More Than Words: Contemporary Writers on the Works That Shaped Them

by Philip Yancey (Compiler)

Good books inspire the imagination, jump-start creativity, and kindle new ideas. So it's no surprise that for these twenty-one members of the Chrysostom Society (a renowned contemporary Christian writers' group) the works of classic literary masters have played an influential role in shaping their writing.
In this revised and updated volume of Reality and the Vision, which includes five new chapters, best-selling authors Philip Yancey and James Calvin Schaap ask the question, "Who has helped form you as a writer of faith?" The answers they found are surprising, captivating, and

• Richard Foster explains how reading from the ancient devotional masters helped him to manage a frenetic modern schedule.
• Walter Wangerin Jr. shares how the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales helped him make sense of his world.
• Virginia Stem Owens confesses that Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher famous for his melancholy, helped her cope with a family crisis.
• Eugene Peterson tells how he became a better pastor by scheduling regular appointments with the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky.

A short reading guide at the end of each chapter serves as an invitation to explore these classic works further. More Than Words is a delightful way to deepen an appreciation of fine literature and a thoughtful gift for those who love good books.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christianity, Writing

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Philip Yancey earned graduate degrees in Communications and English from Wheaton College Graduate School and the University of Chicago. He joined the staff of Campus Life Magazine in 1971, and worked there as Editor and then Publisher. He looks on those years with gratitude, because teenagers are demanding readers, and writing for them taught him a lasting principle: The reader is in control!

In 1978 Philip Yancey became a full-time writer, initially working as a journalist for such varied publications as Reader’s Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, National Wildlife, Christian Century and The Reformed Journal. For several years he contributed a monthly column to Christianity Today magazine, where he also served as Editor at Large.

In 2021 Philip released two new books: A Companion in Crisis and his long-awaited memoir, Where the Light Fell. Other favorites included in his more than twenty-five titles are: Where Is God When It Hurts, The Student Bible, and Disappointment with God. Philip's books have won thirteen Gold Medallion Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, have sold more than seventeen million copies, and have been published in over 50 languages. Christian bookstore managers selected The Jesus I Never Knew as the 1996 Book of the Year, and in 1998 What’s So Amazing About Grace? won the same award. His other recent books are Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image; Vanishing Grace: Bringing Good News to a Deeply Divided World; The Question that Never Goes Away; What Good Is God?; Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?; Soul Survivor; and Reaching for the Invisible God. In 2009 a daily reader was published, compiled from excerpts of his work: Grace Notes.

The Yanceys lived in downtown Chicago for many years before moving to a very different environment in Colorado. Together they enjoy mountain climbing, skiing, hiking, and all the other delights of the Rocky Mountains.

Visit Philip online:
https://www.philipyancey.com
https://www.facebook.com/PhilipYancey

Catch his monthly blog:
https://bit.ly/PhilipYanceyBlog

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reads like a collection of book reviews. The question is: Would you rather read about great works of literature...or read the actual works? Your answer would determine whether or not you would enjoy this.

[Eric Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hidden gem! Sometimes one stumbles on a book serendipitously. Such is the case with "More than Words--Contemporary writers on the Works that Shaped Them." Our local church librarian passed this used book on to me as a volume given to her that she considered of minimal interest to most in the church. It turned out to be a gem that I have been reading slowly, chapter by chapter for six months or so.

Philip Yancey and James Calvin Schaap have done us a great service in compiling this treasure of essays on some of the great classical and contemporary writers.

It is both extremely interesting and very helpful, because Yancey and Schaap have engaged people like Richard Foster, Virginia Stem Owens, Luci Shaw, Keith Miller, Wangerin, and L’Engle to write essays introducing the writers that have most shaped them.

Each essay introduces me to someone I may have read or heard about, but, in most cases, not explored extensively: Kierkegaard, Henri Nouwen, Tournier, Milton, Shakespeare, John Done, Hans Christian Anderson, George MacDonald, Tokien, Dostoevsky, Evelyn Waugh, Charles Dickens, Sherwood Anderson, Flanner O’Connor, Solzhenitzen, Ray Bradbury, and Alice Munro.

Each essay is worth the price of the book both to inspire interest in some of the lesser read masters and in introducing me to their lives and ideas. Each chapter contains gems of wisdom about life, the world, and particularly about writing.

It is a volume that will retain an important place in my library and one that I will refer back to again and again.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for the second time. It was interesting to note which parts struck me the first time reading it and which parts struck me this second time. Over all I got more out of this second reading because I read much more literature now than I used to. This book includes a wide variety of writers from different denominations within Christianity (both in the authors who write the essays and the writers they are writing about) and some can be challenging depending on what denomination you come from but all are thought provoking. I wish essayists coming from a reformed background would have been included, such as Leland Ryken and Gene Veith.

