We recently completed another graduation at Azusa Pacific University, where I teach literature and writing. In the celebratory dinners and receptions with students and their family and friends leading up to the ceremony itself, there is always a lot of talk the students finally finishing college and entering the “real world.” That’s what they call it. Real. That implies, of …
Don’t Let Them Squash Your Creativity
With all the roles that many of us have to fill throughout the day—friend, employee, spouse, parent, consumer, and so on—the creative self can be one of the most fragile. Even though for many of us the creative self is deeply embedded and even essential to our sanity, it is also easily crushed. Many forces stand ready to squash the …
Why I Don’t Watch Movies Based on Books I Care About
I have never seen The Lord of the Rings movies and probably never will. Whenever I have mentioned this to anyone, the most common response is, “But they’re so good.” The fact that they’re good makes me want to see them even less. Why? I read the books many years ago, and the experience was so powerful that I walked …