 | |
| Author | Frederick Buechner |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2001 |
| Preceded by | The Longing for Home: recollections and reflections |
Speak What We Feel (Not What We Ought To Say): reflections on faith and literature is a collection of literary critical and theological essays authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 2001 by HarperCollins, Speak What We Feel is Buechner's thirteenth non-fiction work.
Speak What We Feel is a collection of essays on the topic of literature and theology. The author devotes each of the individual four chapters to an author, poet, or playwright: Gerard Manley Hopkins, Mark Twain, G. K. Chesterton, and William Shakespeare. Within each chapter, Buechner re-narrates the life of the writer, before discussing in detail one or more of their works. The essays include Buechner's reflections on King Lear (1608), The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), and Adventures Huckleberry Finn (1884).
Speak What We Feel is dedicated to the author's grandson, and to his 'old friend', Malcolm Goldstein. [1] Buechner scholar, Jeffrey Munroe, notes that the title for the work is taken from the closing lines of King Lear. [2]
In his introduction to Speak What We Feel, Buechner writes that he has 'undertaken [...] to say something first about the sad times for each of them' — accepting that little is known about Shakespeare's biography — and 'then to consider how those sad times and the way each came eventually to terms with them are reflected in the masterpieces they seem to me to have engendered'. [3] The author also states that the essays are written with the presupposition that 'all of our stories are at their deepest level the same story', and that by 'listening to these four say so powerfully not what they ought to say, but what they truly felt, we may possibly learn something about how to bear the weight of our own sadness.' [4]
In his review of Speak What We Feel, Bruce Wood argues that the authors and works considered in the volume are 'allusive presences' throughout Buechner's broader work. [5] This is echoed by Jeffrey Munro, who further suggests that Buechner writes out of a particular affinity with the writers included in Speak What We Feel, commenting that many of the author's 'greatest works' were 'formed from the crucible of his pain'. [6] For Munroe, this affinity is made explicit by the author in his 'Afterword', which, the critic writes, is characterised by a 'pathos' that is thematic throughout Buechner's work. [7]
Buechner scholar, Dale Brown, writes that Speak What We Feel demonstrates Buechner's consistent 'affirmation of joy and laughter as in balance with the catharsis of suffering'. [8] The critic agrees with Munroe's suggestion that the work is autobiographical in nature, writing that it is 'a consideration of the weight of [Buechner's] own sad times, through an encounter with those of Twain, Hopkins, Chesterton, and Shakespeare'. [9] Brown concludes that while Speak What We Feel 'reveals a good bit about four literary greats, it reveals even more about Buechner himself', and that the 'small volume is a litany in praise of kindred spirits'. [10]
This is a list of published works by writer and theologian Frederick Buechner.
The Storm is the fourteenth novel by the American author and theologian, Frederick Buechner. The novel was first published in 1998 by Harper, San Francisco.
The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days is an autobiography by author Frederick Buechner, the first of a four part series. Published in 1982, the work describes the author's life from his childhood up until his conversion to Christianity in 1953, at the age of twenty-seven.
Now and Then: a memoir of vocation (1983), is the second of four partial autobiographies written by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1983, the work describes the author's life from his conversion to Christianity in 1953, at the age of twenty-seven, up to his residency in Vermont at the age of fifty-seven.
Telling Secrets: a memoir (1991), is the third of four partial autobiographies written by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1991, the work considers in depth several scenes and events from the author's life, from his father’s suicide through to his time spent as a visiting professor at Wheaton College.
The Eyes of the Heart: a memoir of the lost and found (1999), is the fourth of four partial autobiographies written by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1999, the work moves between a number of vignettes from the author’s life, remembering friendships, and imagining conversations with lost family members.
The Alphabet of Grace is a collection of addresses on Christianity and faith by Frederick Buechner. It was first conceived as a trilogy of sermons, delivered at the Harvard Memorial Church in the winter of 1969. It was subsequently published by Seabury Press, NY, in 1970.
The Magnificent Defeat is a collection of meditations on Christianity and faith by Frederick Buechner. It was first conceived as a series of sermons, delivered at the Phillips Exeter Academy throughout 1959. It was subsequently published by Seabury Press, NY, in 1966. The Magnificent Defeat is Buechner’s first non-fiction publication.
The Hungering Dark is a collection of meditations on Christianity and faith by Frederick Buechner. Preceded by The Magnificent Defeat, it is the second in a series of sermon anthologies preached in 1959 during the author's time at the Phillips Exeter Academy. The Hungering Dark is Buechner's second non-fiction publication, and it was published by Seabury Press, NY, in 1968.
Wishful Thinking: a theological ABC, reissued in 1993 as Wishful Thinking: a seeker’s ABC, is a collection of meditations on faith, Christianity, and theology by Frederick Buechner. It is the first of Buechner’s lexical trilogy, which includes Peculiar Treasures (1979) and Whistling in the Dark (1988). Published in 1973 by Harper and Row, Wishful Thinking is Buechner’s fourth non-fiction work.
The Faces of Jesus: a life story is a collection of meditations by Frederick Buechner on the life and person of Jesus Christ. The work gathers and discusses a selection of artistic portrayals of Jesus, including a variety of forms, from tapestry to sculpture. Published in 1974 by Simon and Schuster, Faces of Jesus is Buechner’s fifth non-fiction work.
Telling the Truth: the Gospel as tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale, is a collection of essays by Frederick Buechner on the subject of homiletics. It was first composed for and delivered at the Yale Divinity School Lyman Beecher Lecture series in 1976. Telling the Truth was subsequently published in 1977 by HarperCollins. It is Buechner's sixth non-fiction work.
Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who's Who, is a collection of meditations on the stories of biblical figures, written by Frederick Buechner. It is the second of Buechner's lexical trilogy, which includes Wishful Thinking (1973) and Whistling in the Dark (1988). Published in 1979 by Harper and Row, Peculiar Treasures is Buechner's seventh non-fiction work.
A Room Called Remember is a collection of sermons, meditations, articles, and addresses, authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1984 by Harper and Row, A Room Called Remember is Buechner's eighth non-fiction work.
Whistling in the Dark: a doubter's dictionary, first issued as Whistling in the Dark: an ABC theologized, is a collection of meditations on faith, Christianity, and theology by Frederick Buechner. It is the third and final instalment of Buechner's lexical trilogy, which includes Wishful Thinking (1973) and Peculiar Treasures (1979). Published in 1988 by Harper and Row, Whistling in the Dark is Buechner's ninth non-fiction work.
The Clown in the Belfry is an anthology of sermons, lectures, and articles, authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1992 by Harper and Row, The Clown in the Belfry is Buechner's tenth non-fiction work.
The Longing for Home: recollections and reflections is an anthology of sermons, poetry, devotional pieces, essays, and autobiographical reflections authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 1996 by HarperCollins, The Longing for Home is Buechner's twelfth non-fiction work.
Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons is a collection of sermons and lectures authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 2006 by HarperCollins, Secrets in the Dark is Buechner's fifteenth non-fiction work.
The Yellow Leaves: a miscellany is a collection of sermons, essays, short stories, and poetry authored by Frederick Buechner. Published in 2008 by Westminster John Knox Press, The Yellow Leaves is Buechner's sixteenth non-fiction work.
The Wizard's Tide: a story is a novella by the American author and theologian, Frederick Buechner. It was first published in 1990 by Harper and Row, before being re-issued in 2005 under the altered title, The Christmas Tide.