{"id":3880,"date":"2008-12-18T00:20:10","date_gmt":"2008-12-18T00:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2008\/12\/interview-with-anne-rice-1.html"},"modified":"2008-12-18T00:20:10","modified_gmt":"2008-12-18T00:20:10","slug":"interview-with-anne-rice-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2008\/12\/interview-with-anne-rice-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Anne Rice 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently read Anne Rice’s memoir (Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em>); the good folks at Beliefnet got me in touch with Anne for an interview — and I’m most grateful for her time and for her answers. Here is the first of two sets of questions:<\/em><\/p>\n

 Anne, your memoir singularly describes a girlhood of beauty and sensory experience and then a sensory-experience conversion, and my question is this: If it is accurate to observe a sensory dimension in your return to the Catholic Church, what would you say you were “lacking” at the sensory level that found resolution in conversion?<\/b><\/p>\n

\"annerice.jpg\"<\/a><\/span>Your question is a challenging one, but I was not lacking at
\nthe sensory level when I returned to the church. Rather the “going
\nhome” was all the easier because the sensory elements of Catholicism
\nwere still richly present, and they attracted me as much as an adult,
\nas they had attracted and satisfied me as a child.  But my life was
\nfull of sensory elements at the time, especially paintings by my
\nhusband, religious statues that I had collected, numerous photographs
\nof gorgeous places I had visited, etc.   The underlining key is this:
\nCatholicism does embrace the senses, and has never sought to “purify”
\nits sensuous elements, and for this reason I feel very comfortable in
\nmy childhood church.  The mystery of the Eucharist which drew me back
\nto the church is enshrined in sensuous elements: the golden tabernacle,
\nthe ritual of the Mass, the incense, bells, the ritual of receiving
\ncommunion etc.  I should add that as a child, I was shaped by this
\nsensuality, and it marks all my work. <\/div>\n


<\/b><\/div>\n


\nIn reading your story I was struck by a spatial pattern: in New
\nOrleans as a child you had faith, out of New Orleans you lost your
\nfaith, and when you returned to New Orleans your faith was re-awakened.
\nCan you reflect on the significance of “space” (even “sacred space”)
\nfor your reconversion?<\/b><\/p>\n

There is no doubt that my return to New Orleans heavily
\ninfluenced me to return to my church.  I like to believe, however, that
\nthe conversion would have come no matter where I was.  But I think in
\ngoing home to New Orleans in 1988, I was in a way searching for my lost
\nfaith.  I thought I was seeking my lost city and my lost childhood, but
\nI was also a pilgrim wandering back to the shrines of childhood to pray
\nfor guidance, whether I admitted it to myself or not. <\/p>\n

\nA notable silence, and perhaps one intended and one you don’t
\nwant to discuss, is the response of Stan and your son Christopher to
\nyour conversion to the Church. What were the themes of your
\nconversation with Stan? What are the themes of your continuing
\nconversation with Christopher?<\/b><\/p>\n

I had no real conversation with either Stan or Christopher
\nabout going back to the church, except for the notable exchange with
\nChristopher mentioned in the book, in which I asked if he believed in
\nGod and he told me that he did.  I avoided discussing the matter with
\nthem because the matter for me was of the utmost importance and I did
\nnot care to influenced in any negative way by their ideas on the
\nsubject.  After my return, I simply told them that I had done it.  When
\nStan sought from time to time to engage me in light argument about it,
\nsomething that I think would have amused him, I simply did not respond.
\n I made up my mind I would not argue faith with him.  I didn’t think
\nthat Stan was well informed enough to discuss the matter, and I
\nprotected myself from casual argument by simply not doing it.
\n Christopher occasionally mentioned it but I don’t recall an intense
\nconversations.  He knows how proud I am of him and of his writing and
\nhis life, and the matter does not divide us.  Occasionally he comes to
\nMass with me, at my request.  <\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read Anne Rice’s memoir (Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession ); the good folks at Beliefnet got me in touch with Anne for an interview — and I’m most grateful for her time and for her answers. Here is the first of two sets of questions:  Anne, your memoir singularly describes a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conversion"],"yoast_head":"\nInterview with Anne Rice 1 - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2008\/12\/interview-with-anne-rice-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Interview with Anne Rice 1 - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently read Anne Rice’s memoir (Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession ); the good folks at Beliefnet got me in touch with Anne for an interview — and I’m most grateful for her time and for her answers. 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