Book Review: Charitable Writing: Cultivating Virtue Through Our Words

Richard Hughes Gibson and James Edward Beitler III ’ s Charitable Writing: Cultivating Virtue Through Our Words mines the Christian tradition for philosophical and practical insights regarding both the habit and teaching of writing. The authors explore “ how we conceive of, and, in turn, practice writing, ” arguing that “ our spiritual commitments can and should provide bearings for our academic and professional work ” (p. 1). In addition to building their argument upon scripture and foundational texts of the Christian tradition, the authors include visual art as a springboard for re fl ection, such as Andrea Mantegna ’ s San Luca Altarpiece , David Holgate ’ s Julian of Norwich , and Albrecht Dürer ’ s St Jerome in His Study .