You are right to discern the spirit of Catholicism in even the most "secular" of Don DeLillo's novels, such as WHITE NOISE. (Except for the ending with those German nuns.) I was his editor for LIBRA and I was also, to paraphrase you, a little Irish American altar boy serving the Latin mass in Brooklyn before Vatican II. I have long ago "fallen away," but the numinous is in no way alien to me. I have always been particularly attuned to the religious subtext and content of his work. Especially the truly excellent Jesuit jokes he gets off here and there.
I don't really buy that Don's work is, in any formal way, postmodern. His irony does no extend to what it is that he is doing. He is not pulling the epistemological rug out from under his readers. He is doing something else, something unique to himself and very very important to try to understand. His body of work, like that of Faulkner's (whom he read as a kid and admires) will provide grist for the critical mill for decades to come.
Thanks for these comments, Gerald. How cool that you edited DD! I had the chance to hear him speak once, and he told the story about once having a gig where he was to monitor a schoolyard. As he always had his nose in a Faulkner novel, there were many brawls. It's one of my favorite anecdotes.
I loved this Essay! It helped me to understand a little better certain concepts of the Catholic faith- and you helped me decide my next read! I have had White Noise in my book collection for a while and I have been dancing around it thinking maybe next time..... I have never read Don DeLillo before so this was a nice background introduction. Thanks so much!
Thanks, Crystal! White Noise is a great entry point. My personal favorite is the novella “Pafko at the Wall,” which later became the prologue to Underworld.
What a lovely piece--I don't have experience with charismatic Catholicism, but I grew up in a traditional Catholic community where attending Steubenville's summer camp was really common. I resonated deeply with the way this piece talked about the power that religious feeling can hold. You also have a wonderful grasp of language; I loved how precise your wording was here. I could really visualize some of the moments you discussed. Thank you for writing this :)
Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate them. My parents met at Steubenville, so I guess owe that place my existence, but its legacy is pretty shocking. You may have seen that Fr. Scanlan, the president who is credited for expanding its influence even beyond the US, has been posthumously accused of child sex abuse.
That's good to know--that's really awful. I really appreciated the way your piece walked the line really carefully between the way religion can be really beautiful and some of the horrid ugliness which can exist in religious spaces. Thanks for letting me know about that; it's really sobering, especially considering how popular I remember Steubenville being when I was a teenager.
Thank you. I have not always been good at walking the line. Fundamentalism casts a long shadow. But I do believe that the answer to absolutism is not...more absolutism.
You are right to discern the spirit of Catholicism in even the most "secular" of Don DeLillo's novels, such as WHITE NOISE. (Except for the ending with those German nuns.) I was his editor for LIBRA and I was also, to paraphrase you, a little Irish American altar boy serving the Latin mass in Brooklyn before Vatican II. I have long ago "fallen away," but the numinous is in no way alien to me. I have always been particularly attuned to the religious subtext and content of his work. Especially the truly excellent Jesuit jokes he gets off here and there.
I don't really buy that Don's work is, in any formal way, postmodern. His irony does no extend to what it is that he is doing. He is not pulling the epistemological rug out from under his readers. He is doing something else, something unique to himself and very very important to try to understand. His body of work, like that of Faulkner's (whom he read as a kid and admires) will provide grist for the critical mill for decades to come.
Thanks for these comments, Gerald. How cool that you edited DD! I had the chance to hear him speak once, and he told the story about once having a gig where he was to monitor a schoolyard. As he always had his nose in a Faulkner novel, there were many brawls. It's one of my favorite anecdotes.
Remarkable piece.
I love seeing an El Greco painting in my feed
I loved this Essay! It helped me to understand a little better certain concepts of the Catholic faith- and you helped me decide my next read! I have had White Noise in my book collection for a while and I have been dancing around it thinking maybe next time..... I have never read Don DeLillo before so this was a nice background introduction. Thanks so much!
Thanks, Crystal! White Noise is a great entry point. My personal favorite is the novella “Pafko at the Wall,” which later became the prologue to Underworld.
An inspired piece of writing. Deserves more than one reading.
What a lovely piece--I don't have experience with charismatic Catholicism, but I grew up in a traditional Catholic community where attending Steubenville's summer camp was really common. I resonated deeply with the way this piece talked about the power that religious feeling can hold. You also have a wonderful grasp of language; I loved how precise your wording was here. I could really visualize some of the moments you discussed. Thank you for writing this :)
Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate them. My parents met at Steubenville, so I guess owe that place my existence, but its legacy is pretty shocking. You may have seen that Fr. Scanlan, the president who is credited for expanding its influence even beyond the US, has been posthumously accused of child sex abuse.
That's good to know--that's really awful. I really appreciated the way your piece walked the line really carefully between the way religion can be really beautiful and some of the horrid ugliness which can exist in religious spaces. Thanks for letting me know about that; it's really sobering, especially considering how popular I remember Steubenville being when I was a teenager.
Thank you. I have not always been good at walking the line. Fundamentalism casts a long shadow. But I do believe that the answer to absolutism is not...more absolutism.
"While this usually meant that person ended up with all the chips and Fruit Roll-ups"
Hence people are pissed to lose access to their free Pepsi-Cola.