A Stay Against Confusion
Description
?Erudite and meditative, A Stay Against Confusion. . . depicts a profound, complex spirituality. . . brims with intelligence, passion and conviction.? ?San Francisco Chronicle
In this vivid and deeply felt collection of essays, Ron Hansen talks about his novels, childhood, family, and mentors such as John Gardner. He explores prayer, stigmata, twentieth-century martyrs, and the Eucharist. A profile of his grandfather, a "tough-as-nails, brook-no-guff Colorado rancher," finds a place alongside a wonderfully informative portrait of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. A brilliant reading of a story by Leo Tolstoy follows an appreciation of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Surprisingly intimate, A Stay Against Confusion brings together the literary and religious impulses that inform the life of one of our most gifted fiction writers.
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Person
Ron Hansen is the bestselling author of the novel Atticus (a finalist for the National Book Award), Hitler's Niece, Mariette in Ecstasy, Desperadoes, and Isn't It Romantic?, as well as a collection of short stories, a collection of essays, and a book for children. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Ron Hansen lives in northern California, where he teaches at Santa Clara University.
Content
- Intro
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface: A Stay Against Confusion
- Writing as Sacrament
- Faith and Fiction
- What Stories Are and Why We Read Them
- A Nineteenth-Century Man
- The Wizard: Remembering John Gardner
- The Pilgrim: Saint Ignatius of Loyola
- The Story of Cain
- Affliction and Grace: Religious Experience in the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins
- Leo Tolstoy's "Master and Man"
- Babette's Feast
- "Anima Christi"
- Stigmata
- Hearing the Cry of the Poor: The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador
- Eucharist
- Works Cited
- Copyright Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Also by Ron Hansen
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
