Speak What We Feel (Not What We Ought to Say): Reflections on Literature and Faith

by Frederick Buechner

In this compelling book, the great contemporary spiritual writer and novelist Frederick Buechner plumbs the mysteries and truths behind the literature that speaks to him most powerfully. Buechner presents the four authors who have been his greatest influences, focusing on the question that has emerged at the center of his life-how to face mortality, failure, and tragedy. Through sensitive biographical exploration and close reading of Gerard Manley Hopkins's sublime later sonnets, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday, and William Shakespeare's most powerful play, King Lear, Buechner invites readers to discover the deeper joy and purpose of reading. He shows how these writers -- by putting their passion and pain into their work -- have enabled him to bear the weight of his own grief and sadness by "speaking out from under the burden of theirs." Buechner's ruminations on their writings leads to the revelation that God accepts us for doing the best we can, even if our lives are in some ways a failure; even if we have lived a life haunted by tragedy, as Buechner's has been haunted by his father's suicide. Buechner connects his readings to the fabric of his life and the lives of his subjects as he explores the ways in which these writers have shaped him and enhanced his faith. Buechner's insights into the power and imagination of their work resonate with his love for all that literature has given him throughout his life -- a passion he generously shares with us in Speak What We Feel.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Writing, Literature, Biography, Faith, Christianity

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Frederick Buechner is a highly influential writer and theologian who has won awards for his poetry, short stories, novels and theological writings. His work pioneered the genre of spiritual memoir, laying the groundwork for writers such as Anne Lamott, Rob Bell and Lauren Winner.

His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.

After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.

In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.

Reviews

[Davis Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buechner is quickly becoming my favorite writer that most people haven't heard of. This short, reflective book would not be up the alley of anyone who doesn't think that an author's personal life has anything to do with their work, but aside from the really interesting backstories which aren't often talked about, this is the best kind of writing about literature: winsome, straight-spoken, and evincing a lifetime of deep reading and love for the imagination. All four essays are on an equal level of quality, but I can't imagine finer interpretations of The Man Who Was Thursday and King Lear. Buechner manages to reveal that "all of our stories are at their deepest level the same story" by choosing such wildly disparate authors and works, and the result is a triumph of criticism. If you've read the works under discussion, you owe it to yourself to spend a couple hours with this book.

[booklady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title, this book is not about whining nor about inappropriate speech. It's about discovering meaning for oneself in literature. In particular, Buechner looks at specific works of four of his favorite authors (as well as mine) Gerard Manley Hopkins, Mark Twain, Shakespeare and C. K. Chesterton in search of deeper meaning about Life and Death, Loss and Faith. Besides being a spiritual writer and novelist, Buechner is also an ordained Presyterian minister.

I wish I had written up my thoughts/impressions immediately upon completion of the book as now I have only a vague impression of empathy with the author. I doubt it would change my rating, but at least I might be able to write about it more objectively. I do remember feeling disappointed there wasn't more about each of those four authors, but then this book wasn't a literary review; it was a very personal exploration.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish. I am disappointed because I was looking forward to this so much that I purchased the book. One bright side of this nearly-a-train-wreck, though, is that it convinced me once and for all that I don't like detailed biographies of authors. A few relevant facts, sure, to let me know when the author was writing...but yikes, this one had TMI about Gerard Manley Hopkins. I mean, of all the things known about this great poet, and Buechner tells us this? Because it makes a difference to understanding his poetry? It wasn't especially sympathetic, either, which surprised me, and now I need a cleansing ritual or something. More likely, confession. And to read more Hopkins, and no more words about Hopkins. *shudder*

