Last week I went to see the remake of a classic:”Ben Hur.” The remake centers around the story of a Jewish prince, his Roman adopted brother, and their search for glory and revenge. Ben Hur’s brother, Messala, leaves his adoptive family to pursue a quest for glory within the Roman Army. Three years later he returns to Jerusalem to “encourage” the...
Culture
Donley takes no conservative approach to art in external affairs
Every time students or alumni open their copies of “Imprimis” or “Hillsdale” magazine, External Affairs grabs both their attention and their mind’s eye. This April, Arthur Donley took over the position of Art Director for External Affairs, the office that controls publications sent out from Hillsdale College. Focusing on the design and layout for literature published, Donley brings fresh eyes...
Love, loss, and the limits of poetry: ‘Once in the West’ travels through suffering to faith
If Christian Wiman’s life story is a journey, then “Once in the West” is the road map, drawn in a riot of color that seems to take on a life of its own. The poems rush by like signposts on the roadside in a blast of blurring imagery and syntax: “icequiet,” “stabdazzling,” “flashlit,” “slaughterhospice,” “rivering.” Christian Wiman’s most recent...
Wiman suffers with silence: ‘Every Riven Thing’ struggles with the silence of God
The silence of God can be suffocating. The modern God, whom Wiman refers to as his “Bright Abyss,” is not an unquestioned cornerstone. We find ourselves bereft of a habitually stated vision of God. No longer do we have the rituals or rhythms to spiritually cope with tragedies, the death of a daughter, a diagnosis of cancer. Poetry can be...
