Life Event:
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut.
Publications:
A Cry Like a Bell
Reading Together (audiocassette tape of Madeleine and Hugh)
Year: 1988
Publication:
Two-Part Invention
Year: 1989
Life Event:
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Manhattanville Collegein Purchase, New York.
Publications:
Sold into Egypt
An Acceptable Time
Year: 1990
Life Events:
Receives the Kerlan Award.
Speaks to church women in Japan in January.
Travels to the Soviet Union in August.
Canon West dies.
Publication:
The Glorious Impossible
Year: 1991
Life Events:
Receives honorary Doctor of Literature from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.
Severely injured in an automobile accident in San Diego in July.
Year: 1992
Life Event:
Visits Antarctica with son, Bion, and daughter-in-law, Laurie.
Publication:
Certain Women
Year: 1993
Publications:
The Rock That Is Higher
Audiocassette of A Wrinkle in Time
Year: 1994
Life Event:
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee
Publications:
Troubling a Star
Audiocassette of A Wind in the Door
Anytime Prayers
Year: 1995
Life Events:
Is writer-in-residence for Victoria Magazine.
Goes to Ireland for conference on myth at Trinity College in Dublin; travels to Scotland and London.
Year: 1996
Life Events:
Has corrective foot/ankle surgery.
Refurbishes Crosswicks Cottage for Connecticut living.
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Elon College inElon, North Carolina, and the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.
Publications:
Glimpses of Grace, with Carole Chase
Penguins and Golden Calves
A Live Coal in the Sea
WinterSong, with Luci Shaw
Year: 1997
Publications:
Mothers and Daughters, with Maria Rooney
Bright Evening Star
Friends for the Journey, with Luci Shaw
Genesis Trilogy (Canadian edition)
Year: 1998
Life Events:
Celebrates her 80th birthday.
Wins 1998 Margaret A. Edwards Award, Lifetime contribution to writing for teens (ALA).
In honor of her 80th birthday, Harold Shaw Publishers presents Madeleine with a Festschrift entitled The Swiftly Tilting World of Madeleine L’Engle, written by her friends and edited by Luci Shaw.
Is faculty member at the International Centennial Celebration of C. S. Lewis held at Oxford and Cambridge, England.
Year: 1999
Life Events:
Great-grandson Konstantinos [Kostas] John Voiklis is born.
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
Breaks her hip.
Son Bion dies.
Publications:
Mothers and Sons, with Maria Rooney
A Prayerbook for Spiritual Friends, with Luci Shaw
A Full House
Year: 2000
Life Events:
Receives honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
Great-grandson Cooper Hindemith Roy is born.
Great-granddaughter Madeleine [Magda] L’Engle Voiklis is born.
Year: 2001
Publications:
The Other Dog
The Genesis Trilogy (U.S. edition)
Year: 2002
Life Events:
Cerebral hemorrhage following a fall.
Great-grandson Finn Roy is born.
Year: 2004
Life Events:
Disney’s TV adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time airs on ABC.
Enters nursing home in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Receives the National Humanities Medal.
Year: 2005
Life Event:
Great-granddaughter Scarlett Roy is born.
Publication:
The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine L’Engle
Year: 2007
Life Event:
Dies on September 6.
Year: 2008
Publication:
Joys of Love
Year: 2012
Life Event:
50th anniversary edition and celebration of A Wrinkle in Time.
Dedication of the Madeleine L’Engle Library at Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Year: 2013
Life Event:
A crater on Mercury is named after her.
Year: 2018
Life Event:
Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy is published.
Disney’s blockbuster adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time opens in theaters.
APPENDIX IV
Books by Madeleine L’Engle
An Acceptable Time. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1990.
And Both Were Young. New York: Delacorte Press, 1949. Reprint, New York, Lothrop, 1949. Reprint, Dell Publishing, 1983.
And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1983.
The Anti-Muffins. Illustrated by Gloria Ortiz. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1980.
Anytime Prayers. Photos by Maria Rooney. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1994.
The Arm of the Starfish. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1965. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1980.
Bright Evening Star: Mystery of the Incarnation. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1997, 2001.
Camilla Dickinson. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1951. Reissued as Camilla. New York: Crowell, 1965. Reprint, New York: Delacorte Press, 1981. Reprint, New York: Dell Publishing, 1982.
Certain Women. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992. Reprint, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1993.
A Circle of Quiet. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1972. Reprint, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1977.
A Cry Like a Bell. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1987.
Dance in the Desert. Illustrated by Symeon Shimin. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969.
Dragons in the Waters. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976. Reprint, New York: Dell Publishing, 1982.
18 Washington Square, South: A Comedy in One Act. Boston and Los Angeles: Baker’s Plays, 1944.
Everyday Prayers. Illustrated by Lucile Butel. New York: Morehouse-Barlow, 1974.
Friends for the Journey. With Luci Shaw. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Servant, 1997.
A Full House. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1999.
The Genesis Trilogy: And It Was Good, A Stone for a Pillow, Sold into Egypt. Kelowna, B.C., Canada: Northstone Publishing, 1997. Reprint, Colorado Springs, Colo.: Shaw, 2001.
Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections. Edited by Carole F. Chase. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996.
The Glorious Impossible. Ne
w York: Simon & Schuster, 1990.
A House Like a Lotus. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984. Reprint, New York: Dell Publishing, 1985.
Ilsa. New York: Vanguard Press, 1946.
The Irrational Season. New York: Seabury Press, 1977. Reprint, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983. Reprint, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1987.
The Journey with Jonah. Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1967. Reissued, 1991.
Ladder of Angels. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1979. Reprint, New York: Penguin, 1980.
Lines Scribbled on an Envelope. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1969.
A Live Coal in the Sea. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996.
The Love Letters. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1966. Reprint, New York: Ballantine Books, 1983. Revised edition, Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1997.
Many Waters. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986. Reprint, New York: Dell Publishing, 1987.
Meet the Austins. New York: Vanguard Press, 1960. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1981. Reprint, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1997. This edition includes a chapter originally published as The Anti-Muffins.
The Moon by Night. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1963. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1981.
Mothers and Daughters. Photography by Maria Rooney. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1997.
Mothers and Sons. Photography by Maria Rooney. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1999.
The Other Dog. Illustrated by Christine Davenier. New York: Seastar Publishing, 2001.
The Other Side of the Sun. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1971. Reprint, New York: Bantam Books, 1972. Reprint, New York: Ballantine Books, 1983. Reprint, Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1996.
Penguins and Golden Calves: Icons and Idols. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1996.
A Prayerbook for Spiritual Friends: Partners in Prayer. With Luci Shaw. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999.
Prayers for Sunday. New York: Morehouse-Barlow, 1974.
A Ring of Endless Light. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1980. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1981.
The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1993.
A Severed Wasp. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1982.
The Small Rain. New York: Vanguard Press, 1945. Reprint, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1984. First section reissued as Prelude. New York: Vanguard Press, 1968.
Sold into Egypt: Joseph’s Journey into Human Being. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1989.
The Sphinx at Dawn. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982.
A Stone for a Pillow: Journeys with Jacob. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1986.
The Summer of the Great-Grandmother. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1974.
A Swiftly Tilting Planet. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1978. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1979.
Trailing Clouds of Glory: Spiritual Values in Children’s Literature. Edited with Avery Brook. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985.
Troubling a Star. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994. Reprint, New York: Dell Publishers, 1995.
The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1964. Reprint, Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1984. 1984 edition illustrated by Joe de Velasco.
Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1988. Reprint, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1980. Revised editions, 1989, 2001.
The Weather of the Heart. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1978, 2001.
A Wind in the Door. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1976.
A Winter’s Love. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1957. Reprint, New York: Ballantine Books, 1983. Reprint, Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1999.
WinterSong: Christmas Readings by Madeleine L’Engle and Luci Shaw. With Luci Shaw. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1996.
