Deus Misereatur

Reading Buechner: Exploring the Work of a Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher by Jeffrey Munroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Storytelling is a gift. I'm not sure I have it, but I'm always intrigued when I stumble across an author or speaker who can capture my attention. I have heard for many years that Frederick Buechner is one of those master raconteurs. So I was interested when Jeffrey Munroe, executive vice president at Western Theological Seminary and a charter member of the advisory board of the Buechner Institute of Faith and Culture, put forth this new 232-page paperback "Reading Buechner: Exploring the Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher." It's an easy read, delving into the life, times, trauma and lyrical abilities of Frederick Buechner, and giving dabblers and fans alike a fresh, factual portrait written by an enthusiastic admirer. Munroe walks through Buechner's works both chronologically and systematically. He com...

Slave Narratives of the Underground Railroad by Christine Rudisel My rating: 3 of 5 stars The volume is packed full of slave narratives, many penned in the late 19th-Century by William Sill, a son of slaves. The remainder are drawn in from other sources by the editors, Christine Rudisel and Bob Blaisdell, both professors of English at Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn New York. The stories unpack the harried and sometimes, horrific environment of 19th-Century slavery, and the thirst for liberty. The tales can be brutal, but also inspiring. There is a bit of a propaganda edge to the narratives, since many of them were collected for the purposes of vindicating the anti-slavery movement, and the Underground Railroad. Several of the accounts are from interviews given to various Vigilance Committees not long after a person reached safety. The stories are a mixture of sadness and celebration, pain and perseverance, sacrifice and suffering. It is a book worth reading, and having in ...