Your Best of 2010: Barbara Brown Taylor and a pagan

Welcome to the Best of 2010—as chosen by you, our readers. Today through Wednesday, we will share some of the most memorable interviews this year. The Top 2 in our “Best” list are easy to identify, based on your notes to us and on responses from audiences as Editor David Crumm has traveled across the U.S.

BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR, A RESTLESS VOICE OF TRUTH

We originally published this interview with Barbara in 2009, then we reported a second story in 2010 on the paperback release of her book, “An Altar in the World” (and we included a short excerpt from “Altar” with that second story). Every day in 2009 and 2010, readers somewhere in the world—and we have readers in Africa and Asia as well as the Americas and Europe—stopped by ReadTheSpirit to enjoy those stories involving Barbara.

We think that response comes from Barbara’s resolute commitment to speaking the truth. Revisit those stories and see for yourself.

PAGAN POET RAFAEL JESUS GONZALEZ

Audiences still love to hear a great reading. A century ago, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain each gave hundreds of readings. The practice waned in the 20th century, but readings still are popular. During 2010, when Editor David Crumm traveled coast to coast, he often read aloud to audiences from one interview published in August. Audiences respond to this poet’s words in that interview, even though Rafael Jesus Gonzalez proudly describes himself as a pagan—an often misunderstood religious minority in the U.S. Perhaps it is because Gonzalez remains in touch with native wisdom that he is able to see truths in American life that others miss.

Here is the interview from our 40-day American Journey that many readers now refer to as The Epistle of Raphael Jesus Gonzalez.

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(Originally published at readthespirit.com)

 

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