KANSAS CATHOLIC links to a video, in the article The Revival of Flannery O'Connor.
The celebrated American literary writers of our past and present are very far from the orthodoxy of Christ's Church, and are far even from the uncertain faith of the bulk of the American people. Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) is one of the very few orthodox Christians among the great American literary writers, but her success is due to following the example of Christ.
A writer who proclaims the Gospel plainly will often be merely “preaching to the choir”, which is not a bad thing, but the world will not listen. Instead, the writer who wants to preach to the world must follow the example of Our Lord and speak in parables: straightforward stories with a literal meaning that also have deeper moral and spiritual meanings.
O'Connor was a Catholic who lived in Milledgeville, Georgia, in the deep American South. Her stories of the distinctive people of that region are parables that have a spiritual meaning that might not be obvious to the worldly reader, and therein lie their success.
Mark, thanks for the post. I always enjoy coming to your blog and seeing the exquisite photography. My apologies for not leaving comments about how good they are for some time. Congratulations on the book. I hope to buy it during the holidays.
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