Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.
—Anne Lamott
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
—Martin Luther King Jr.
There are no hopeless situations; there are only men who have grown hopeless about them.
—G.K. Chesterton
It is true that the most drastic social reform, the most complete dethronement of privilege, cannot of themselves bring the Kingdom in; … but at least these can clear the ground, prepare the highway of God; and here each act of love, each sacrifice, each conquest of prejudice, each generous impulse carried through into action counts: and each unloving gesture, hard judgment, pessimistic thought or utterance opposes the coming of the Kingdom.
—Evelyn Underhill
What might we need in a world strained by division, noise, and egoism? If this issue of Radix offers any hope, it may be this: meekness, rooted imagination, and lives shaped by deep interdependence. These are also things the Inklings show to be true.
Across four interviews, we meet thinkers and artists whose wise work is, in part, drawn from the Inklings—those literary companions whose writings continue to speak to both the intellect and the imagination:
- “Meekness Is Not Weakness: Matthew Dickerson on Living Gently and Thinking Deeply”
- “Hobbit-Sized Faith, Kingdom-Sized Vision: Michael Christensen on the Inklings”
- “An Inklings’ Heir: Rob Jones’ Poetic Vision for the Church and the Imagination”
- “The Joy Is in the Journey: Following C.S. Lewis with Ryan J. Pemberton”
- Ron Dart in the Timeless Hermann Hesse
Each voice invites us toward wholeness in fractured times.
At the heart of these conversations is a vision that resists despair: one that values meekness over dominance, imagination over ideology, and the quiet power of stories to bridge what divides. Here, the intellectual and the spiritual, the literary and the liturgical, meet—not as opposing forces, but as companions on the journey.
This Radix issue also features a timely conversation from a recent New College Berkeley MLK Retreat, where leaders from across traditions gathered to ask just what prophetic faithfulness looks like today. In the spirit of King’s enduring witness, they explored how the Church might confront the “three evils” of our time with imagination, courage, and gospel friendship.
And of course, we have some great poetry.
Also in this issue:
Fiction:
- Drifters
- The Reliable Man
Features:
- Longing to Belong
- Following Jesus into “the Fierce Urgency of Now”
- LBJ, MLK, and the Passing of Time
- The Three Evils of Society: A Reflection on an MLK Retreat
- A Dream Deferred?
- A sample chapter from Dave Jackson’s book, Is Your God Good
- A lovely tribute from Susan Phillips on the passing of Laurel Gasque
Columns:
- Marilyn McEntyre, What Can I Do
- Craig Wong, When Dreams Become Nightmares
Reviews:
- Songs Sharp and Tender by Carol L. Park
- Here Lyeth by Johanna Frank
To having increased strength in meekness – or meekness in strength, maybe? – M
P.S. A poet and friend of Laurel Gasque (1942-2025) offered the following poem in tribute
Laurel Crowned
A dear friend’s passing struck me to the core,
Laurel, who called me poet when we first met.
She took me to art galleries we adored
And concerts, music weaved a magic net.
I now recall the myth that holds her name.
Apollo chased a nymph named Daphne,
Till Gaia, Mother Earth, saved her from shame
Transforming her into a laurel tree.
Ovid’s myth shields me from endless grief.
I see the golden wreath upon her brow,
The emerald bough sparkling in every leaf
And she in heaven blessed with honours now.
Susan McCaslin has known Laurel since 1972. She has been writing poetry since she was twelve when she discovered the power of poetic language. Her most recent volume of poetry is Field Play (Ekstasis Editions, 2024). In 2012, she initiated the Han Shan Poetry Project, which drew on poetry to save an endangered forest near her home in Fort Langley.