THE COMIC MUSE SPECIAL EDITION: BEAUTY 101

In which Dr. McInerny Goes to Washington to dance pastoral dances and spread the usual sweetness and light.

Welcome to this special September edition of my newsletter, The Comic Muse, in which I share the video of my latest talk, BEAUTY 101, as well as some other news regarding my work. The Comic Muse is a monthly newsletter featuring the stories and sketches of Daniel McInerny, but when I have something else interesting to share, I will. Thanks so much for joining me and please consider sharing with a friend. It couldn’t possibly be more FREE!

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On the evening of Wednesday, September 4, 2024, I presented a talk, BEAUTY 101, to a lively audience of 70+ art-and-beauty lovers at the Catholic Information Center on K Street in Washington, D.C. Even more joined us via the live stream. Now YOU can join the conversation by enjoying the recording…

(Keep in mind that the video I use at the very end of the talk, of the climactic scene from Sam Mendes’ 2019 World War I drama, 1917, couldn’t be used in this recording. But I imagine that resourceful readers can find the scene on YouTube themselves and follow along with the talk from there.)

Thanks so much to Kathleen Carr and the Catholic Art Institute for co-sponsoring this talk with the CIC.

It was a beautiful September day in the Nation’s Capitol: sunny but cool and breezy.

I’m so grateful to the CIC for the lovely display of my book, Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts (Word on Fire Academic, 2024).

Earlier in the day my daughter Rita and my grandson “Raffi” (Raphael) met my wife Amy and me for Mass at the CIC. It was Rita’s 27th birthday!

And in the hour before my talk, my entire family was given the CIC’s Napa Institute Wine Room to use as the “McInerny Family Green Room.” We were so spoiled by the CIC, who provided us with wine and every good thing, so turning a professional engagement into a most memorable family event. Clockwise from left to right: my daughter-in-law Caitlin (Francis’s wife), Francis with Raffi, my wife Miss Amy, Rita, my daughter, and eldest child, Lucy, and Rita’s husband, Patrick.

And a good friend showed up in the Green Room to give me his blessing: St. John Henry Cardinal Newman.

Singing for my supper…

Such a great turnout, especially of young, interesting, D.C. professionals.

Signing books for my good friend, Brian Svoboda, chairman of the CIC board and brand new grandfather!

Hugs from Raffi, my biggest fan!

Oddly, the White House, only 0.3 miles from the CIC, took no notice of the event. And in an Election Year, too.

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Well, if that president gave no notice to BEAUTY 101 and my book, Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts, another one did. Here is my friend Peter Kilpatrick, President of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in his recent Amazon review of the book:

And yesterday on Substack

Jessica Risma

had this to say:

If you’d like a more conversational introduction to the ideas about art and beauty that I present in my book, check out my latest podcast interview: “The Art of Living with Dr. Daniel McInerny,” on the In Search of Wisdom Podcast,

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In other fun news, a group of recent Christendom College alumna got together to talk about my novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair. Thanks so much to my former student Laura Sigler for organizing this book club and sending along this cheering screenshot!

If you’ve read and enjoyed The Good Death of Kate Montclair, and especially liked the character Benedict Aquila, know that there is a companion short story available on Amazon: “Pursuit Among the Ruins," that features a young Benedict. Here’s the synopsis:

What could possibly inspire the alienated and atheistic Benedict Aquila--a student at Holy Rood College, an independent, all-male Catholic boarding school in the Yorkshire Dales--to go on a four-day Easter pilgrimage to the ruined medieval abbeys of Yorkshire? Her name is Dolores. She is a student at Holy Rood’s sister school, Immaculate Heart of Mary, who, with some other IHM girls, has joined the group of Holy Rood boys for the pilgrimage. But the reasons why Benedict finds Dolores attractive are inscrutable—most of all to himself. She is “plainer than the plainest nun,” or according to the official dormitory lexicon, “spectacularly unspectacular." Yet she seems to Benedict to be protecting a mysterious hidden life, and in his desire to plumb that mystery, Benedict is drawn into a most surprising encounter among the ruins of Whitby Abbey—an encounter in which we can detect the spark of Benedict’s later, adult preoccupation with the renovation of ancient buildings and, more significantly, with the Shadow in that toppled sanctuary that seems both to reject and to pursue him.

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Finally, I’m pleased to announce that the Christendom College premiere production of my play, The Actor, about the subversive wartime theatrical activities of the young Karol Wojtyla (the man who would become St. John Paul II) has held auditions and will be announcing the cast list this week. I was honored to be invited to give some notes during the call-backs and am so excited to see these young actors bring this story to life on stage this fall. Save the performance dates: November 8-10, 2024.

P.S. Don’t miss my latest short story on The Comic Muse: “Le Big Reveal: A Cancellation.”