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seem barely able to hold itself together. The connections Buechner makes between the authors are loose at best. I ended wishing I had rather read the books he was writing about rather than the book that was talking about them.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not personally a big fan of 3 of the 4 authors this book looked deeply into, but I thought the concept and the insights were great.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Reading it reminded me of the quote from the Shadowlands "We read to know we are not alone." I gained deep spiritual encouragement from Buechner's analysis of Hopkins, Twain, Chesterton, and Shakespeare's great literary works and their spiritual lives. I will read this book again soon.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dear friend gave this to me as a gift. I had never heard of this book or author previously.
I enjoyed this immensely. I learned so much about Chesterton, Shakespeare, Twain, and Hopkins. I feel more connected to them and their works & look forward to reading more of them.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful short book—really a collection of four interrelated essays—on works by authors that seem to have been "written in blood," coming from a place of deeply felt emotion, usually but not necessarily suffering. The works in question:

"The Terrible Sonnets" of Gerard Manley Hopkins, composed shortly before his death while toiling away as an unpopular teacher at a backwater school.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, whose life was bitterer and led him into deeper cynicism than one familiar only with the pithy quotations that float around the internet would assume.

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, by G.K. Chesterton, who wrote following a time of spiritual crisis that led him from spiritualism to Christianity.

King Lear, by William Shakespeare, written at the height of a career that nevertheless saw him frequently separated from his family, including a son who died at age 11 (n.b., ten years before Lear).

Buechner has to stretch into educated guesswork quite a bit for Shakespeare, given the notorious difficulty of filling in details of the Bard's life, but the essays are good overall. Buechner has a sharp eye for the overlooked or forgotten detail; for instance, he rightly brings the oft-forgotten subtitle of The Man Who Was Thursday—"A Nightmare"—into consideration, and notes the frequency with which every character in Huckleberry Finn, even the upright and heroic, lies. Most interesting, Buechner is able to draw from these four (wildly) different authors and works common themes and threads—suffering, pain, the desire and need for the transcendent, and what others have called the "God-shaped hole" in the human heart.

Worthwhile. I picked this up because I loved Buechner's novels Godric and Brendan and was interested to read him on Chesterton. I wasn't disappointed.

[Laysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The weight of this sad time we must obey, / Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say." - W. Shakespeare

It thrilled me that Frederick Buechner, a writer I have come to enjoy immensely, had written a commentary on the literary giants I admire: Gerald Manley Hopkins, Mark Twain, G. K. Chesterton, and William Shakespeare.

To Buechner, they were what he called "vein-opening" writers. "Vein-opening writers are putting not just themselves into their books, but themselves at their nakedest and most vulnerable. They are putting their pain and their passion into their books..." Buechner discussed the landmark work of these four authors in light of their biography and showed how they each came to terms with the weight of the sad times in their lives.

Gerald Manley Hopkins
The first introduction was to Hopkins and his sonnets that were work borne of deep travail. Most gratifying was the literary criticism Buechner provided of the "terrible sonnets" ("written in blood") that brought to light the throbbing of a troubled soul and its straining toward deliverance.

Mark Twain
"In my age as in my youth, night brings me many a deep remorse. I realize that from the cradle up I have been like the rest of the human race - never quite sane in the night." This was news to me as I was not acquainted with the darkness in Mark Twain's life. For all his literary success, Twain bore the unimaginable loss of family members and the guilt he assumed for his role in their death. Who would have guessed the extent of his lonesomeness? But in Huck Finn, Twain rekindled a little of his faith in humanity – “a measure of honesty, unsentimental compassion, and genuine goodness”.

G. K. Chesterton
Chesterton was a whirlwind of a man who wrote incessantly despite his abysmal lack of organization and forgetfulness. It was amazing how he became a writer when he did not learn to read until he was eight years old. Drawing and painting were his first love. Chesterton had an exceptionally happy childhood until he went to the Slade Art School, when away from close school mates and family, he confronted the chaos of the youthful world he inhabited, the negativism and nihilism of his time, and his own demons. A "sick cloud" had fallen upon his soul. The most enjoyable part of this chapter was to savor Buechner's irrepressible delight in extolling the greatness behind Chesterton's masterpiece, "The Man Who Was Thursday". I read it and loved it. But I did not know that this book saved Chesterton from madness and directed him to hope.

