Late to Love has been out for just over one month. I’ve had the chance to share the songs live, and the stories behind them, a few times now. I will soon post something of a report on my present status as an artist, and all the complicated questions of branding, secular/sacred identity, and whatnot. In the meantime, a few more generous reviews have come out (find the 19 other reviews here and here): 20. Calah Alexander reviews the CD... Read more
I don’t know why I was called out on Facebook about this, seeing how poorly read I am, but here are my top ten favourite novels, in no particular order, including novellas, a children’s book, and some historical fiction — in reply to Artur Rosman’s much more muscular post of his own: Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain When Nietzsche Wept, Irving Yalom The Death of Ivan Ilych, Leo Tolstoy Amor y Pedagogia, Miguel de Unamuno Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche Frankenstein, Mary Shelley The World... Read more
Solidarity Hall has a thing for lefty Catholic native Texans. Their Soap Box interview series began with Elizabeth Stoker-Bruenig and was followed by Hunter Sharpless, both originally from the Republic of Texas. I am now their third. We talked about my review of God’s Not Dead, the Christian film that came out this summer. Read the write-up that goes along with the recorded interview. Read more
Every few weeks my Facebook feed revisits another report from a nutty niche website of a study that definitively proves the debilitating evils of infant, child, and pregnant mother vaccinations. The studies cited are usually recycled from the previous unpersuasive iteration, and Simcha Fisher is usually a reliable antidote to them. The issue usually then boils down to journalistic self-reporting by parents who reject vaccinations, which too often is given a polite pass.* I’m very sad to report that, as unsavoury as it... Read more
(Read the first round-up, including links to 11 reviews.) * Late to Love has been out for almost two weeks now and has received quite a few mentions and reviews. Here they are, counting off from 11, where the last round-up ended: 12. Pia de Solenni includes Late to Love among art that shows “Why We Don’t Need Catholic/Christian Writers, Artists, etc.” 13. Korrectiv Press gives its literary cousin, Wiseblood, a shout out. 14. Tom Zampino writes “Of Pears, And Lusts, And Conversions,... Read more
Today at 1 pm EST, Black United Students organized and staged a “die in” at Kent State University in response to continuing violence against African Americans and other — often young and male — people of colour. Photos and video taken by Walter Gershon. #kentstatediein Read more
My debut album, Late to Love, was released in all formats on the feast of St. Augustine. Here is a round-up of reviews and notes about its progress. * Running on just under two hours of sleep, I played a solo concert at Regent College on the evening of the release. Considering that I am new in town, it was well attended, with about 40 people. Here is the entire video: Here is a photo album of the evening, courtesy of Justin Tse.... Read more
A great deal of ink has been spilled lately about the need to appreciate what Pope Francis recently referred to in Evangelii Gaudium as the via pulchritudinis, the way of beauty. The term ‘aesthetics’ is in vogue, so it seems, and it appears to be having some positive effects, in small but serious ways, on contemporary religious artists—they are out there, and perhaps always have been, but are getting more attention and reception. Nonetheless, aesthetics is not art. The former presupposes the latter;... Read more
Leah Libresco is one of the few Patheos bloggers who has blogged at two channels. Her blog, Unequally Yoked, began with the Atheist Channel in 2010 and found its way to the Catholic Channel—as she joined the Roman Catholic Church—in 2012. Her interview was swift and direct, with almost no editing required for her part. Employed as a statistician in Washington DC, Libresco writes on topics that vary from ethics and stoicism to books and debate. She shows a remarkable, soul-searching ability to read spiritual texts... Read more
In anticipation of the release of my new album, Late to Love, here is a very interesting conversation about art between two Catholics, Conan O’Brien and Jack White. * I would never presume to say that Catholics have some special ability to make art, but I will claim that Catholic art has something to it that is distinctly and darkly beautiful. I am one of the least rock-and-roll guitarists out there, but I’ve recently become very interested in Jack White’s... Read more
Sam Rocha
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