Exploring Catholic Literature: A Companion and Resource Guide (Catholic Studies)

Designed for students of all ages, Exploring Catholic Literature: A Companion and Resource Guide provides an engaging and succinct introduction to twelve recognized masterpieces of Catholic literature, from Augustine's 4th century conversion narrative, The Confessions, to the recent poetry of Denise Levertov collected in The Stream and the Sapphire. Each chapter contains a brief biography of the author, an extended critical essay highlighting the work's Catholic and literary aspects, suggestions for further reading and study, and questions for discussion.

Religion & Spirituality

Reichardt, Mary R.

Christian Books & Bibles

Sheed Ward

Analyzes the short stories of a turn-of-the-century regionalist writer who depicted New England village life. After a close reading of themes, techniques, and styles of two stories, later chapters survey Freeman's short fiction during three phases of her career, with individual analysis of selected stories combining a New Critical approach with elements of reader-response, psychological, feminist, and revisionist criticism. Includes a collection of essays and letters by Freeman on her own work and on writing in general, plus a chronology. For students of English and women's studies. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Mary Wilkins Freeman: A Study of the Short Fiction (Twayne's Studies in Short Fiction)

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Twayne Pub

From publisher lists to bestseller lists, Catholic literature is thriving today. Between Human and Divine is the first collection of scholarly essays published on a wide variety of contemporary (post 1980) Catholic literary works and artists. Its aim is to introduce readers to recent and emerging writers and texts in the tradition. Each of the fifteen essays presents an informative critical perspective on a given work or works, and each addresses the questions:
 ―what, specifically, makes this a work of Catholic literature?
 ―how does it both fit into and help shape the Catholic literary tradition?
In the broad and diverse range of works represented in this book, readers will find a veritable treasure trove of contemporary Catholic writing. Genres covered include fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction, and authors include those from the United States, England, Ireland, Spain, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Because many of these writers and works may be new to readers, the essays are partly introductory in nature, providing, where appropriate, brief author biographies and plot overviews. Thus this collection will appeal not only to literary scholars but to all readers interested in the intersection of religion and literature in general and in Catholic literature in particular. 
Between Human and Divine furthers the study of the fascinating ways that religion, culture, social change, and tradition are shaped by the imaginative process. It also contributes to scholarship in the area by extending the parameters of the Catholic literary tradition into the present, demonstrating that such literature is flourishing today even if its subject matter, thematic concerns, and writing techniques show new and intriguing shifts in direction. 
ABOUT THE EDITOR:
Mary R. Reichardt is professor of Catholic Studies and Literature at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, where she teaches Catholic literature courses and directs the Lilly Foundation grant program at the university. The author of seven books, her recent publications on Catholic literature include Catholic Women Writers, Exploring Catholic Literature, and the two-volume Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature. She is also the editor of several recent American literature titles in Ignatius Press's critical editions series.
THE CONTRIBUTORS:
Ed Block, Gary M. Bouchard, Michael G. Brennan, Meoghan B. Cronin, Davin Heckman, Daniel S. Lenoski, Robert P. Lewis, Eamon Maher, Dominic Manganiello, Stephen McInerney, Nan Metzger, Salvador A. Oropesa, Patricia L. Schnapp, RSM, Nancy Ann Watanabe, Wendy A. Weaver, J. C. Whitehouse
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
"A masterful achievement on all counts: the perspicacity of its concept; the scope of its coverage; the high degree of professionalism of its contributors; the demanding standards of exposition and critical expertise; and, particularly vital, its timeliness. Each contribution is highly readable and accessible to anyone with an abiding interest in the contemporary literary scene in general. This latest work by Reichardt fills a lacuna in Catholic literature."―Russell E. Murphy, professor of English, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
 "[An] interesting and informative volume of essays."―James T. Keane, S.J., America
 "[I]ntelligently argued, well researched, and accessible works of scholarship that take an evenhanded approach to the source material." ―M. E. DiPaolo, Choice
 "This is a simply brilliant book, accessible to the general reader and appealing to the specialist; no library should be without it." ―Religious Studies Review

Between Human and Divine: The Catholic Vision in Contemporary Literature

The Catholic University of America Press

A Web of Relationship: Women in the Short Fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman

Although a prolific and popular writer in her day, Mary Wilkins Freeman has only recently been rediscovered and reevaluated as a realistic recorder of the status and sensibility of the New England woman in the early years of this century. Women form the backbone of her stories. Within a framework tightly controlled by patriarchal and religious tradition, Freeman's women strive for an understanding of the roles assigned to them. Through their relationships and responses, they test the limits of their freedom and learn the moral and personal consequences of rejecting or acquiescing to the roles the larger community has imposed on them.The rebellious woman became a key these in Freeman's stories and a major image in her gallery of fictional portraits of women. A Web of Relationship reveals how she sharply delineates the lives and personalities of women who accept of reject the ideal Victorian code of "true womanhood" as mother and wife. This study of Freeman's stories throws light upon the other women her rich fictional narratives portray--women who are rejected by men and who feel their lives are thus worthless and their futures bleak; women frustrated yet submissive to the confines of marriage; women whose sole means of solidarity with other women is through self-aggrandizing gossip; women who must deal with day with the twin hardships of advancing age and poverty. Freeman's unifying theme is the web of relationships connecting every type of New England woman struggling towards selfhood despite straitened circumstances and repression by family and community. Freeman's collective portraits of New England women not only give insight into her art but also reveal her penetrating vision of women frustrated by the confusing and confining roles forced upon them in this time and place.

United States

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI

Insights into a rediscovered author's revealing portraits of New England women

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Reichardt, Mary R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Reichardt, Mary R.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Reichardt, Mary R.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Exploring Catholic Literature: A Companion and Resource Guide (Catholic Studies)

Exploring Catholic Literature: A Companion and Resource Guide (Catholic Studies)

Mary Wilkins Freeman: A Study of the Short Fiction (Twayne's Studies in Short Fiction)

Between Human and Divine: The Catholic Vision in Contemporary Literature

A Web of Relationship: Women in the Short Fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman

A Web of Relationship: Women in the Short Fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman