Words Made Fresh: Essays on Literature and Culture

In these newly revised essays, award-winning author Woiwode (What I Think I Did) journeys through topics near and dear to his heart: home and place, Shakespeare and Updike, Bob Dylan and CNN. He illuminates his essays with a Christian perspective, which argues that as we become culturally disconnected from our scriptural heritage, "the verve and excitement of discovery" evaporates from language. Woiwode works to infuse life back into words, finding the sacred in Updike's conviction that the truth can't shock God, in the stricken eyes of a dying deer. Woiwode believes in the incarnational value of story, and his essays, filled with recollections, offer the enjoyment of eavesdropping on the conversations of a man who has lived richly for the past 50 years. Readers might wish for more than a scant five pages on Reynolds Price, fewer on Updike, but the essays on Wendell Berry, on Woiwode's North Dakota home, and on Shakespeare satisfy without overdoing. Despite some unevenness, Woiwode's skill with and love of both words and the Word infuse these pages. (July)