The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle

by Luci Shaw

In honor of Madeleine L'Engle's 80th birthday, a host of prominent writers and academics gather to create this unique collection. Madeleine's circle of friends and peers (writers, poets, scholars, theologians) here provide an intimate portrait of L'Engle and respond to her writings and mentoring influence.Ranging from the personal to the academic, these essays illuminate the many worlds of Madeleine's the private, the reflective, the theological, the scientific, the mythic, and the literary.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Spirituality

253 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Luci Shaw is a Christian writer of poetry and essays.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping that the Madeleine L'Engle themed articles found in The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor (published in 1998 and edited by Luci Shaw) would be enlightening and that I equally would find the majority of the featured essays to my personal and academic reading tastes, even though I do well know and realise that it is indeed rather rare for me to enjoy and to academically agree with all of the inclusions in a collection of essays penned by varying, by different authors (as this is of course the nature of the academic beast with such collections). Furthermore, considering that The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor is concentrating on Madeleine L'Engle in particular, I was also expecting and anticipating that the main focus of the presented articles would be on the nuts and bolts of L'Engle's writing and in particular also on her novels for middle grade and young adult readers (since for Madeleine L'Engle, I have always felt that being an author and penning interesting and engaging stories generally totally tended to rank as being first and foremost).

But unfortunately, The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor has mostly been rather majorly both personally and academically disappointing. And indeed, my main, my primary issue and complaint regarding The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor is the annoying fact of the matter that although (and as already mentioned above) I was wanting (and also rather expecting) mostly literary analyses and if needed some criticism from The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor (and with an emphasis on specifically the art of Madeleine L'Engle's penmanship and writing craft, how she renders her plots and equally how successful or unsuccessful this is in L'Engle's middle grade and young adult novels), but that instead, most of the essays found in The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor seem to be simply and almost exclusively musings, writings about Madeleine L'Engle with regard to Christianity, spiritualism and such, and to be totally and completely and brutally honest, this is not what I was looking for AT ALL with and in The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor.

Therefore, and most definitely considering that for Madeleine L'Engle, with regard to her writing, with regard to her literary output and in particular so for her novels geared towards younger readers, storytelling and giving her readers an engaging and exciting reading experience always was (from her interviews) far far more important and essential than detailed and all encompassing questions and musings regarding faith, philosophy etc., not only has The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor been hugely thematically annoying for me, I am also kind of wondering how much of an actual accolade for Madeleine L'Engle herself The Swiftly Tilting Worlds of Madeleine L'Engle: Essays In Her Honor in fact is (since editor Luci Shaw and company seem to really take Madeleine L'Engle's own attitudes and feelings that questions of religion et al are personal and that she would rather people concentrate on the importance in her writing of story and plot all that seriously).

[Erika RS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many collected works, these essays were of variable quality. Some had only the slightest of relation to L'Engle, her writings, or her beliefs. These, while not devoid of interest, tended to be my least favorite.

My favorite essays were the ones that took ideas from L'Engle's writing, especially her fiction, and related them to larger themes. This being L'Engle, the most common such theme was the role and importance of story and imagination, especially within the life of a believing Christian.

Overall, a worthwhile read for those who are interested in L'Engle's life and works.

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

My main problem with this book was that it was not what I was hoping for. I was hoping for a through-and-through tribute to Madeleine L'Engle, with discussions of her work and how it transformed lives. Instead, most of the essays were simply about Christianity. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just wasn't what I wanted to read.

[Martha]

I skimmed...these essays were only tangentially related to Madeleine L'Engle and weren't what I was in the mood to read.

[Tai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book had the charming effect of sitting down with people who delight in Madeleine's life and work. In a variety of styles and levels of intimacy, they rhapsodize about their favorite aspects of her art, service, and influence. The charm of the collection is that so much of the praise of Madeleine is unaffected, yet glowing and generous. As one who has often imagined what it would be like to sit with Madeleine over tea, I often found myself thinking, "Yes, that's exactly as I suspected she would be."