My favorite chapters this time were the ones on Kierkegard, Thomas Merton, John Milton, Hans Christian Andersen, and Tolkien. But just as in my first reading my favorite of of all essays again was the one by Yancey written on John Donne- worth the price of the book alone.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really appreciating this compilation of essays. I am picking out the ones by authors who are familiar to me and enjoying their choices of the works that influenced their writing. What I really like is that it is sending me on to reading other volumes—Winesburg, Ohio for one and The Sacrament of the Present Moment for another.

[Abigail Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed a few of these essays. Some I found a bit dry and not my style.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a good summary of the book from Amazon.com: _In More Than Words: Contemporary Writers on the Works That Shaped Them_, some of the best writers in the Christian community discuss their formative creative influences. Madeleine L'Engle pays tribute to George MacDonald, fantasy writer Stephen Lawhead extols the contributions of J.R.R. Tolkien and Harold Fickett revisits Flannery O'Connor. This collection, which was edited by James Calvin Schaap and compiled and introduced by Philip Yancey, is a reflective and generous homage to literary greatness. Other contributors include Richard Foster, Walter Wangerin Jr., Virginia Stem Owens and Calvin Miller.

I ran across this book while searching a library catalog for books by Philip Yancey. I particularly liked the essays about Paul Tournier, Henri Nouwen, and John Donne. And the essay on John Donne is worth the price of the whole book. Donne's very human, very personal, and very Christian meditations on suffering and death are insightful -- for example:

1. "Give me, O Lord, a fear, of which I may not be afraid." Donne came to the realization that in our world, our lives will always have circumstances that incite fear -- whether of illness, financial hardship, the future, etc. In such a world, we can either fear God, or fear everything else.

2. Donne ultimately came to view death not as a disease that spoils life, but rather as the only cure to the disease of life. "For sin had permanently stained all life, and only through death -- Christ's death and our own -- can we realize a cured, sinless state."

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by James Calvin Schapp who is the editor. Overall this was a good book and although I did not enjoy each and every chapter the chapters I did like I enjoyed quite a bit. I am not someone who is into all genres of writing but reading about the different genres was interesting. There is much to chew on in this book and I had to keep a pencil nearby while reading so I could make notes and underline things. I love to read about the integration of faith into all areas of life and this book reflects the integration of faith and writing. My favorite chapter in the book was the chapter by Yancey on pain and suffering and the life of John Dunne. I also enjoyed the chapter on Kierkegaard.

[J.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the makings of a great book. Authors talk about the authors that inspired them and led them to want to create as well. Some chapters excelled and were great, but others made this book drag on for far too long. I really appreciated Madeleine L'engle's chapter on George Macdonald and Luci Shaw's on Henri Nouwen. This is not one to buy, but rather get from the library and just look at the chapters that interest you.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd been reading on this for awhile. Each chapter is
by a current writer about an older writer. They give
a review of the older writers works, plus how they got
started reading them, and what they recommend for a new
reader of the older writer's works. I have enough
recommendations to last awhile. I'm particularly
challenged to read books by A. Solzhenitsyn, George
McDonald (seriously this time), and Charles Dickins
(become a mini-authority).

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book because it is about authors who have had profound influence on current writers. There were a hand full of authors that appealed to me. Some of the best essays were about authors that brought alive the mundane and ordinary to show God's common grace. Some of the essays were disappointing (esp on Dostoevsky). Overall a pretty good book.

[Sue C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't finished this book because it was due at the library. It has inspired me to dig into other authors, however. It is the sort of book that should be owned, and often-thumbed. It is not easily found on search engines., but when I have some cash in my book budget, I hope to find an inexpensive copy on Amazon. It really is good.

[Benjamin Shurance]

This is a book my mom had bought for me in July when we were in the States, but it didn't seem all that appealing to me and didn't fit in the luggage when we traveled. But it did show up on Paraguay soil with my sister and brother-in-law in December, and I started hacking away at it in January.
Actually, "hacking away" is a terrible metaphor, when in fact I was licking it up. First of all, I love compilations and books with short not-reliant-upon-each-other sections that you can read separately and quickly. A great leisure tool for readers.
I loved this book, hearing writers talk about the writers that had influenced them. The best pieces were the honest autobiographical ones (John Leax on Thomas Merton, Luci Shaw on Henri Nouwen, Eugene Peterson on Fyodor Dostoevsky, Harold Fickett on Flannery O'Connor). Some were a bit to biographical to be interesting, but I did meet a whole new cast of writers, and was reminded why I love others.

[Wes F]

Excellent read by a host of solid modern writers reflecting on the literary works that most influenced them & their worldview and literary output.