I’m sure that our readers are familiar with Dr Anthony Esolen, professor and writer-in-residence at Magdalene College in New Hampshire, for his regular contributions to a variety of Catholic publications, various lectures, a well-regarded translation of the Divine Comedy, etc. His essays cover a huge range of topics, and are always worth reading. He has recently started his own Substack page, called “Word and Song”, to which his wife Deborah also contributes, a celebration of all the good things in our culture which are worth knowing.
Here is his own description of it: “It’s our way of introducing people, in a cheerful way, to some of the beauty of our English and Christian heritage. Every week there will be a Word of the Week, that is, a foray into the fascinating and often whimsical and sometimes deeply revealing origins and histories of English words. There will be a Poem of the Week, with a short introduction, so that people will know what to look for, and this will include an audio version too, so people can hear the work recited or performed, as they should experience poetry, which was not meant simply to be read in silence. There will be a Hymn of the Week, a presentation of some sacred poem meant to be sung at Mass or at some form of Christian worship, and, like the Poem of the Week, there will be a short introduction or analysis, to help open up the poem to people who may never have heard it before, or, if they have heard it, who have never given it much thought. There will be a Film of the Week, that is, a film recommendation, with a link to the film or to some scene from it, and, as always, an introduction. There will be a Poetry Aloud section, this too for each week, wherein I read, for paid subscribers, a longer poem, saying a few words about it beforehand. Sometimes a Song, the section that my wife is in charge of, features a popular or folk song, from the time before obscenity and tunelessness began to rule the day: songs that everybody used to know and love. Finally, there will be monthly or bi-monthly podcasts, of lectures I have given or articles I have written, articles which I will read aloud. Some of the material -- the podcasts, the longer poetry readings, the audio versions of the Poem of the Week -- will be for paid subscribers only; all the rest will be available free.” Auguri, professore!
