Some good controversy around this idea of propaganda. The idea I was getting at was that all writing to some degree is propaganda in the broadest sense, meant to persuade and intended to evoke mental and emotional shifts through convincing communication. Orwellian undertones aside, I’m not willing to say either that all education is or is not propaganda (i.e. persuasion),
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I feel like I’ve said much of this before, but it probably bears repeating. I know I’ve made the claim before that you can’t have a good story without some measure of controversy, however minute. Controversy is the provocative interest that keeps people reading. Contrast, conflict: these things get at the essential provocation of the battle within each of us.
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I’ve been back a few days now, but the Festival of Faith and Writing is still fresh in my mind. Calvin College is a magical place—or at least a place that puts out some pretty convincing trickery. And springtime in Grand Rapids is surprisingly alive. So why not get together a wonderful mix of writers for a Christian literary conference?
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I just got back from California after spending Easter with the family. Good times, restful, and important for reflecting on the distance traveled since last year, and the year before that. Mt. Hermon was a blast. I met so many great people, people of passion, of ideas, and of incredible faith. I came back with one manuscript I really like,
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Charlotte Emmarie Silva, born 6:21pm, 3.9.06 6 lbs., 18 inches. Welcome to our world!