William Shakespeare
According to biographer John Aubrey, Shakespeare was a country schoolmaster before he became an actor and a rising playwright. But little is known of Shakespeare the man. Buechner captured in "King Lear" (his most moving tragedy) a portrait of the human person he was.

Shakespeare had his fair share of sad times: his father's fall from riches into poverty, the death of his son, and other relationship issues. Thus, it was not surprising that in King Lear, Shakespeare raised the question: Is life a divine comedy or a black comedy?

In navigating King Lear's world, Buechner wondered "In the dark world of the play...what hope is there that somewhere there is light?" Then the theme surfaced from my abyss of forgotten learning: light versus darkness; sight versus blindness. Of course, light dawns when one sees with the eyes of the heart. In "King Lear" Shakespeare "wrote out of his deepest humanity" and that was communicated through "an old man speaking as he might in life itself".

For Buechner, writing this book was a way of distancing himself from his own darkness cast forever by his father's suicide in his boyhood. It was touching to learn how in contemplating the work of these four authors he had heard their voices "speak more relevantly and healingly" to his condition than he foresaw and found "unexpected encouragement".

Buechner often said, "All our stories are at their deepest level the same story." Thus, good literature hold up a mirror to our lives and enduring works leave us a little more human and humane.

[Jesse Broussard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of the lives of Shakespeare, Twain, Chesterton, and Hopkins (in reverse order). The review of Hopkins was magnificent, and the rest were good. One strong caution: Beuchner seems obsessed with homosexuality. He finds it everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Had the judges of the Salem Witch Trials found witchcraft the way he finds homosexuality, there wouldn't have been a Puritan left in New England.

[ltcomdata · Rating 1 out of 5]

Given the subtitle, I had expected a lot more direct analysis of the faith of the authors showcased in this book, as expressed in their work. But the faith of those authors ended up being treated very superficially; really, it was their existential angst that was the focus of the book. And the writing style of the author was simply too prosaic for me: no lyricisms, no poetry, no engaging images. I suppose this is an instance where author and reader simply failed to connect.

[Abe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable -- gave me a greater appreciation for The Man who was Thursday. I thought his examples with Mark Twain were the best, as Twain's own story fits best with Huckleberry Finn. Shakespeare, on the other hand, was a bit thin.

[Elora Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I had a different expectation going into reading this that changed my opinion. There's a lot of literary analysis, which is perfectly fine, I just thought he would expand more on writing and speaking what we feel rather than explaining how other writers did it.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really struggling between 4 and 5 stars, because I liked different parts of the book to vastly different degrees. . . . Alright, for Hopkins and the Afterword, I'll grant that (not-so-elusive-if-you-read-any-of-my-reviews) fifth.

As aforalluded to, I'd previously twice read the Hopkins chapter in Speak What We Feel, first as biographical and critical context for a paper on Hopkins' poetics, and second because the first reading had moved me so much the first time that I just had to read it again. The raw, gut-wrenching emotion of it didn't hit me quite as hard this third read through, but Buechner's very evident love of Hopkins continues to quietly kindle my own. If you could only read one of the book's four parts, I'd still recommend the first. Buechner is an exceedingly tender biographer, and his care is most easily seen in his treatment of "the despondent little Jesuit drudge" (157). Beyond his biographical tenderness, Buechner's readings of Hopkins' admittedly tortuous language is elucidating and incredibly profitable. His very evident affection for Hopkins drives his analysis in quite compelling directions, and his reading of Hopkins's poetry in conjunction with Hopkins's life is the best sort of insightful. Having read a bit of Hopkins criticism, I don't know that there's anyone else I'd want to guide me through Hopkins (at least his more rawly personal stuff). One might wish for more in-depth readings of Hopkins's more ebullient verse in Buechner's capable hand, but then again, that's not the project of this particular book.

I'd not read Huck Finn or The Man Who Was Thursday before reading Buechner's treatments of them (and still haven't in the intervening twenty-four hours or so), so it's a bit difficult for me to speak to the efficacy of his analysis there. I will say that he paints a Chesterton I'd be delighted to know, and I left his analysis with the desire to read both books.

