Writing to Read and Reading to Write

I heard Sis. Vesta Mangun say one time that prayer leads her to the Word, and the Word leads her to prayer. Perhaps reading and writing are similar.

The Power of Reading and Writing
Is it just me, or do you ever find that reading a really great book makes you want to write?

I don’t think it’s that I necessarily think, “Well, I can do that.” But when I hear someone’s authentic voice, as Kent pegged it, I am reminded of how powerfully writing expresses the self. I remember that feeling the first time I read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and then This Side of Paradise.

Flip Side of the Coin
I also can’t stress enough to students how much reading improves writing skills. Whether you are a creative writer looking for new techniques or a student trying to master basic composition, the reinforcement that comes from reading great texts is paramount.

Do as I Say, Not as I Do
And yet why does it seem so hard to find time to read? I wonder how many of us read one book a month. What’s the trick to incorporating more reading into our already busy lives?

Just Started: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Harry Potter: Wholesome Hero or Dangerous Influence?

I suppose it had to happen. With the worldwide success of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and movies, a backlash of criticism from the Christian community has followed. Many Christians believe that children should not be exposed to Harry and the magical world of Hogwarts. The critics argue that reading the Potter books violates the Scriptural injunctions against witchcraft (including Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Of course, the backlash spawned a defense of Harry from other Christian thinkers, like Connie Neal, who started reading the books to in order to tell her children why they couldn’t read them. She ended up on Harry’s side and wrote a book to explain her perspective to Christian parents.

Chuck Colson stated on his radio program, Breakpoint, that parents who were concerned about the tales might be relieved to learn that “the magic in these books is purely mechanical, as opposed to occultic. That is, Harry and his friends cast spells, read crystal balls, and turn themselves into animals—but they don’t make contact with a supernatural world.”

I’m not sure what Colson’s exact definitions of “mechanical” and “occultic” magic are, but I think he’s right that the spells Harry and his friends learn to cast are learned skills rather than communing with spirits. In fact, the magic is their schoolwork—something they have to master in order to enter the adult world and get a job someday! While I think it’s not exactly true that the books contain no evil spirits—Voldemort can inhabit others’ bodies, for example—what is clear is that Harry, Dumbledore, and the other “good wizards” take no part in such practices. For them, there is good magic and there is bad, and never the twain shall meet.

In my opinion, Harry Potter’s world is a moral one, in which the struggle between good and evil takes center stage, and the fate of both wizards and Muggles often depends on the decisions of a schoolboy. The books are often compared unfavorably to C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yet did you know that after the Narnia books were published, they were condemned as unfit for children to read because they contained so much spell-casting and wizardry?

Many of the anti-Harry brigade hold that Lewis’s work is appropriate for Christians because, unlike Harry, it is an allegory of the Christian faith. As a lifelong Narnia fan, I wholeheartedly endorse the Chronicles, yet must point out that only The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Last Battle directly mirror Scriptural events; most of the other books have plenty of action and characters that reflect spiritual themes indirectly, if at all (such as the Naiads and Dryads, Dionysus from Greek mythology, and the Dwarves; Lewis seems to have put them in just because he liked using characters from traditional folklore). Furthermore, the other acceptable-to-Christians work of fantasy, The Lord of the Rings, is not a direct allegory either, since there is no single character that corresponds to the ultimate power of good (that is, God). Tolkien was writing an epic story about the struggle between good and evil—a theme that both Lewis and Rowling can claim for their works.

Now that I’ve started writing about this subject, I find (like some preachers) that I have more to say than when I started, yet no space left to say it in. If you’re interested in discussing this topic beyond what I’ve mentioned here, please feel free to comment and I can post more thoughts later tonight or next week (for example, what I think the HP books are really about more than magic). I value your considered opinions.

What is Pentecostal Writing?

As 90&9.com’s executive editor for content, I read endless articles from an Apostolic perspective. I also write more than my fair share. It was at the completion of a recent cover that I thought, “This is an important article.” That’s an intoxicating thought. It empties your head and lightens your heart and fills both with peculiar dreams of immortality and respect.

It didn’t take me long for me to realize it was the topic, not the essay, that was important. I had served only as the messenger. Oh well, it was an intoxicating thought.

It did make me wonder if there were any important Apostolic writings.

For a piece of writing to be “Important” it’s not enough to be powerful and true. It must also be ground-breaking and insightful and forward-looking and forceful enough to make readers rethink themselves; often it reframes an argument for a generation, providing the template for future interpretation.

