Elsewhere this week: Three Things
A memoir of WWII childhood, the death of a Classics journal, and Dan Williams' review of Russell Moore and Karen Swallow Prior
Good things often come in threes. I want to note three good (I hope) reads from this week so far, plus one older read for Father’s Day.
1. Reviewing Jarosław Marek Rymkiewicz’s memoir of WWII childhood in Warsaw
In my latest for Front Porch Republic, I reviewed a memoir by a Polish poet of growing up in WWII Warsaw. A taste:
Now available in English translation from Slant Books, Rymkiewicz’s unusual memoir, Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) brought to mind Omer’s novel of children’s lives in Warsaw. Here is a real little boy who lived through unspeakable horrors all around him—except decades later, of course, he did find words to write of them. Staying alive is a gift, even if it might not feel like it at the time.
His memories are plagued by profound loneliness. Childhood is defined by presence—of parents, of adults who should keep the child safe, allowing him to be a child. War, however, creates nothing but absence, stripping people away from places, and places of their previous inhabitants. Many will never return, and those who do, will never be the same. He is, in some ways, one-of-a-kind: the one who did not leave during the war, and then decided to stay after.
2. The quiet death of a Classics academic journal
Over at The Arena blog (which I edit at Current), I wrote about a more niche topic: the quiet death of the Classics journal, Ramus, whose final issue was published in May.
Unless you are part of the very small and very niche crowd of scholars in antiquity, you have never heard of Ramus. Therefore, the quiet end of its fifty-two-year existence means nothing to you. And yet, the end of this journal is more important than it appears at first glance. It reflects the present moment in humanities publishing, both academic and popular. As a result, I think it is merely one of many such quiet deaths that we will continue to encounter over the next decade.
Put simply, the age of highly specialized academic journals in the humanities, born to support the modern research university in the German model, has come to an end.
I argue that the future of humanities publishing is oriented towards the general public—and in my case, I’ve appreciated the chance to use my academic training to write for the church!
3. Dan Williams reviews the recent books of Russell Moore and Karen Swallow Prior
Over at Christian Scholar’s Review, my favorite American historian wrote a joint review of Russell Moore and Karen Swallow Prior’s two new books: “Two Visions for an Evangelical Reformation.” It’s a beautiful piece, worth reading in full.
Bonus: A Father’s Day read
One of my absolute favorites of all the essays I’ve ever written is this one, about Dan and Father’s Day: “Dinner and a Show: Summer Edition.” It’s about the joy that our kids used to experience from, well, one very ordinary activity they used to do with Dan.
Back on Saturday with the next installment in the Cultural Christians Slow Read!