false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176058403m/587938.jpg 587938 1 <I>The Christian Imagination</I> is an exceptional exploration of Christian belief, imagination, reading, and writing. Leland Ryken has collected essays and excerpts, long and short--nearly 500 pages' worth--all devoted (some more directly than others) to "thinking Christianly about literature." Contributors including J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle, Flannery O'Connor, and T.S. Eliot discuss such topics as a Christian philosophy of literature, success and failure in current Christian fiction and poetry, realism, fantasy, and narrative. Perhaps the most common thread among these pieces is the understanding that Christian art "is by no means," as Ryken puts it, "always religious art." If you want to make a Christian work, advises Jacques Maritain, "then be Christian, and simply try to make a beautiful work." Also of particular interest is Clyde S. Kilby's "The Aesthetic Poverty of Evangelicalism." Despite the fact that the Bible is "a piece of art ... an imaginative book," says Kilby, the people who spend the most time with it "are in large numbers the foes of art and the sworn foes of imagination." <I>--Jane Steinberg</I> 574747 19 2 2002 The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing (Writers' Palette Book) total:32|5:16|4:11|3:3|2:0|1:2| 32 135 72 5 4 1 false false Thu Sep 04 04:35:19 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 16 06:07:49 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jun 10 09:36:46 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 09:36:46 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jun 12 13:02:31 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 07:37:31 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jul 06 13:35:13 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 15:52:07 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri May 18 05:41:34 -0700 2007 Fri May 18 05:41:46 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Tue Nov 24 16:33:17 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 16:33:17 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Nov 21 07:17:29 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 07:17:29 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 16:03:24 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 16:03:28 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 07:27:43 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 07:27:43 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 21:27:44 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 21:27:45 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 15:01:49 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 15:01:49 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 19 04:39:16 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 04:39:42 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Sep 17 18:17:50 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 18:17:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Sep 17 06:27:43 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 17 07:30:38 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Aug 28 07:02:38 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 07:02:38 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Aug 21 11:12:07 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 21 11:12:07 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Aug 12 17:53:37 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 17:53:37 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 09 17:06:31 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 17:06:31 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jul 23 11:54:04 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 11:54:04 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 21 19:51:33 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 19:51:33 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=587938