Pens book on great authors

The result is "Personal Journeys: Classic Writers for a New Century," a collection of nine essays on six prominent authors. The underlying argument of the book is that the authors' Christian faith gave impetus to their creative output.

"I wanted to present these authors to the average reader in an informal and personal style," Father Fiore said. "There are no footnotes or anything like that."

Father Fiore has a depth of information and knowledge about the lives and writings of such writers as Dante Alighieri, John Donne, John Milton, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Evelyn Waugh and Flannery O'Connor. In addition to his teaching, he has already published three books on Milton and Donne.

Some interesting reflections made by Father Fiore in his latest book include:

* A discussion of Dante's treatment of St. Francis of Assisi in the "Paradisio" (the third book in "The Divine Comedy," the author's epic that also includes "Inferno" and "Purgatorio"). Dante loved Francis as the truest representation of Christ on earth, and admired the Franciscan friars for their dedication to the poor and alienated, although, according to Father Fiore, Dante "reprimanded the Franciscans [of his time] for not remaining faithful to what he thought was their founder's vision."

* A discussion of Milton's "negative reputation" regarding his marriage and attitude towards his wife, Mary Powell, and women in general.

* An assertion by Father Fiore that, despite his "defection from Roman Catholicism," Donne held on to his Catholic roots and promoted ecumenism within his own family, who were strict members of the Church of England.

* An examination of Evelyn Waugh's early life in London at Oxford, his conversion to Catholicism, and his often "despicable conduct due largely to heavy drinking and excessive use of sleeping pills." Father Fiore believes Waugh to have been one of the 20th century's great novelists who should have been awarded a Nobel Prize.

* An examination of the life and works of Flannery O'Connor, who suffered from lupus and was to have lectured at Siena in the fall of 1964 but died several months before. Father Fiore discusses her Catholicism and the use of the grotesque in her writings as well as the "theological aesthetic underlying her fiction."

Father Fiore is currently working on another book that compares certain Gospel stories to stories found in the writings of William Shakespeare, Thornton Wilder and John Steinbeck.

(On June 24, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Father Fiore will autograph "Personal Journeys" at St. Mary's Church in Ballston Spa, after all the Masses, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., and noon. In addition, the book is available through www.amazon.com or directly from the publisher by calling 877-823-9235.)

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