I had a knowledgeable Pentecostal argue to me that there were no important Apostolic writings to date. He felt our oral tradition interfered with this process, but added that even our valuable doctrinal writings are defensive in nature, so couldn’t be considered Important. I found that fascinating.

Cases in Point

Three non-Apostolic examples of Important:

* T.S. Eliot recast poetry with The Wasteland.

* George Keenan’s writings provided the intellectual framework for the United States’ policy of containment towards the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.

* In 1993, Samuel P. Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations posited that the world’s upcoming, post-Soviet conflicts would be over religious and cultural identities, not politics. It wasn’t an outright prediction of 9/11, but…

Speaking in New Tongues

Maybe it is finding someone brave enough to recreate the language to accommodate our experience.

The father of modern African literature, Chinua Achebe, crafted a new language for his seminal Things Fall Apart: “The story is so different from what I had read as a child; I knew I couldn’t write like Dickens or Conrad. My story would not accept that. So you had to make an English that was new. Whether it was going to work or not, I couldn't tell.”

Maybe we're at a similar starting point, awaiting direction.

What is Pentecostal Identity?

Maybe there’s no Important Apostolic writing because we don’t have a well-defined identity.

Many writing subcultures present distinct commonalities; for instance, Southern writing often features quirky characters, homespun sayings, racial tensions, and sweltering settings.

Maybe our subculture isn’t potent enough to lend itself to a particular style of writing because we are chiefly Americans (largely indistinguishable from mass culture) with potent doctrinal truths. Is doctrine, its resulting standards, and large social events all that makes us “us”? (Am I overlooking some important distinctives?)

Many would see these three distinctives as an overabundance of fodder for some smart fiction (Jane Austen anyone?) or strong cultural analysis. Somehow the Catholics have spawned superior authors (Flannery O’Conner, Graham Greene, Walker Percy) and cultural analysts (starting with their two most recent popes), so it’s not like an Apostolic outlook is a preposterous proposition.

Maybe we are believers built around doctrinal ideas, with room for numerous amorphous characteristics, but few clear definitives. If true, that’s okay. The United States is built around a set of ideas with few clear definitives and it’s doing just fine.

Still, we’ve been at this for over a century—shouldn’t we have something to show for it?

Appendix A

Best Author Interviews of the Week

The UK’s Guardian is the best original source for literary news on the web. They have a series of author interviews under the rubric “Why I Write” that is worth investigating. Start with this one, then visit all the authors listed on the left column.

Will Self says:

“Never worry about people stealing your ideas. If you're any good you'll have plenty more - whereas if they have to nick yours they'll never have any of their own, so pity them.”

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Everything I learned about Verbs I learned from reading Edward Gibbon’s Fall and Decline of the Roman Empire. I would go so far as to claim he delivers most of the facts via his verbs instead of his nouns.

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Just Finished: The Final Solution – This is Pultizer-prize winner Michael Chabon’s mostly satisfying salute to Sherlock Holmes, an ancient man forced back into the game during WWII; The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick) – Fascinating insight into becoming the best in the world at what you do or escaping the cul-de-sac of mediocrity.

Currently Reading: Nebuchadnezzar: Scourge of Zion

And I thank you for your kind attention.

Lost in Translation

As one who is literate in more than one language, I thought it would be interesting to explore a bit how translation can affect a reading experience.

Lost in Translation?
I do feel that there is a little something that gets lost in translation. When reading a translated work, I feel one doesn’t get the originally intended impact. Words are mini-packages: They are filled with distinct connotations and nuances, and at times associated with particular cultural meanings—there may be something alluded to that makes sense in American culture that may translate oddly out of context in Spanish, for example.

Here’s a quick example of how translation can change things. Examine this Spanish phrase: La belleza en la tristeza. It is balanced and parallel, and contains consonantal rhyme. But here’s what its English equivalent is: The beauty in sadness. It doesn’t even sound right . . . the whole parallelism and rhyme is completely thrown off. There’s definitely a fine distinction that is lost when converting words and phrases to another language.

