Dappled Things is a new literary magazine that aims to nurture the talent of Catholic poets, essayists, storytellers, photographers, and artists ages 18 to 35, and to feed the faith and delight the imagination of readers of all ages.
The founding board members of Dappled Things are college, graduate, and seminary students and young professionals. We are energized by the ubiquitous signs of renewal in the Church. Young people are flocking to religious life, exploring the Catholic intellectual tradition, rediscovering devotions and pilgrimages, and reintroducing to American public consciousness the great adventure that is the faithful Catholic life.
Common to these friends and fellow travelers is a love of literature — in particular, the uniquely rich tradition of literature that grapples with Christianity, explicitly or implicitly, from Dante and Dostoevsky to J.R.R. Tolkien and Gerard Manley Hopkins. (The magazine is named for Hopkins’ poem “Pied Beauty,” which begins, “Glory be to God for dappled things.”) We at Dappled Things hope to inspire continued participation in this two-thousand-year conversation. We also hope to contribute to the evangelization of our current culture. Jesus himself told stories, and thus, as our editor told the National Catholic Register, “there must be something perfect about the medium of storytelling if that is one way that God himself wants us to learn about him and our relationship with him.”
A growing roster of prominent supporters has encouraged our efforts. Our first two issues included celebrity contributions from Dale Ahlquist, president of the American Chesterton Society and author of G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense, and Joseph Pearce, biographer of literary luminaries such as Tolkien, Oscar Wilde, Hillaire Belloc, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Father Richard John Neuhaus endorsed us in the March 2006 issue of First Things, writing that “years from now an Edwin O'Connor may look back and recall how he got his start with Dappled Things.”
We, the founding board, hope that Dappled Things long outlasts us. To that end, we intend to release a print edition, beginning with the Advent/Christmas edition of 2006. To meet this goal, however, we will need financial support from people who believe in our mission. We invite everyone to read the magazine, as well as learn more about its mission and founding board, at www.dappledthings.org.
And, of course, we rely on the submission of stories, poems, essays, comics, artwork, and photography from young Catholics. The number of submissions thus far has been overwhelming. We’re gladly overwhelmed by work so excellent on such worthy themes. For there is no greater story than the Christian story, and no greater muse than the truth of the Catholic faith.
Bernardo Aparicio is President of Dappled Things.
