Aug 7, 2018
Mike Aquilina has been a highly successful freelance writer
for over three decades. He is best known for his popular books on
the Fathers of the Church, but he is also a poet and has co-written
songs with the well-known blues singer Dion. We chat about the
process of collaboration (whether as a ghostwriter or a song
lyricist), the trajectory of poetry over the past century, and
more.
Links
Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com/
“New York Is My Home” (a song Mike co-wrote performed by Dion
and Paul Simon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpsVSLUOCGA
A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike & Grace
Aquilina
https://catholicbooksdirect.com/product/a-history-of-the-church-in-100-objects/
The Fathers of the Church, 3rd Edition by Mike Aquilina
https://catholicbooksdirect.com/product/the-fathers-of-the-church-3rd-edition/
“Hindu Traditions of St. Thomas” at Mike’s blog
https://fathersofthechurch.com/2007/05/21/hindu-traditions-of-st-thomas/
“Birdhouse in Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhjSzjoU7OQ
Timestamps
Mike Aquilina
2:29 St. Thomas Aquinas’s Eucharistic hymns
5:27 Being a lyricist collaborating with a musician (Dion)
7:05 The fun of ghostwriting
9:18 Prose influences
11:18 Mike’s eclectic career path
13:27 The modern idea of the artist; poetry in the past
century
31:39 Life as a full-time freelance writer
32:46 Mike’s work on patristics
35:18 Distilling the scholarship of experts for a popular
audience
38:09 More on Mike’s collaboration with Dion
40:24 Having his lyrics sung by Paul Simon
41:31 Chatting about favorite musicians and lyricists
50:18 “Thomas Christians” in India and early Korean
Catholicism
53:52 This week’s readings: Clement of
Alexandria
