Believe To See

Everyone has times when they need to come up with a creative new idea. But how do you do that? The hosts discuss different ways to help spark creativity. They also share stories of how famous artists got their best ideas. 

Anselm potter Nancy Soderstrom joins the table to talk about pottery, watercolors, and COVID. A talented potter, Nancy found herself cut off from her pottery studio because of COVID. So she took up watercolors and--surprise!--became good at that too. Nancy shares her approaches to art and prayer, and how they both encouraged her to keep creating beauty in difficult times.

At the Anselm Society's March Pub Night, our own Evangeline Denmark presents her retelling of the legend of St. Brigid's Cloak. Later, Evangeline and Matt discuss St. Brigid's role in both Irish Christianity and Irish mythology, and the best ways to approach these saintly stories.

Photographer Elizabeth Bristol Clayton joins the table to talk all things photographry. She explains how to approach the world like a photographer, and how to plan a fine art piece. She even gives Matt and Mandy advice for taking iPhone pictures that actually look good.

Are short stories just tiny novels, or are they a whole different medium? Elizabeth Childs is the perfect author to ask. She's regularly publishing short stories while working on her novel. She joins the table to discuss the many ways that short stories differ from novels, and the qualities to look for in effective short stories.

Matt waxes poetic about two of his favorite things: detective fiction, and rules. Mandy and Elizabeth Childs join him in discussing how rules make detective fiction worth reading. They also explore the ways that rules can make any work of literature more effective.

Artists have to face rejection and failure all the time. Seriously: ALL. THE. TIME. Luckily, the hosts are all experts in getting their art rejected. They discuss the healthy ways to deal with failure, and the keys to distinguishing between helpful and unhelpful feedback. As an added bonus, they also put together a points system to calculate which Anselm member has scored the most "failure points."

What should we make of RPG's like Dungeons and Dragons? Are they an important storytelling vehicle, or a confusing waste of time? Dr. John Case Tompkins joins the table to dicuss. He's a PhD in English Literature, and an RPG super fan. He's also Evangeline's brother. Can he finally win his sister into the RPG community? Listen to find out!

Believe to See is back from its semi-intentional hiatus, and ready for more raucous conversations on the arts and faith. The hosts explain the podcast's new story-based emphasis, and analyze the stories that shaped them in the past year.

After making excuses for the semi-intentional hiatus, Matt explains the show's big plans for 2022.

Daniel Silliman is Chistianity Today's news editor. He joins the table to discuss his new book, Reading Evangelicals. This book explores evangelical identity by looking closely at five bestsellers--Love Comes Softly, This Present Darkness, Left Behind, The Shunning, and The Shack. Silliman discusses why these books resonated with so many evangelicals, and how they shaped American evangelicalism.

Steven Elmore is the President of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. He joins the table to talk all things Space Trilogy. He describes how Lewis drew influence from the science fiction of his time, and how he diverged from it. He also explains Lewis' unique conception of alien creatures, and how Merlin ends up in That Hideous Strength.

Mandi Hart is the President of Cave Pictures Publishing. She joins the table to talk about Cave Pictures' latest project: a graphic novel adaptation of George MacDonald's Phantastes. She discusses the enduring appeal of the fantasy classic, and the process of adapting it a century and a half later.

Poet and pastor Ryan Diaz joins the table to discuss "For Those Wandering Along the Way," his forthcoming poetry collection. He explains the value of finding the transcendent in the everyday, and how poetry shaped his own journey out of cynicism.

Author Alexandra Hudson is the founder and curator of Civic Renaissance. She joins the table to discuss her work promoting the classics, and why it's so valuable to wrestle with history's greatest works. She also explains why her upcoming book is "against politeness."

Sally Clarkson joins the table to discuss her latest book, Help, I’m Drowning. She explains how rooting ourselves in the larger Christian narrative can help us weather the storms of life together—whether those are the storms we face as a parent, an artist, or simply as a human being.

To celebrate the Anselm Society's upcoming Imagination Redeemed Conference, we're re-playing highlights from our past speakers. This third entry is Amy Lee's 2020 talk: "Creating Art in the Time of War."

For our 100th episode(!), author Carolyn Givens joins the table. She's the author of "Rosefire," a forthcoming YA fantasy novel. She's also a founder of Bandersnatch Books, a new publisher focusing on hidden treasures that don't fit into traditional publishing categories. Carolyn discusses the market for young adult fiction, and how Rosefire furthers the mission of Bandersnatch Books.

To celebrate the Anselm Society’s upcoming Imagination Redeemed conference, we’re re-playing highlights from our past speakers. This second one is Anthony Esolen’s 2018 talk: “Teaching People to Open Their Eyes”

To celebrate the Anselm Society’s upcoming Imagination Redeemed conference, we’re sharing highlights from our past speakers. This first one is author Lanier Ivester’s 2018 talk, “The Magic of Rivendell.”