Literature as Work of Art

Yesterday I finished Larry Woiwode's first volume of memoirs, What I Think I Did: A Season of Survival in Two Acts. It's a work of art.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Woiwode (a piece that will appear in the August 4, 2006, Christian Renewal), and was struck by a lot of things he said.

I'm not going to quote him at length here and create a spoiler for the CR interview, but I asked him about something that I've been trying to pin down for a long time: What constitutes literary excellence and how can writers and readers become more discerning?

His answer about literary excellence hit something I'd never considered: targeting markets. But his answer about more discernment completely confirmed my own belief: readers and writers need more exposure to great books of the past.

Great books of the past become classics when they are well-written and touch a common chord of humanity that links the present reader with the past writer. That chord resonating recognition of shared human experience, despite time and culture differences, is essential. But the writing must be of such quality that the reader puts it down with satisfaction and thinks, "Now that was a work of art!"

What I Think I Did is. Buy it.

Trials as blessing

Trite-sounding as it may be, trials can be blessings in disguise. It's just that some of them are more disguised than others.

It can be difficult to see the blessing, or we may never see the blessing in this life. But as we thank God for the little evidences of His providence as we stumble through the trial, our faith grows.