Undusted Texts

  A few years ago, I wrote an article about how the text of Scripture itself, though rich, is usually lacking in sufficient detail and action to provide for a typical literary narrative.  Because of that, writers have had to invent new elements when making narratives out of Scriptural topics.  (Another aspect is the simple desire to know more about what and who we read about in Scripture, without any literary aspirations: it is such a desire that, I think, was often a drive behind the oldest legends and traditions.)   The story of the Passion is a prime example of this.  Marco Girolamo Vida's The Christiad adds so many new elements, such as a depiction of the Harrowing of Hell (which influenced Milton's depictions of Hell in Paradise Lost ), or making Joseph survive until the Passion in order to plead on Jesus' behalf.  (In this case, it was a bit of a literary necessity: in accord with epic tradition, the story had to start in media res , but it had...

  The Rosary in the Sun Francis Jammes Purchase the Paperback Edition Purchase the Kindle Edition Purchase on Kobo   Available on Apple Books     The most recent entry in the Undusted Texts Translations series is the first work of fiction in the series: the novel The Rosary in the Sun (1916) by French poet Francis Jammes (1868-1938).  Jammes early gained recognition for his poetry, particularly his 1898 collection From the Dawn Angelus to the Evening Angelus .  Despite the title of that collection, Jammes was a fallen-away Catholic until he struck up a friendship with poet and playwright Paul Claudel (1868-1955).  Due to that friendship, Jammes "converted" to practicing Catholicism in 1905, and all of his later works were infused with a fervent Catholicism.  The present novel is no exception: it tells the story of Dominica, a young rich girl from Marseille torn between our love for Christ and the poor and her love for a young scientist and for c...