Requiascat in Pacem, Madeleine L'Engle
Writer, actress, pianist, teacher, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Madeleine L'Engle passed away on Thursday at the age of 88. She loved her family, her friends, her work, music, books, God, and life. I barely knew her "in real life" -- I was blessed to meet her and be at Holy Cross monastery for a writer's workshop and silent retreat she led in January 1998 -- but I love her. She shared so much of herself in her books that you almost feel as if you know more about her than some of your own family members.
Newspapers, etc.
- New York Times Arts section article/obituary: “At dinnertime, you look and see which pot smells best and pull it forward,” she was quoted as saying in a 2001 book, “Madeleine L’Engle (Herself): Reflections on a Writing Life,” compiled by Carole F. Chase. “The same is true with writing,” she continued. “There are several pots on my backburners.”
- Washington Post obituary:
- Associated Press: "Although L'Engle was often labeled a children's author, she disliked that classification. In a 1993 Associated Press interview, she said she did not write down to children. "In my dreams, I never have an age," she said. "I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work."
- Episcopal Life: "In November 2000, she told an interviewer for Religion and Ethics Newsweekly that suffering and grief are a part of life.
- "In times when we are not particularly suffering, we do not have enough time for God," she said. "We are too busy with other things. And then the intense suffering comes, and we can not be busy with other things. And then God comes into the equation. Help. And we should never be afraid of crying out, ‘Help!' I need all the help I can get."
- Slate: "The final tesseract: Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time, has died. Although L'Engle worked at various times as a stage actress, playwright, and librarian, she was best known for her dark and beautiful children's novels, which were predicated on the author's "faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically." Her books matter cosmically to most everybody who is lucky enough to have read them."
NPR
- 1998: Susan Stone interviews the author prior to the debut of the television movie of Wrinkle
- 1998: Margot Adler has a profile with the author.
- 2007: Janice Voss talks about how reading A Wrinkle in Time at age ten inspired her interest in space travel; Dr. Voss is now an astronaut.
- 2007: An appreciation/remembrance on All Things Considered (includes snippets from above linked S. Stone interview with Ms. L'Engle):
- "I frequently write about myself 'cause that's how I discover who I am. So I'm asked if I'm like Meg as a person, I am like Meg. I am Meg."
- When it was published, it was uncommon to have a female heroine in a science fiction book. A Wrinkle in Time is "a smart girl's book but it's about a girl who isn't yet smart, so a lot of people can identify with her."
- "Read any daily paper. You've got to survive. You've got to walk through the dark to get to the light; it isn't free. It takes courage to walk through the dark."
- "It gives a human being an incredible responsibility when you consider that the smallest thing you do can have enormous consequences."
Blogs
- John Podhoretz (The Corner: The National Review online): "Madeleine L'Engle At Home": "I wrote her the first fan letter of my life and, heart pounding, rode the elevator to 9 and slipped it under her door. Within hours a package was left at our door with an inscribed copy of its recently published sequel, A Wind at the Door, a box of baked chocolate chip cookies, and a response that was so appreciative I could hardly believe it, it was so gracious and thoughtful."
- Scheiss Weekly: "These books teach us that if we wait and work and strive and refuse to give up, we can change our own world which, of course, changes the whole world. Thank you, Madeleine. I've loved you since the day I discovered that first book, and I've loved you more with each additional discovery. You made the world better. I'll miss you. Thank you. Thank you so very, very much."
- John Scalzi at Whatever: "What great books, and what a great writer she was. Her books remain; in fact, they are on my daughter's bookshelf right now, waiting for her. I envy her that she gets to read them for the first time."
- Thread on Metafilter with many comments (most are respectful)
- Michael Melcher, at the Huffington Post: What I Learned From Madeleine L'Engle: "Focusing on what we can do in our lives - as they are now -- rather than endlessly wondering why we are here, or why we're not somewhere else - opens up possibilities. Maybe you can write a book that goes into (literally) 69 printings. Or maybe you can just bounce your ball to your own personal rhythm."
- Blogcritics: R.I.P. Madeleine L'Engle: "Thank you for the great stories that transported us into your world, making us feel like we were getting to know you through your characters."
- Blog post on the San Francisco Bay Guardian site: ". . . no one but L'Engle could make a mitochondrion the scene an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. Plus: damn good writing."
- Amazon.com Bookstore's blog: "It's been many years since I read A Wrinkle in Time, but that doesn't make the news of Madeleine L'Engle's passing sting any less. When I look back on my childhood reading, it's her books I see stacked on my shelf within easy reach."
- About.com Classic Literature quotes and remembrance: "In A Severed Wasp, she wrote: "There's a theory which I take seriously... that we live until we do whatever we're meant to do." That statement seems appropriate now, as we say farewell to Madeleine L'Engle."
Other online sites, articles, and interviews of interest
- The official site, with complete bibliography
- Christianity Today (originally published in 1979): "Supernatural Sagas of Good and Evil"
- New York Times, 2001: Busier Than Ever at 82, and, Oh, Yes, Still Writing
- Wheaton College: About the Author: "In the city, L’Engle involved herself with the Cathedral of St. John the Divine where she assumed the position of church librarian while enjoying a challenging tutelage under her spiritual advisor, Edward Nason West, the Episcopal cathedral’s extraordinarily learned subdean. Subsequently, West was honored in several novels as a character called “Canon Tallis.”
- St. Anthony Messenger magazine (1999): Madeleine L'Engle: An Epic in Time: “Have courage and joy. Sometimes our moments of greatest joy come at [the] times of greatest courage,” she says simply. “Our children need to hear over and over again that there is no such thing as redemptive violence,” she adds. “Violence never redeems. And what we do does make a difference!”
- Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (interview took place in 1999, was published in 2000): Profile: Madeleine L'Engle: "In spite of her losses, and in spite of the world's wars and atrocities, L'Engle insists that, in the end, life and the universe are good."