Examples in Literature
Of course, I’ve noticed this phenomenon when reading foreign writers whose work has been translated into English. I finished not too long ago a couple of Haruki Murakami novels, originally written in Japanese. His prose is evocative and haunting, but sometimes the dialogue can sound a shade off—one can tell that the translator was trying to stay true to the author’s work and perhaps hoped his loyalty would excuse the uneasy rendition. In the English translation of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel Amor en los Tiempos de Cólera (Love in the Time of Cholera), the main character refers to one of his female companions as “lionlady of my soul.” That sounds weird, but when you realize it was originally leona de mi alma, it makes a little more sense, or at least, it sounds a little better.

Interestingly, some writers like Hemingway have used that “translation uneasiness” purposefully in order to signify that the characters are indeed speaking in a language other than that in which the book is written. In For Whom the Bell Tolls, fighters would proclaim, “I obscenity in the milk of the Republic!” It is a direct English translation (which makes absolutely no sense) for an unsavory phrase (which would make sense) in Spanish. Hemingway employs the same technique in the choppy dialogue found in his famed short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” set in Spain. Even in the title (“Well-Lighted” instead of “Well-Lit”) he uses the direct translation effect.

True Voice = Original Language?
One of the coolest things I’ve ever done was to read an entire 19th century novel in Spanish. It was amazing! I realized I had reached a new level in my Spanish ability that I hoped to always maintain. And I know that I would not have gotten nearly the same effect, or rather, I would not have heard the author’s Voice as clearly had I not read it in its original language. Hmmm . . . I just thought of something: Would that mean I may not be getting the full impact of God’s Word because I’m unable to read it in its original Ancient Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic?

Song of Myself ... and My God

A few months ago, I was struggling to get our church to really look at themselves. We needed to explore and express the real needs in our lives … not just the petty things tossed out during prayer requests.

Sore throats, wacko bosses, upcoming tests; this kind of stuff only fills in awkward silences. I wanted us all to voice our depression, lusts, depravity and frustrations with God and life. I wanted us to get real, so we could move forward in the process of becoming whole.

One Saturday at the coffee shop, my wife (Ellen) and I met with our friend Margie. We began talking about this issue. Then, in the middle of my rant, it hit me. I become real with myself when I write … so … the church should write. An essay? An autobiography? A poem? A poem!

I explained my genius plan to them. Why couldn’t we dedicate one Sunday to looking inward, and writing a poem as part of our looking upward? Margie clapped her hands and looked excited, but I’ve also seen her do that for documentaries on quantum physics.

I opened my laptop and began working on a format that the whole congregation could use to write a poem. When I finished, I tried it out on Margie. Throughout the process of writing her poem, she kept reminding me, “I don’t normally cry, but this is so powerful.”

Sunday came, and with my best preachery tone, I attempted to rally them by raising my fist and announcing, “In order to truly become who we want to be, like David of old let’s write a psalm! This will force us to explore our inner pain and frustrations and look to God to help us become free and whole!”

The whole congregation groaned like 7th graders when given an assignment. I do love them so. And then I passed out pens and paper.

The room was abuzz with silence and awkward anticipation. I explained that I was giving them a format to write their poem.

Many people moved their chairs, distancing themselves from everyone else.

The EXIT door clicked. Several empty seats immediately appeared.

A few people began to weep just at the thought of looking into their own lives and writing about their needs. They all had the same expression on their faces that seemed to say, I’ve been caught with my pants down! Their body language screamed out, Please! Please! Anything but writing … especially about myself!

Jars of Clay began to play in the background, “See the art in me …” And we began a very tough individualized process of introspection, writing, weeping and repenting. We concluded with very heartfelt group prayers of hope and healing.

Later that night, we had some friends from the church over for dinner. Many of them brought their poems and showed them to me and Ellen secretly.

With tears still in their eyes, they all said, “Thank you for making us do this.”

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~Toby Stevens

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www.thejourneyanchorage.org

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The poem format ... this is not registered, copyrighted, patented, or postmarked ... so use it as you please. There are 10 lines to this poem (or psalm).

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Line 1: Write one or two words that best summarize the area of your life that needs healing … something within you that isn’t whole.

Line 2: Write down a thought that the nagging voice in your head has told you about this same thing ( in the 1st person ... I)

Line 3: Write one or two words that reveal elements of your struggle ... that depict your struggle.

Line 4: Write one line that you fear other people were/are saying about this area of your life (in 2nd person ... You)

Line 5: Write, “But the Lord is my shepherd, he restores my soul”

Line 6: Write 2 words that summarize your efforts to overcome, to become whole.

