The Virginia Festival of the Book kicks off today, St. Patty’s Day! I’m on for a Bible Babel book talk tonight — 6pm at the Charlottesville Barnes and Noble on Emmett. If you’re in the area, do come! I had a chance to visit over coffee yesterday with my fellow panelist, Winn Collier, and our …
I was delighted to read Pulitzer-prize winner Michael Dirda’s review of Bible Babel in the Washington Post last week. He clearly read the book carefully through, and “got” it. That he liked it, too — how sweet! Meanwhile, check out some of Dirda’s own books, if you haven’t had the pleasure already. As an avid collector of quotes — …
A hot summer day, slow river, cooler of bevs, swimsuit, and a few good friends — ingredients for a lazy day of tubing. At least that’s what “tubing” brings to mind around here in Richmond. Drinking, chatting, napping your way through an afternoon on the James in July. In cold weather places, tubing is a winter thing, too. …
Huge snow in VA, cold days clear down to FL, these are the days for books. Any form, any genre, grab a fav or something new and settle in. Want something fun to share with family gathered over the holidays? Or maybe you need a break from the mayhem. Perhaps you’re going solo this year …
I just finished an interpretive translation of the biblical book of Numbers for “The Voice,” a multi-volume project to which many extraordinary Christian writers have contributed. I’m honored to be in their company. Numbers is a funny book — one minute you can be slogging through mind-numbing details of genealogies or ritual details and the next you’re …
I had the great good fortune to read a couple of new Bible translations and communicate, albeit briefly, with their creators for an article that will appear in Publishers Weekly Religion BookLine (10/28). In both cases, the translators are poets in their own right. Not only that, but both have worked for decades with these …
The James River Writers conference was a smashing success! Many thanks to Jason Tesauro, Ginny Pye, the Library of Virginia, volunteers, organizers, soiree hosts, agents, editors, panelists, moderators, and all who helped make it great! Although finally only writing is writing, talking about the craft, hearing the stories of how stories came to be, and …
It’s in! Check out the cover for Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time through the “Books” link on the home page. Because the book is for all kinds of readers, includes lots of popular culture references, and doesn’t present a particular religious perspective, we wanted it to look hip and …
“The Saint John’s Bible” is a remarkable, gorgeous representation of an ancient technique of rendering sacred text — written by hand and “illuminated” with fine art. Here’s a partial description: “The Saint John’s Bible is the first handwritten, hand illuminated Bible in more than 500 years. Under the artistic direction of Donald Jackson, M.V.O., one …
Thinking about writing is not writing; talking about writing is not writing. Only writing is writing, or so the wisdom goes. The school semester is in full swing, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to carve out the time and maintain the concentration required to make progress on the projects I’m eager to do. So, I’m …
