The podcast of the Anselm Society's Arts Guild. Join host Matt Mellema and a rotation of guests at the digital pub table for conversations about faith and storytelling. "Some things have to be believed to be seen." -Madeleine L'Engle
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Our culture has become terribly serious about not taking anything seriously. From satire and postmodernism to the internet's endless layers of irony , we've become afraid to be earnest. Some artists have called for a rebellion against this irony , and renewed emphasis on "New Sincerity." But irony still has its benefits. And too much earnestness has its own set of pitfalls. Matt, Mandy, and…
It's not easy to feel grounded in our busy, 21st century lifestyles. Our spiritual journeys can feel truncated, stale, or simply seem another "to-do" list item to improve upon. But what if we could renew our spiritual journeys by way of our ordinary lives? How might ancient practices give us a foundation from which to do it? Join us as we talk to author Danielle Mellema about how she has learned…
Join Mandy's conversation with oil painter Nicole Beck and road trip photographer Isaac Hans — both members of the Anselm Society Arts Guild. Nicole and Isaac discuss how storytelling is integral to their work, from inception to public showings. (Warning: You're going to want to attend more gallery shows after this episode, and you'll never see them the same way again.)
How much Arthurian art have you seen? Chances are, it's more than you think. From medieval illuminated manuscripts to seemingly vague romantic paintings of knights on horseback wooing maidens with flowing hair, join the hosts for an exploration of visual depictions of Arthurian legends across the centuries.
For more than a thousand years, the legends of King Arthur have been retold, expanded, and reinvented. In this episode, we trace the remarkable evolution of the Arthurian legends from the shadowy origins in post-Roman Britain through Saxon England and the French courts, up through Victorian writers and into the modern day. Along the way, we explore how each generation reshaped the legend and why…
What did C.S. Lewis mean when he said that George MacDonald's Phantastes "baptized my imagination"? Meredith Finch is the writer of the new graphic novel adaptation of Phantastes from Cave Pictures Publishing. We discuss the unique challenge of adapting a dreamlike and deeply symbolic novel into a visual medium, the meaning behind some of MacDonald's most memorable images and episodes, and why…
Dovetailing with last week's episode on the ownership of stories, Matt, Mandy, and Sarah discuss the mysterious and oft-maligned world of fanfiction. Is it a silly way for mostly young women to get validation and fix the problems they see in other stories? Or is it a low-stakes environment to hone skills and experiment with identity? What is fanfiction's appeal and value, and what can it show us…
For most of human history, nobody "owned" the great stories. Nobody owned Achilles, Beowulf, or King Arthur. These tales belonged to civilization itself—passed down, expanded, and reinterpreted generation after generation. Every age added something new, and every storyteller helped keep the stories alive. In many ways, the old myths survived precisely because people kept taking up the tale. But…
What if we've misunderstood the Inklings? When most of us think of the Inklings, we picture C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien: two brilliant minds meeting in an Oxford pub and changing literature forever. But that's only one part of a much bigger story. G. Connor Salter joins the Anselm Digital Pub table to discuss his new book, The Other Inklings . It explores the often-overlooked members of the…
We love a good vampire yarn, or speculating about how we would react to a zombie apocalypse. Pop culture loves them too: vampires sexy, zombies scary. But what is the value in telling these kinds of stories? Is there more to it than just Hollywood trying to make more money? Dr. Amy Hughes, a theology professor, scholar, and author joins the pub table to discuss our favorite supernatural creatures…
It's human to want to fit in. And it's human to fail at fitting in. What if our peculiarities aren't necessarily weaknesses to be overcome, but gifts from God that He wants us to use? Join us at the virtual pub table as we discuss the pain of feeling like a weirdo, and the joy of finding our purpose (among our fellow weirdos).