Line 7: Write a sentence that you’d like to hear other people say about your efforts to become whole … about your healing and changes and growth. (in 3rd person ... He/She)

Line 8: Write 2 words that summarize the person you want to become.

Line 9: Write a sentence that you want to be able to say about yourself. (in 1st person ... I)

Line 10: Write,”Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”.

Title: Choose a title that best describes your journey of becoming who you want to be

The day is not done

Just thinking some more about books...

The thing I've come to know about myself is that I esteem character development above almost all other qualities in a novel. I don't know why this is other than that people fascinate, astound, and amaze me...constantly. You never know what you will get with people and a well-crafted character takes you beyond yourself...beyond simply my observations/perceptions/beliefs/judgments about you. A well-crafted character can become me (in a first person view), interact with me when I would suspend the relationship in real life (2nd person POV), and give me insight into motivations I otherwise would never know (omniscient).

What is it that you love about books?

Friendship and the Fourth

What to read: determining the text
My best friend came to town last week and we decided the best way to celebrate the Fourth was to have a discussion on the Declaration of Independence (we had originally thought about the Federalist papers but decided against it for philosophical reasons---it's anachronistic in the context of the Fourth of July and for practical reasons---it's difficult to find a size-able chunk to ask people to read on short notice). Armed with our photocopies, we headed to the St. Louis Riverfront.

Discussing the text: determining the questions
There, we had a lively and productive conversation which left me with the following questions:
1.) How does one determine the criterion/a for issuing a formal declaration of independence?
2.) Does the fact of a person/s' humanity demand the respect of a formal declaration of independence even if you have no hope for change? What role does speech play in conjunction with the actions we take?
3.) Are the names at the end of the document an essential part of the reading?

Meta-discussion: determining the reason for discussing the text
Later, with Cyndi Lauper (a person who has gracefully aged with integrity) and a fireworks display in the background, we wondered if anything brought people together like the discussion of books. Is there any better way to get to know a person than to discuss literature with them? It is incumbent on me to admit that she and I may be biased. I don't know if many people can mark their friendship from a particular discussion regarding books, but she and I can...and do. Our question on that day (11 years ago! how weird!) was whether one is a better reader for suspending all of one's own judgments and premises for the sake of the author's OR if one is a better reader for questioning an author's judgments and premises throughout the reading. I don't know if we have an answer for it still to this day, so insight is appreciated! What we do believe is that there is something powerful in discussing the written word OR, to include oral cultures, a shared story. Why is that? Is there anything comparable to it?

What's the church got to do with it?: application of the text

Regarding the Declaration of Independence: Wondering about the criteria cited for our forefathers' declaration made me start thinking about when and if it would be necessary to declare independence from a church. This would have to begin in defining the purpose of the church (TJ defines the purpose of government as securing safety and happiness) and then it is only when actions/decrees of said "church" not only go against the purpose but make it such that the purpose can not be accomplished. Martin Luther is a good one to look to for this kind of action except that he never intended to declare independence until he did. Another place to look is in the early church--at what point did they declare independence from Judaism or did they...and yet it is clear that "Christianity" is in no way understood as the Jewish sect it was at its inception. Worth considering: what if the purpose of the church is something about which independence cannot be declared?

Regarding relationships forged by literature: This also relates to the church who so frequently views herself as an answer bearing oracle. In fact, it seems that most people don't bond over discussions because some fount of wisdom exists. Rather, it seems to be because their questions are heard, accepted, and discussed. When a book or passage is the focal point, no one can have an unfair advantage because everyone's working from a common source. The only thing that can stop this process is when unreasoned opinions are allowed without exploration. I can have a feeling about a certain thing or concept, but until this is substantiated with reason, experience, or an admission of mysticism, I cannot expect anyone to be able to enter that discussion with me. Paul embodies this kind of action in his letters to the churches. What evidence exists in the AP movement that this is still the kind of discussion we crave and foster?

In closing: hope for the discussion of texts
This post seems sort of random, and I fear I may have made a wrong choice. I could have picked one thread and discussed it more in-depth. The reason I didn't is because I want to foster the thing about which I talk, but that may be impossible. In any case, I do ask you to please link and read the following before posting comments regarding the substance of this post: The Declaration of Independence

What I'm currently reading:
Locked Rooms by Laurie King (this is my Sherlock Holmes reading jag, Alison!)
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman (my Barnes & Noble in-store reading choice)