Joseph Conrad's VICTORY

 

Joseph Conrad

3 December 1857 - 3 August 1924

Joseph Conrad was an English novelist and short-story writer of Polish descent. He is regarded as one of the greatest English novelists, especially in light of the fact that English was not his first language. He learned English at age 21.

Conrad's writings are highly descriptive, provocative, and full of adventure, drawing on his many years at sea. He knew seamanship well, having risen from apprentice to ship captain. 

His novel Victory is a study of contrasts between isolation and connection; between good and evil, and between greed and self-sacrifice. It brims, a simmering pot, that comes gradually to a head. When I read it, I was breathless at the last page. 

In 1915, Jack London wrote, "Whatever you do, read Conrad's latest -- Victory. Read it, if you have to pawn your watch to buy it. Conrad has exceeded himself. I am glad that I am alive, if, for no other reason, because of the joy of reading this book."

The journalist Joan Didion wrote, "I often reread Victory, which is maybe my favorite book in the world… The story is told thirdhand. It’s not a story the narrator even heard from someone who experienced it. The narrator seems to have heard it from people he runs into around the Malacca Strait. So there’s this fantastic distancing of the narrative, except that when you’re in the middle of it, it remains very immediate. It’s incredibly skillful. I have never started a novel — I mean except the first, when I was starting a novel just to start a novel — I’ve never written one without rereading Victory. It opens up the possibilities of a novel. It makes it seem worth doing." (The Paris Review, 2006)

Remembering Luci Shaw

 

Luci Shaw (1928-2025)

The poet Luci Shaw has died. She was 96 years old and still writing and publishing. Her last book - An Incremental Life - was published in April 2025.

Luci was born in London, England, and lived in Canada, Australia, and the U.S.A. She graduated with High Honors from Wheaton College in 1953. She and her first husband Harold Shaw founded Harold Shaw Publishers. Harold died in February 1986. Since 1988, Luci was a Writer in Residence at Regent College, Vancouver, Canada. 

Luci lectured in North America and abroad on topics such as art and spirituality, the Christian imagination, poetry-writing, and journal-writing as an aid to artistic and spiritual growth.

Luci resided in Bellingham, Wahington with her husband John Hoyte. They are members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

A charter member of the Chrysostom Society of Writers, Shaw is author of fourteen volumes of poetry. The Society support s writers through travel expenses for meetings or conferences with a focus on faith-informed writing.

I knew Luci from my time in Wheaton, Illinois. We worshipped at the same church and were in the same Bible study group. Luci and Harold were pillars of Bathany Chapel, a fellowship of the Plymouth Brethren. A very conservative Christian group, the Plymouth Brethren do not permit women to speak in the gathered assembly. I had the impression that this was a frustration to Luci who expressed herself through her poetry. She eventually found a more tolerant fellowship among the Episcopalians.

In my years of friendship with Luci, I found her always to be thoughtful, gracious, and hospitable. I was a terrible writer in those days, but she encouraged me and gave me some direction. May her memory be eternal before the Lord, the Lover of Mankind.

Related reading: Luci Shaw's Book "Harvesting Fog"; Luci Shaw's Genesis for Children

The Boy and the Wind

 

The Boy and the Wind

By Jonah Rapson (Grade 9)



A boy in the wilderness,

Trying to find his way home,

In the midst of his loneliness,

Heard the wind saying, “You are not alone.”

A feeling awoke in the child,

One he had not known or felt before.

That he, out in the wild,

Was being cared for.

As the comfort of the wind came to him,

His heart began to lead the way.

Although the path ahead was dim,

He could walk on that path all day.

The wind was the guide for his heart,

And as the child started on his way home,

He learned that until their way part,

He was lost, but he was not alone.

Writing requires guts

 

Novelist Fannie Hurst said, “Writing is a chore. It cracks your bones and eats you, and yet it dominates you. You hate it while you love it.”

Related reading: Learn to Write by Writing; Pen-Pecked Dreamers; Writers on Writing

Every Christian Book is About Easter

 

Dan Balow has written:

As we near Holy Week, I know the assertion that every Christian book is about Easter won’t change anything in publishing. The seasonal best-seller lists, bookseller promotions, online keyword searches, and publishers require marketing hooks to advertise. But let’s face it: All Christian books are really about Easter Sunday morning. Christian books all have a key pivot point of their message in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christmas books, where Jesus joined human history as Emmanuel, are just Easter prequels. But for marketing’s sake, we call them Christmas books.

Read it all here: Every Christian Book Is About Easter 

Sir David Suchet and Agatha Christie

 

Alice C. Linsley

I have been reading Agatha Christie's novel The Man in the Brown Suit. It is full of descriptions of places she visited in Southern Africa. She even mentions surfing in Hawaii, something she loved to do. Imagine my delight to find that Sir David Suchet refers to that novel in the brilliant series Travels With Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet S1 - Factual | BritBox.

Sir David, who played the role of Hercule Poirot for 25 years, charms throughout the series. He travels to locations Agatha Christie visited, immersing himself in countries she explored to uncover the literary enigma's inspirations.

If you haven't watched this informative BritBox exclusive, I commend it to you for utter enjoyment.

It is clear why Agatha Christie is considered the "Queen" of the detective novel. Her character Poirot rivals Sherlock Holmes.

Watch and enjoy!

Related reading: When the World’s Most Famous Mystery Writer Vanished - The New York Times

The Encouragement of Light

 

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 

John 1:5

How did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
all its beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its being.
Otherwise, we all remain
too frightened.

Hafiz (c.1320-1389)

The lyric poet Hafiz became a poet at the court of Abu Ishak and also taught at a religious college. He is one of the most celebrated and influential of the Persian poets. As the author of numerous ghazals expressing love, spirituality, and protest, he and his work continue to be important to Iranians, and many of his poems are used as proverbs or sayings. 

A ghazal is a form of poetry in Arabic literature that usually consists of a series of couplets that are linked by a repeating rhyme scheme and refrain. Each couplet can stand alone while contributing to the overall theme of the poem. Typical themes of ghazals include love, longing, and melancholy. 

Hafiz’s tomb is in Musalla Gardens in Shiraz in southern Iran.