Then come Shakespeare and King Lear, beautiful and terrible, awful in every sense of the word. I've not read Lear in a couple of years, though I did read Jane Smiley's adaptation, A Thousand Acres, a few months ago. Buechner's reading reminded me how absolutely gutting of a play it truly is. I often prefer Shakespearean comedy to tragedy (As You Like It will always have a key to my heart's home), but Buechner's reading makes the tragedy--particularly this tragedy--all the more compelling. I love literary criticism that makes you love the literature more than when you started, and I think that speaks not only to the quality of Buechner's insights, but also to the posture that defines this book as a whole. As a piece of criticism, I only wish that Buechner had used some type of system of citation (even the much-dreaded endnote would've been nice) as to where he culled his biographical insights. He cites much correspondence without specific ways to locate it, which I suppose encourages my own sense of historical adventure. Still, it would've been nice for him to save me the time.

Little biographical snippets creep into the different parts here and there (like the Buechners' visit to the mass Jesuit grave site where lies one Gerard Manley Hopkins, or the very first and most deeply impactful production of King Lear that Buechner ever saw that cracked his young heart right open), but the afterword is its own quiet work of beauty:

"There is sadness too in thinking how much more I might have done with my life than just writing, especially considering that I was ordained not only to preach good news to the poor, but to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned, and raise the dead. If I make it as far as St. Peter's gate, the most I will be able to plead is my thirty-two books, and if that is not enough, I am lost. My faith has never been threatened as agonizingly as as Chesterton's or Hopkins', or simply abandoned like Mark Twain's, or held in such perilous tension with unfaith as Shakespeare's. I have never looked into the abyss, for which I am thankful. But I wish such faith as I have had had been brighter and gladder. I wish I had done more with it. I wish I had been braver and bolder. I wish I had been a saint" (160-161).

Thank you for speaking what you felt, Mr. Buechner. My own heart is made more beautifully tender, my eyes more piercingly wakeful, because of it.

[Josh Fillingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part biography and part literary analysis.

Buechner explores a common thread found in Shakespear, Hopkins, Twain, & Chesterton; of writing honestly and hopefully during deep suffering & hurt.

As a fan of Shakespeare, Twain & Chesterton I found this incredibly fascinating. It both reminded me of things I had forgotten and illuminated a connection between their life, their work, and hope. It is a beaten and bruised hope, but it feels all the more honest because of it.

I have never been drawn to or inspired by Hopkins and because of that, that section of the book dragged for me.

[A.R. Gaspard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book with a great deal of useful information and tidbits on which to contemplate. Though it did drag on in certain sections. Rarely do you hear about the misfortune of idolized men so much to an extent that society sees these people as nonhuman heroes who lack sadness, despair, and crippling depression. I'd like to say, this book truly puts these great modern heroes into perspective and you garner a better appreciation for them than before. The author also offers life lessons that can be found in their great heroic works. This may not have received five stars but I most definitely plan to reread this important book.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buechner’s intelligence and insight into the four authors’ (Chesterton, Hopkins, Twain, Shakespeare) works enhances the specific ones he explores. Thought I’d previously read the works he chooses, I learned a great deal and also loved how he compares and contrasts them. Buechner uses chunks of the texts so at times it reads like an academic paper, but the excerpts serve a purpose. I’m very glad I read this later book of Buchner’s, which I think reflects his own writing philosophy and is summed up in the apt title.

