"There was nothing to be spoken, for there was nothing to be concealed between these two souls as clear as glass. Each knew all which the other meant; each knew that its own thoughts were known."
~Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley, Chapter 3
"Plato spoke of the necessity for divine madness in the poet. It is a frightening thing to open oneself to this strange and dark side of the divine; it means letting go our sane self-control, that control which gives us the illusion of safety. But safety is only an illusion, and letting it go is part of listening to the silence, and to the Spirit."
~Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle, Chapter 1
"Leonard Bernstein tells me more than the dictionary when he says that for him music is cosmos in chaos. That has the ring of truth in my ears, and sparks my creative imagination. And it is true not only of music; all art is cosmos, cosmos found within chaos. At least all Christian art (by which I mean all true art...) is cosmos in chaos. There's some modern art, in all disciplines, which is not; some artists look at the world around them and see chaos, and instead of discovering cosmos, they reproduce chaos on canvas, in music, in words. As far as I can see, the reproduction of chaos is neither art, nor is it Christian."
~Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle, Chapter 1
Friday, September 30, 2016
Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle: Chapter 1
The author begins this book by humbly describing her wrestling with accepting the challenge of writing it in the first place, this book about the Christian faith and art. To her, all good art is Christian, as it points to the Creator. There is no such thing as Christian art as separate from secular art. Rather, all art has this holy awe of being something outside the artist, a work of obedience by the artist to surrender to the work itself, to give up being in control, and to serve the work itself as well as the community at large by producing the work. Ms. L'Engle sees the reality of angels and feels the impression of that vision on her work, recognizing the supernatural as a door into the beautiful. She acknowledges that it is the difficult times, where there is ugliness and harsh reality to grapple with, that the ability to see the fairies and angels and the magic all around is what can give the artist the ability to create true art.
*I'm forgetting some key ideas I'm sure, but this writing was more flow of consciousness than ordered narrative, so I'm adjusting to that!*
*I'm forgetting some key ideas I'm sure, but this writing was more flow of consciousness than ordered narrative, so I'm adjusting to that!*
Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley: Chapters 1 and 2
*Disclaimer* I read these chapters in an abridged version without realizing it at first.
Our story begins with a couple of sailors telling tales of their adventures on the seas, especially of all the gold that they almost secured, but thankfully they know where to return to finally claim this treasure. A young man, still a school boy, is passing and perks up at the hearing of these tales. Known to be the local bully, though with good intentions, he is a strong and stout hearted boy. He asks to see a relic, a map carved in a bone, being passed around as evidence of the veracity of these sailors' claims. He pledges that his heart yearns for the sea and he wants to travel with the sailors, Mr. Oxenham and Salvation Yeo, on their next voyage, and asks to buy this relic. Mr. Oxenham happens to know the boy's father and invites himself to dine with the family, as well as the honorable Sir Richard Grenville.
The young man, Amyas Leigh, has never told his parents about his longing for the sea, but he goes home and does so now. Mr. Oxenham arrives and spins his tales, asking for young Amyas to be allowed to travel with him to sea. He does not succeed in obtaining his request, however, as Mr. Leigh replies that Amyas needs to learn to be a gentleman first, and then be trained properly as a sailor. Mr. Oxenham is disappointed and as he is getting ready to leave, he sees a white bird that is invisible to everyone else, which is a bad omen for his upcoming journey.
Life goes on for young Amyas. His father trains his further in the ways of a true gentleman, in hunting and riding and sport. His brother Frank moves out of the home and is travelling abroad to study. Mr. Leigh dies and Amyas asks Sir Richard Grenville to act as his father. He continues to go to school and bully his classmates, including the teacher's son. After a brawl with the teacher himself, in which Amyas cracked a slate over his head, Amyas is soon sent on a sailing expedition with Sir Francis Drake himself.
He returns five years later much respected and honored as he reunites with his family and friends in his hometown of Bideford. The town throws a great welcome celebration and pageant for Amyas and the four other sailors who are returning. Amyas is disappointed that one person whom he would particularly like to see is not there - Rose Salterne, the mayor's daughter and the girl that he could not get out of his thoughts during those years away at sea. She is the desire of all the men in the county, and has more suitors than she knows what to do with. Her father has kept her away from the celebration to keep her from falling for Amyas, for a merchant's daughter like herself ought not to throw herself at the son of a gentleman.
Our story begins with a couple of sailors telling tales of their adventures on the seas, especially of all the gold that they almost secured, but thankfully they know where to return to finally claim this treasure. A young man, still a school boy, is passing and perks up at the hearing of these tales. Known to be the local bully, though with good intentions, he is a strong and stout hearted boy. He asks to see a relic, a map carved in a bone, being passed around as evidence of the veracity of these sailors' claims. He pledges that his heart yearns for the sea and he wants to travel with the sailors, Mr. Oxenham and Salvation Yeo, on their next voyage, and asks to buy this relic. Mr. Oxenham happens to know the boy's father and invites himself to dine with the family, as well as the honorable Sir Richard Grenville.
The young man, Amyas Leigh, has never told his parents about his longing for the sea, but he goes home and does so now. Mr. Oxenham arrives and spins his tales, asking for young Amyas to be allowed to travel with him to sea. He does not succeed in obtaining his request, however, as Mr. Leigh replies that Amyas needs to learn to be a gentleman first, and then be trained properly as a sailor. Mr. Oxenham is disappointed and as he is getting ready to leave, he sees a white bird that is invisible to everyone else, which is a bad omen for his upcoming journey.
Life goes on for young Amyas. His father trains his further in the ways of a true gentleman, in hunting and riding and sport. His brother Frank moves out of the home and is travelling abroad to study. Mr. Leigh dies and Amyas asks Sir Richard Grenville to act as his father. He continues to go to school and bully his classmates, including the teacher's son. After a brawl with the teacher himself, in which Amyas cracked a slate over his head, Amyas is soon sent on a sailing expedition with Sir Francis Drake himself.
He returns five years later much respected and honored as he reunites with his family and friends in his hometown of Bideford. The town throws a great welcome celebration and pageant for Amyas and the four other sailors who are returning. Amyas is disappointed that one person whom he would particularly like to see is not there - Rose Salterne, the mayor's daughter and the girl that he could not get out of his thoughts during those years away at sea. She is the desire of all the men in the county, and has more suitors than she knows what to do with. Her father has kept her away from the celebration to keep her from falling for Amyas, for a merchant's daughter like herself ought not to throw herself at the son of a gentleman.
Worst blogger ever
I truly am the least consistent blogger ever!
But for my own sake, and following the lead of other mommas out there, I am changing the purpose of this little haven for at least a short while. I am learning the skill of narrating, which I have been teaching to my children for the past couple years, but am now realizing I need to better hone myself!
A working definition of narration for now: the act of telling back, for the purpose of doing the difficult mental work of organizing ideas and thoughts and cementing them in the mind and soul, preparing for many future connections with other ideas that are to come.
I require my children to "tell back" each lesson that we learn during our homeschooling day, and I would like to require the same of myself. We'll see how this goes...
But for my own sake, and following the lead of other mommas out there, I am changing the purpose of this little haven for at least a short while. I am learning the skill of narrating, which I have been teaching to my children for the past couple years, but am now realizing I need to better hone myself!
A working definition of narration for now: the act of telling back, for the purpose of doing the difficult mental work of organizing ideas and thoughts and cementing them in the mind and soul, preparing for many future connections with other ideas that are to come.
I require my children to "tell back" each lesson that we learn during our homeschooling day, and I would like to require the same of myself. We'll see how this goes...
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