1. Joel Looper’s review of To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism by Ross Douthat. “The crux of the problem, according to Douthat, is Pope Francis himself. Little by little, through Vatican appointments and sudden sackings, pregnant silences in response to theological questions, and, above all, his recent encyclical, amoris laetitia, the former Jorge Bergoglio has shown himself to be a theological revolutionary.”


2. Bárbara Mujica’s review of Silver, Sword & Stone: Three Crucibles of the Latin American Story by Marie Arana. “Arana does not blame all of Latin America’s ills on the Spanish conquest or Yankee imperialism, but rather argues that the obsession with precious metals, violence, and religion was endemic to the region long before the arrival of the conquistadors. However, the greed and thirst for dominance of foreign powers, especially the United States, have greatly exacerbated this mania.”


3. The 2020 Washington Writers Conference. The rumors are true: Registration is already open for next spring’s conference! Remember that the 2019 conference sold out, so don’t miss your chance to reserve a spot this time around (at the Super-Early-Bird rate, no less)!


4. “Hitting the Perfect Note” by Talmage Boston. “These are the stories of America. Dayton Duncan delivers them in this irresistible book [Country Music: An Illustrated History] that no self-respecting country music lover will be able to put down. And he puts them into their proper place in this spellbinding history narrative, one song at a time.”


5. September 2019 Exemplars: Poetry Reviews by Grace Cavalieri. “A collection of poetry spanning 40 years cannot be given fair enough review. These sample poems from eight books are a portrait of the writer’s life where we see a poet inspired by nature, history, mythology, and societal challenges — passions centralized by authority and a learned background. You won’t find confessional poems, sensationalism, exposés, or literary gossip because Wilner goes for big ideas and surfs them to poetic conclusions.”

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