This Week's Miscellany (01/21/24)
Feminism and anti-feminism, literary vocation, Tolkien vs. Peter Jackson, skinny jeans, and children's books
Hi, I’m Haley! Book midwife (editor) and author. Hello to new subscribers and welcome all to another edition of This Week’s Miscellany. TWM is full of my favorite things from around the web, typically trending literary.
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If you read one thing this week read Rachel Lu’s excellent piece touching on the fallacies purported by the the anti-feminism movement and a better way forward.
The End of Feminism by Rachel Lu for Public Discourse
In reality, the initial question of “Should we reject feminism?” is reductive to the point of making little sense. It invites no clear “yes” or “no” answer because the term “feminism” has no clear and consistent definition, and “feminism’s” effects have been both good and bad in ways that are now deeply intertwined.
And so much food for thought in this excellent piece for Dappled Things!
Self-Gift and the Literary Vocation by
Among all the dangers the American literary artist faces as a result of his chosen career, the most dehumanizing is that of being ignored.
Why, then, doesn’t the literary artist just quit?
The answer, I think, lies in what the act of authentic writing means personally to the literary artist. At the deepest level, it is an act of love: love of God’s creation, love of goodness and beauty and truth, love of the well-created work, love of the reader.
Middle-Earth Heroes by Thomas Ward for Plough
So, too, for all their evergreen perfection, there is something corrosive deep in the core of the Jackson trilogy. Perhaps the films’ apparent agelessness is due not just to their cinematic brilliance but also to their subtle capitulation to the moral cynicism of our century. Twenty years give us the distance we need to appreciate what we’ve always loved about the films while acknowledging the ways in which, had they hewed more closely to Tolkien’s philosophical vision, they could have been so much better.
Theory of Style: On Predictions by Joanna Walsh
Jean shapes in particular change so frequently that, more than being a sign that the wearer is in fashion, they’re a sign of fashion itself, not only a barometer of how fashions change but revealing the structure of fashion as change. And also that it’s impossible to have the right jeans. Fashion dictates that by the time you are wearing them, they are exactly the opposite of the jeans that are in fashion, which exist only as prediction.
Shouldn’t Children’s Books Still Be Beautiful? by
It may sound dramatic and, indeed, somewhat stress-inducing, but our children are only little for a brief window, a mere blink of an eye, we say in wonder as we reflect on the years that fly by. Should we not form them, therefore, from the very beginning to love beauty, wonder, and the transcendent? What if we placed this as a goal for educating them, especially in the early years?
Such a goal does require conscious thought about selecting books, and not for the reasons that those waging the anti-woke library wars propose. Rather, perhaps we should worry more about the dumbing down of language and content in too many books these days.
Thankfully, I think there are actually many beautiful children’s books still being published. And one of the books I edited is now back in stock after selling out almost immediately after publication. There is certainly a market for books that respect the child reader.
And finally, last week I compiled my best parenting advice for paid subscribers.
Come to Belgium and Germany!
My husband and I are leading our second pilgrimage with Fr. Harrison Ayre, a trip that he’s been dreaming up for several years. Beautiful abbeys, amazing breweries, daily Mass and a small group of pilgrims.—we’ll close the trip at 30 pilgrims and we’re more than 2/3 full. Last year’s pilgrimage to Scotland with Fr. Harrison was an experience I’ll treasure forever (and half of our pilgrims from that trip are already signed up for Belgium, so I’m not the only one who found it life-changing!)
You can check out the registration page: Heavenly Hops Pilgrimage with Fr. Harrison Ayre to Belgium and Germany.
Or listen to us share all about the details with Fr. Harrison on his podcast.
Upcoming Events
Wishing you all a wonderful week! And a huge thank you to Elizabeth, Clare, Bailey, Glass, Omni, Michelle, Ann, Carole, Alice, Jessica, Anna, Sophia, Ana, Caitlyn, Denise, April, Cara, CB, Irena, Leslie, Katie, Jennifer, and Joan for upgrading to a paid subscription. This is a reader-supported newsletter so if you enjoy getting these emails, please consider supporting this Substack by upgrading to a paid subscription with the button below.
Thanks for reading!
Haley
(Editor of Word on Fire Spark, Author, Former Podcaster)
Haley’s books
Haley’s Children’s Mystery Series about Mouse Nuns
Oh! The Plough article on Tolkien was so good! Thank you for sharing. Film Faramir and film Treebeard have always been gripes for me. It was lovely to see it explained so excellently.
Also, 100% agree about children’s books being beautiful! “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is currently my 4 and 3 year olds’ favorite book. We read it every day, usually multiple times day.
I helped contribute to the selling out of Bless the Lord! I adore that book. So beautiful. I have been reading it often to my 4 month old son, and I immediately bought a second copy for my goddaughters and nieces.