Appeasing my Conscience

Reading André Bernard’s book reviews in “The Kenyon Review” bring back the shame of my last review for The Herald. Rushed and in no particular mood to write, I forced a review of The Poisonwood Bible. Having read the novel nearly two years ago my memory was hazy. My words were hardly compelling and barely focused as I was more concerned with my deadline then with my words. I even confused my description of the characters. To appease my own conscience I would like to take this time to re-write my review of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.

Of the Dark Continent

Lindsey Renée

The first time I picked up Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible was at the end of my junior year in high school. I read it for my Advanced American Literature class. For our final assignment, my teacher brought in a throng of contemporary literature from varying genres and required that we choose one book to read and present a brief, informal presentation on to the class. Her hope being that this assignment might remind us that literature is enjoyable, after the many “boring” books that we had been condemned to trudge through. I quickly devoured the first book that I chose and, while the rest of my class struggled to finish the assignment before the last day of school, I asked for another. She lent me The Poisonwood Bible. I both loved and hated it.

While there are some novels that slowly draw your attention, waiting till possibly the middle of the book before you are unable to set them down, Kingsolver captured my attention from the first page. She tells her tale through the mouths of the wife and four daughter of Nathan Price, a Baptist missionary in the Congo. From the beginning chapter, the narrative had a haunting quality. The narrators serve as a catalyst to draw the audience into the novel, and yet while they intensify the reaction they are also consumed in the process: drawn in and captured. The Poisonwood Bible is empowered by their voices, their burdens, their deepest thoughts and emotions.

In many ways, Kingsolver’s narrative is reminiscent of Alan Paton’s Too Late the Phalarope, which also relies on a deeply emotional, personal narrative to relay a multi-layered and complex tale. Similar to Too Late the Phalarope, Kingsolver’s novel is not without a political agenda. Her passion for the Congo’s history clearly comes through the pages, as does her research. Her novel portrays the deep white scar that marks the Dark Continent, which is continually aggravated.

Though the beauty and depth of Kingsolver’s tale touched my heart, I was also often outraged at her presentation of Christianity. Though, I will admit that it most likely reflects her experience with Christians. I could not help but be angered and frustrated by Nathan Price who serves as the antagonist in The Poisonwood Bible. His character is hypocritical, blindly legalistic and cold hearted. He is the embodiment of the “white man” who had oppressed, enslaved and raped Africa. Even the other mild presentations of Christianity within The Poisonwood Bible do not reflect the essence of the Christian faith. Kingsolver’s understanding of Christianity is appalling, while at the same time entirely expected since it reflects the common face of Christianity in the world.

Two years have passed since I first read The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver’s novel is now a piece of my growing library. Readers of this novel must read her words critically,giving her grace when reading passages that seem to discount their faith and with the ability to be understanding, having an open mind to learn but not be hoodwinked by her words. Each reader will be mesmerized by the beauty of her prose, amused by the variety and quirks of her narrators, and moved by her heart for Africa.

Writer Quotes

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.”

--C.S. Lewis

“The novelist is like the conductor of an orchestra, his back to the audience, his face invisible, summoning the experience of music for the people he cannot see. The writer as conductor also gets to compose the music and play all of the instruments, a task less formidable that it seems. What it requires is the conscious practice of providing an extraordinary experience for the reader, who should be oblivious to the fact that he is seeing words on paper.”
Sol Stein, On Writing, p. 8

“Write while the heat is in you. The writer who postpones the recording of his thoughts uses an iron which has cooled to burn a hole with. He cannot inflame the minds of his audience.”
–Henry David Thoreau

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. Writers are like that: remembering where we were, what valley we ran through, what the banks were like, the light that was there, and the route back to our original place."

--Toni Morrison

"A writer begins by breathing life into his characters. But if you are very lucky, they breathe life into you."

--Caryl Phillips

This afternoon I discovered a blog titled simple WriterQuotes. Since inspiration is key to writing I thought that I would share the best quotes that I found on this blog. Hopefully these will encourage you.

Addendum:

In the introduction, I neglected to mention that during the 2006-2007 school year the English Society will be publishing a quarterly literary magazine, which would be printed and distributed before the end of each term. In previous years Cornerstone University had a literary magazine but it was discontinued, largely because of the small number of contributors. We are hopeful that Cornerstone University is now capable of maintaining a literary magazine. Beginning in mid-summer and during the school year the English Society will be accepting submissions from students, alumni, and staff.

Our hope is that this blog will be a means of gathering submisssions or at least connecting with possible contributors so that the literary magazine will be a success. Interested participants may also become a part of the committee which will select the stories to be published in the magazine. Keep checking through out the summer for more information.

Lindsey Renee

English Society President

An Introduction

Though the Cornerstone University English Society was not very active during the last school year, we hope to change that during the coming 2006-2007 school year. Currently, the society plans to host holiday readings on CU's campus and to offer a weekly writing group.

During these summer months the society would like to connect individuals who would be interested in the English Society writing group through this blog. The blog provides an opportunity for aspiring authors to share their work, ideas or inspiration with other authors. All interested participants may post short stories, book reviews or any other thought provoking entries they would like and will be able to recieve comments from their fellow writers.

I am very excited about this blog and the many possibilities that it has to offer. Though there is one thing missing: a good title. The CU English Society Writing Group is both wordy and boring. Through the months of May and June we will be taking suggestions for an alternative title for both this blog (the site address will not change though, I promise) and for the actual Writing Group, which will being meeting in late August/early September. If we have enough contributions than by mid-June we may hold an election for the best possible name.

Also, if you are concerned as to what the intention of this blog is my suggestion is that you visit http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/. Though this website is much more elaborate it can give you an idea of what the eventual goal of this site is.

As this blog gains readers and contributors we will begin to post online opportunities for writing contests and other writing opportunities that we stumble across.

Lindsey Renee
English Society President