it should have: "As his small...

July 26, 2011

Take heart: famous authors who didn't give up

Ready to throw in the towel? Consider a few well-known writers who didn't. For example:...