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LIVING FOR GRACE
To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio
Next time you catch an old episode of the Flying Nun,
you may want to pay attention. Because today's convents are closing.
The average nun is seventy years old, and even devout sisters often
have to bite their tongues when they talk about the pope. In this
hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the twilight of the
American Nun. Plus one woman's quest for Mother Mary. And the sacred
music of John Tavener.
SEGMENT 1:
Reporter Beverly Donofrio tells Anne Strainchamps
about her fascination with the Virgin Mary, and her incredible
experiences at a site where Mary is said to appear. Her book is
"Looking for Mary. Also, British composer John Tavener
tells Steve Paulson that he merely records the music that God
created, and that he scorns music like Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
which celebrate humanity rather than the Divine. Tavener's book
is "Music of Silence: a Composer's Testament."
SEGMENT 2:
In Mark Salzman's novel "Lying Awake," a
Carmelite nun learns that her religious raptures may be symptoms
of epilepsy. Salzman tells Jim Fleming that her dilemma is whether
to treat the illness and risk losing her mystical experiences.
Salzman's other books include "The Soloist" and "Iron and Silk."
Also, Lucy Kaylin is the author of "For the Love of God,"
an overview of the contemporary American convent. Kaylin tells
Steve Paulson that the average age of American nuns is seventy,
and that many orders are folding.
SEGMENT 3:
Phillip Pullman is the author of the Dark
Materials Trilogy — "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife,"
and "The Amber Spyglass." Pullman tells Steve Paulson that he
thinks the process of how children develop into adult, moral people
is the most interesting subject there is, and that organized religion
has generally obstructed advances in knowledge.
Cassette copies are available
at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 01-01-15-B.
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Books:
- Mark Salzman, Lying Awake
(Knopf)
- Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass (His
Dark Materials, No 3) (Knopf)
- John Tavener, The Music of Silence: A Composer's
Testament (Faber and Faber)
- Lucy Kaylin, For the Love of God: The Faith
and Future of the American Nun (Morrow)
- Beverly Donofrio, Looking for Mary
or, the Blessed Mother and Me (Viking Compass)
Music:
- Andrew York: Lotus Eater, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
- John Tavener: The Protecting Veil
- Love's Illusion, Anonymous 4
- Bach: Cello Suite
- Moussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
- Suite from Beauty and the Beast
Distribution dates:
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Questions and comments can
be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org
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