View email in your browser ([link removed])

A charity hopes to turn J.R.R. Tolkien's house into a meeting place for writers, screenwriters and filmmakers from all cultures and faith backgrounds. A new book helps the reader imagine art from the perspective of labor, rooting it in the charism of the working class. And in the latest Soul Seeing column, Amy Morris-Young says the us.-vs.-them mentality in our church and country is insidious and dangerous.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Tolkien fans hope to turn his house into a 'Rivendell' for writers and filmmakers ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Fantasy novel enthusiasts wish to turn the house of famed Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien in Oxford, where he wrote "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," into a meeting place for writers, screenwriters and filmmakers from all cultures and faith backgrounds.

In 1930, Tolkien moved into the house at 20 Northmoor Road where his children would grow up during the Second World War. Project Northmoor is a charity created with the purpose of buying the house, currently for sale for roughly $6 million. The project has already raised about $1 million.

"I think it would be wonderful to go and read and be inspired by Tolkien," said Julia Golding, an award-winning author and screenwriter who founded Project Northmoor. Golding said she hopes the place will be "a version of Rivendell," the elven city in "The Lord of the Rings" where sojourners from all fantastical races and backgrounds meet for reflection and, of course, adventure.

You can read more of the story here ([link removed]) .
------------------------------------------------------------


** New book says 'unalienated labor' is what makes art, art ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------

Pope Francis recently proclaimed this "The Year of Saint Joseph," making this a good time to look at art from the perspective of labor.

John Molyneux's new book The Dialectics of Art offers a solid Marxist framework to help inform our visual imagination — rooting it in the charism of the working class. Molyneux is a British socialist, activist and writer, writing from outside of the academy without a specific art historical specialization, which "frees him to create a compelling, wide-reaching story of art in the age of capitalism, roughly from the Italian Renaissance to today," writes Ciaran Freeman in the review of the book.

For Molyneux, art is "is a kind of spiritual health food which contributes to the development of the human personality, especially among working-class people" when they can freely access it.

"Art arises out of a definite historical and social context, creating a human response to that specific moment in the history of class struggle," Freeman writes. "What makes something art is the nature of the labor of its production."

You can read more of the book review here ([link removed]) .
------------------------------------------------------------


** More headlines
------------------------------------------------------------
* In the latest Soul Seeing column ([link removed]) , Amy Morris-Young writes about the us.-vs.-them mentality that seems to be endemic in our Bible, our church, our nation and our world.

* Scripture reflections from St. Joseph Sr. Mary M. McGlone on the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ([link removed]) .

------------------------------------------------------------


** Weekend wrap-up
------------------------------------------------------------

I'm thrilled to announce this weekend newsletter will be taken over next weekend by our very own NCR opinion editor, Olga Segura ([link removed]) . The newsletter will be called NCR Culture Weekly, and focus on all of the great content you expect each weekend — book reviews ([link removed]) , spiritual commentaries ([link removed]) and movie reviews ([link removed]) — but will also feature Olga's thoughts on the different ways pop culture can inform our Catholic faith. Each week, she will share with readers what art, whether a song, book or TV show, she's moved by that week and why. As a reader of this newsletter, you are already signed up, but if you know someone that might be interested, they can sign up here ([link removed]) .

Thanks for your readership,

Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Managing Editor
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Twitter: @ncrSLY ([link removed])

P.S. NCR Forward members play an important role in allowing NCR to pursue new ventures, such as more coverage of culture. Join today to be part of the community ([link removed]) .

------------------------------------------------------------



** Featured Advertisers
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed] Online certificate and master's programs. 50% tuition waivers given to faith-based leaders, church workers, and educators. A leader in global distance education for more than 10 years. ([link removed])
[link removed] Healing harp therapy CD tested in Mayo Clinic study. Effective for recovery from anxiety, depression, pain, high blood pressure, digestive and sleep problems. ([link removed])

------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement
[link removed]

============================================================
** facebook.jpg ([link removed])
** twitter.jpg ([link removed])
** instagram.jpg ([link removed])

** Sign up ([link removed])
for other NCR newslettters
** Forward ([link removed])
this email to a friend

** UPDATE EMAIL PREFERENCES ([link removed])
Copyright © 2021 National Catholic Reporter, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for email newsletters or because it is included in your newspaper subscription.
National Catholic Reporter Publishing Co.
115 E Armour Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64111-1203
USA
** Contact ([link removed])
| ** Privacy Policy ([link removed])
| ** Unsubscribe from all NCR emails ([link removed])