Week 15 (2024)
natality, death & acceptance of suffering, anthropology & industrialized pragmatism, needed housing, cities for children & the doves above
(Click title to open in browser, on the Substack website)
to read: books
The Horse And His Boy — C.S. Lewis — Too many perfect lines.
Natality: Toward A Philosophy Of Birth — Jennifer Banks — A lot of death.
to read: essays, articles, newsletters
Toward Philosophy Of Birth? A Review Of Natality — Natalie Symons, Front Porch Republic — “…but to the Christian or to any reader open to the idea that birth might impose responsibilities upon us, these biographies are likely to serve as a cautionary warning rather than an invitation to imitation.”
Toward A Theology Of Birth: Jennifer Banks, Julian of Norwich, and the Acceptance of Suffering — Beatrice Scudeler, Fairer Disputations — “In our contemporary society, which values bodily autonomy over sacrifice, and thus undervalues the astonishing things a woman’s body can do, Julian’s perspective can feel revolutionary. We are accustomed to thinking of birth and death as separate events, but for Julian, Christ’s Passion connects them by reminding us that we must die to ourselves in order to be spiritually reborn.”
Roundtable: Natality: Toward A Philosophy Of Birth — Ellen Koneck, Natalie Carnes, Leah Libresco Sargeant, and Agnes Howard, Current — “What is so interesting about the story Banks tells is that when birth is central, it does not eclipse death in the way death has dominated birth. Instead, it brings death into sharper focus.”
(related: Mortality And Natality In The Pandemic, Mortality And Natality First Hand, and Motherhood: A Confession, shared previously)
The Doves Above Jerusalem — Jason G. Duesing, Ekstasis —
“Did the doves above Jerusalem bray,
then soar,
as the angel declared,
refrain of joy—
“Risen! Death no more!”?”
- , Stuff I’m Thinking About — “So what does any of this have to do with the recent trend of public intellectuals gravitating toward Catholicism et al? Well, I think that Catholicism especially, but even Orthodoxy and Anglicanism to a great extent, offers a more fully formed and explanatory worldview regarding the current points of cultural tension… We are in a dispute over what it means to be human - what we are and what we are for.”
The Texture Of Things Past — Daxxton McGee, Circe Institute — “Indeed, it may be lamented too, the degree to which our current societal ills are wrought by people who pass through a drab and sterile world, wherein there is nothing calling them to be better, no cause to treasure their possessions, no reason to take pride in their cities, and no sense in preserving these ordinary objects for their own sake. If the world is pretty, it tells man something about the world and his place in it; it confers a hopeful and reverent tone and demands that he do well to guard against decay, disorder, or pure industrialized pragmatism.”
A World Nobody Wants — David Schaengold, Compact — “But more than style or method, it is about culture. If the built world is ever to be recovered from the forces of mediocrity, we must develop a cultural immune system that rejects mediocrity.”
Why Catholics Should Resist NIMBYism —
, America — “But a family-friendly neighborhood could instead be a neighborhood that the average family can afford, and it may look different than our ideal. It may be the case that putting the human person and the family first requires letting go of certain aesthetic preferences.”(related: Yes In My Backyard—And In My Frontyard and Arbitrary Lines, shared previously)
Cities Aren't For Families... But They Should Be —
, City Of Yes — “The flight of families to the suburbs won’t strike a lot of people as particularly odd… But what if the growth of the suburbs is instead explained by necessity, not desire?”(related: Cities Aren't Built For Kids, plenty from Addison, Walkability And The Culture Wars, Our Year Without A Car (With Kids), Care At Scale and Grilling Man At The End Of History, shared previously)
On Being A Paperboy — Christopher Mari, Dappled Things — “A seed is planted in my soul without my realizing it. I’m unconscious of it for a long while as the seed’s roots reach out for nourishment. It’s the writing that connects them, I realize, it’s the stories told.”
to watch, listen to
On Being Born — Joy Marie Clarkson w/ Jennifer Banks — A conversation about Natality.
Continuing On:
to glean from: tip, product, resource
the [female] body: a compilation — I gathered the most impactful and formative ideas and resources from the past few years, as they pertain to the female person. It’s behind a paywall because it’s the result of years of learning and took hours and hours to create. (Also, I’ve never charged for this newsletter… and really, I could be doing other things with my time but I certainly want to keep at it.) But more to the point, these things have been life-changing for me and so many others in our experience of the world… and hopefully this easily accessible format will serve others in finding what they need.
to look back on
This Week:
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The Horse and His Boy does not get enough attention! A wonderful book.