The Review Revolution: Improving Culture through Kvetching

Who Was Julian of Norwich? A Q&A with Author Amy Frykholm

The only thing I knew about Julian of Norwich before reading Amy Frykholm's excellent new "contemplative biography" of her was that she was the saint who said "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." My friend Kelly likes to quote that when I'm particularly stressed out, and I find it comforting. 

It turns out that I'm not the only one in the dark about this medieval saint. In this interview, Christian Century correspondent Amy Frykholm explodes some of the pervasive myths about Julian and helps us to understand Julian's theology and visions.

Flunking Sainthood: I don't know much about Julian, but I had always heard she was an aristocratic nun. You say that might not have been the case at all.

Frykholm: Right. In fact, I think the evidence points away from it. No one knows for sure, but there was an enormous explosion of lay writing in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Lay people were taking on greater roles in the church and claiming their own spirituality. So there's no reason to presume she was a nun. But there's also the fact that Julian never mentions a convent, a religious order, or anything monastic in her book. Another reason was that she wrote this book for laypeople. Most books written by women in this period were for sisters or make a great deal of mention of convent life. She's very clear that she's writing for laypeople.

FS: So she probably wasn't a nun, but you're saying she was not gentility either?

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/flunkingsainthood/2010/09/who-was-julian-of-norwich-a-qa-with-author-amy-frykholm.html#ixzz0yVArisbS

Donna Freitas Hearts the Twible

This morning I logged into my email to find a whole host of messages announcing new followers on Twitter. The source of all this largesse? Blogger/novelist/religion scholar Donna Freitas has written a lovely entry called "Oh, the Bible Bores Me So" for Religion Dispatches. She talks about how she is bored to tears by the Bible but is loving the daily Twible. Thanks, Donna, for helping to spread the word!

And speaking of blogging, I've been AWOL from this personal blog partly because I am gearing up to blog for Beliefnet at least five times a week starting June 15. The blog is called "Flunking Sainthood," which is the title of my next book. It  will explore spirituality and culture in a broad-ranging way, with an emphasis on ordinary people trying to live out their faith and sometimes -- OK, often -- falling short. It's about the lighter side of spiritual failure, and will feature interviews, book reviews, commentary on films & television, updates on the Twible project, and a weekly column about Mormon life. Hope to see you there! The new blog will happen here. I'll be sure to cross-post any reviews here on The Review Revolution.

In the news and on the Web

OK, so although watching Olympic figure skating is pretty much my full-time job these last two weeks of February, I have managed to accomplish a couple of other things. 

First, I am quoted in an article in today's edition of USA Today, speaking about Hollywood's superficial appropriation of Hindu themes and images.  It was fun to vent about how little Americans understand about Hinduism and how impatient we are with the concept of reincarnation.

Second, I did a longish podcast recently for Sunstone which you can find here.  Sunstone, if you are a) not Mormon, or b) Mormon, but living under a rock, is the avant-garde magazine for liberal and artsy-fartsy Latter-day Saints.  I've done a lot of radio interviews, but this was my first-ever podcast.  I really enjoyed it!

And now back to figure skating.