[Brian Thatcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. The title is a line from King Lear. This isn’t a kind of self-help book giving us better communication techniques. Thank goodness. It’s literary analysis that speaks of four writers and their most honest, brutal, autobiographical words. Truly written with their own blood. We feel their brokenness and courage. Their faith, just holding on or completely disappearing. If anything, it’s about being honest with ourselves.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read all of Frederick Buechner's books and I'm not sure why this was never added to my goodreads list. His passing last year shattered a tiny piece of my heart because there will never be another Buechner book that forces me to look at religiosity and the like differently and hopefully more kindly.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply renewing, spiritually honest thoughts on some great writers and their personal darkness. If only Buechner had woven his own story as intimately into theirs as he did with theirs to each others. I was often brought to my own dark places in simplicity and strength, as Buechner so masterfully pulls off in all his writing, but less often brought home to the guiding light that led his meditations. Might be worth a second read on my part.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5.
First chapter wasn't his best, but he hit his stride on the Mark Twain chapter, and the last, on King Lear, was pure Buechner.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just wasn’t what I thought it would be.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most intellectually challenging book I’ve read in some time. Remarkable insights and opinions about four famous people.

[Charles Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buechner is a great writer and here he writes about other great writers, his influences. The chapter on Chesterton is worth the rest of the book, but the Shakespeare influence is also worth perusing. The other two influences, G.M. Hopkins and M. Twain are less appealing, but still worth enjoying because of Buechner.

[J. Alfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four writers--Hopkins, Twain, Chesterton, and the Bard Himself-- from various genres, time periods, levels of scholarly respect, and continents, are brought together in this book for the purpose of looking at the personal depression they underwent, and some of the ways they dealt with that in their writing. This collection is interesting in a lot of ways: first, if you are interested in any of the authors, it's a good little review and/or new lens for looking at his work. Second, if you're interested in Buechner's writing, this is a great example of what I love about his work: emotionally open, funny when it doesn't get in the way, driving us relentlessly towards the big questions and willing to admit that the answers are at best debatable. Thirdly, if you're simply feeling down, or interested in depression as such, this is a powerful way to look at the topic. As Buechner says in the intro, looking at the works of these greats might help us to come to terms with our own sadness.
(What a line! Who writes like this?)

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buechner is one of my favorite writers. Though his most influential work was done in the '80s (ie. the stuff I quote the most), he still writes extremely well crafted and thought provoking novels and essays. I'm not that far into this one, but it seems to meet his high standards.

This work begins with the great quote from Red Smith that writing is really very easy -- "all you have to do is sit down at the typewriter and open a vein." Buechner tells the stories of four writers whose veins were open at least some of the time, and of their writing, particularly those works where they were most exposed, most vein-opened. Separate chapters treat Shakespeare, Twain, Chesterton, and Gerard Manly Hopkins. I'm still on the first chapter, wallowing with Hopkins in misery as he grades Greek and Latin exams in Dublin in 1888.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say enough about this little gem of a book. It's one of the last books Buechner has written. He briefly examines the lives of Hopkins, Twain, Chesterton, and Shakespeare and draws out some moving reflections on the life of faith. In particular, the chapters on Hopkins, Twain, and Shakespeare are worth reading and re-reading. The short afterword is vintage Buechner- honest, touching, graceful, and so well-written. I've been reading his books for over 10 years now. This last volume almost seems like a goodbye from an old friend and trusted spiritual guide.

[Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did G.M. Hopkins, Mark Twain, G.K. Chesterton and William Shakespeare all have in common besides being excellent writers? They all struggled with the dark side of human nature (of the demons within, so to speak) and that darkness is revealed in their writing in one way or another. What Frederick Buechner has done is to highlight those struggles and illuminate the darkness so that the reader can understand what was going on at the time they were writing. A masterful critique by one who understands that darkness himself.

[Huntley Cooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literary criticism at its best! This book fits a pretty narrow spectrum, but for my purposes I think it's pretty much a perfect work of literary criticism. Warning: I read a bit of Buechner while in my 30's and realized I would need more life experience to appreciate him. If you don't connect with him yet, put him on your "to read" shelf and pick him up in a decade or two. You'll find a friend.

[Debby Zigenis-Lowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful visit with friends old and new, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Mark Twain, G.K. Chesterton, and our always inspirational Will (Shakespeare, that is.) Buechner looks at how these authors navigated the dark hours of their souls and brought back to encourage and enlighten others wisdom gained passing through the fire of spiritual and emotional pain.