A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1962. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1962.
The Young Unicorns. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1968. Reprint, New York: Dell, 1980.
About the Compiler
Born and raised in the Panama Canal Zone, Carole F. Chase earned her bachelor’s degree at the College of William and Mary. She subsequently taught in the public school system in New Jersey and later earned a master’s degree in Bible at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, before completing her Ph.D. in Christian Ethics at Duke University. She retired as Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University in North Carolina where she had been teaching since 1976.
Chase began her long study of the writing of Madeleine L’Engle in 1983. A year later, this fascination led to a personal encounter with L’Engle that grew into an enduring friendship.
Chase has authored a literary life of L’Engle, entitled Suncatcher: A Study of Madeleine L’Engle and Her Writing and is the compiler of Glimpses of Grace: Daily Thoughts and Reflections.
Reader’s Guide
by Lindsay Lackey
Though the world lost the person of Madeleine L’Engle in 2007, her wisdom, humor, and insight continue to inspire and teach so many. Madeleine L’Engle Herself is a gift to those who would wish to study at her feet, learning the skills of the craft she so deeply cherished. And though she did not believe she could teach writing, she certainly exemplified the passion, determination, humility, and skill necessary to succeed in any creative calling.
We may no longer have the privilege of spending two weeks on a writing retreat with L’Engle, but that doesn’t mean her influence is over. Here you’ll find a series of discussion questions and writing prompts inspired by the passages contained in this book. Each section contains a prompt geared toward fiction, non-fiction, and poetry writing. You’re invited to focus on your favorite genre, complete them all, or mix and match.
Though much of L’Engle’s advice on writing is actually advice on the creative life in general and is undoubtedly useful to an artist of any type, the prompts included below are specifically crafted for writers. However, the discussion questions are for anyone who has chosen a creative existence.
One of Madeleine L’Engle’s distinct teaching methods was to place time limits on her students’ writing. She often told them they could think for as long as they wanted, but could only write for half an hour. As you work through these exercises, take as much time as you’d like to think, but write for only thirty minutes. (In some cases, the length of writing time is otherwise noted.)
As you continue along your creative journey, remember the power of story, as L’Engle so perfectly described it:
“Story makes us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”
Introduction
If you were in a classroom with Madeleine L’Engle, she would ask all of her students to share their personal stories by way of introduction. Take ten minutes to write out what you might have shared in that situation, remembering to craft your introduction as a story to the best of your ability within the time frame.
What about your life is most important to you? What do you feel defines you? Why do you write?
Midrash
From the introduction:
“One of Madeleine’s favorite assignments is to ask her class to write a midrash. After explaining that a midrash is a commentary on Scripture that attempts to fill in details but does not change the story, she makes her assignment: ‘Pick a biblical character and then write a midrash about him or her.’ ”
Again, following in the traditions established by L’Engle i
n her own classrooms, you are invited to write your own midrash. Often, L’Engle used this technique in her own writing and faith to help her work through passages of Scripture that troubled her or were beyond her understanding. (One example might be the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah.)
What biblical story comes to mind for you? Who in Scripture might you like to examine from a new angle? Is there a particular story with which you’ve wrestled that you’d like to explore more deeply?
Remember, you may think for as long as you like, but write for only half an hour!
Joy
Taking a final cue from L’Engle’s teaching, write about one of the happiest times of your life. You may do this in story form, essay, poetry—whatever format best suits your story of joy.
Section I: Serving the Gift
1. Have you experienced the act of giving birth? If not physically, have you experienced it in some other way, such as giving birth to a work of art?
Write a short essay on your experience of giving birth, however that experience looks for you.
2. L’Engle says that artists must abandon control. In what ways is abandoning control difficult for you? Was there a time in your life when you abandoned (as opposed to lost) control? What are the consequences for not releasing control? What results when control is let go?
Write a short story in which the main character must choose to either abandon or maintain control.
Madeleine L'Engle Herself Page 19
