Reviews Articles
Grasping Shadows: The dark side of literature, painting, photography and film
I treasure this book. It has become a way for me to go deeper into art, metaphor and religious thinking. Much of it relates to my Quaker life.
‘Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Ecumenical Quest’ by Keith Clements
For many years Dietrich Bonhoeffer was general secretary of the Conference of European Churches. Cross-referencing this book with Bonhoeffer’s own Letters and Papers from Prison offers illuminating takes on theology. It even makes me more comfortable about the divide between theist and nontheist Friends.
‘MBS: The rise to power of Mohammed bin Salman’, by Ben Hubbard
The paradox of Saudi Arabia is that it is a close ally of the United States, and that it has a conservative version of Islam. In the attack on the twin towers in New York on 9/11, fifteen out of the nineteen hijackers were Saudis, as was their leader, Osama bin...
‘What You Have Heard Is True: A memoir of witness and resistance’, by Carolyn Forché
In 1977, Carolyn Forché was twenty-seven, and had already packed a whole life into those years. She had won the Yale Younger Poets competition, translated poetry by Salvadoran émigré Claribel Alegría, received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and begun teaching at a Californian university.
‘When Christians Were Jews: The first generation’, by Paula Fredriksen
Quakers traditionally do not follow the Christian calendar of fasts and festivals. Nevertheless I find myself each year reflecting on how modern scholars seek to explain the events before and after the first Easter.
‘Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister,’ by Jung Chang
Insofar as this book gives a history of China – which it does as background – it reads like a tragedy. At the end of the nineteenth century Cixi, the empress dowager, took steps to modernise the country. Jung Chang describes China’s search for democracy during 1913-28. It had a parliamentary...
‘Dublin Quakers (1650-1900)’, by Richard S Harrison
T his book on the growth of Quakerism in Ireland, specifically Dublin, offers a most interesting account of the spiritual, industrial and enterprising life of Friends there. It is the first study of Dublin Quakers, covering their contacts, growth, business, social, spiritual and philanthropic life. Richard S Harrison is a...
‘Postscript’, by Patricia Gosling
Postscript is a fascinating, far-ranging survey of contemporary issues by a retired psychotherapist. Finding release from the constraints of her profession, Patricia Gosling discovered a freedom of expression she has brought to bear over a range of thought-provoking and emotionally-felt observations.
‘Lock Down’: a play by Journeymen Theatre
‘That’s the system – no system!’ This is the repeated cry of Ron, serving a life sentence, during Lynn and Dave Morris’ new drama, premiered to a full audience in Stourbridge Meeting House on 26 February. The play is packed with stories and incidents that make his case for him. They...
‘The Future of Capitalism’ by Paul Collier
Publications on how to set the world to rights abound. Many focus on single issues but even the most committed Friends will look at the ills explored in this book and agree that climate change isn’t the only game in town. It hits many targets, combined as a coherent...