129. IN MEMORIAM

well, it's another issue about grief

we lost my grandfather this week. he was truly one of a kind. i loved him very much, and he took great care to make sure i knew how much he loved me. 

some of you may know that my grandfather was a well-known preacher. (how many italian baptist preachers can you think of?) he was known as an evangelical for most of his life, even as his liberal politics made him a thorn in the side of many of his bedfellows. (in fact, he ultimately rejected the evangelical label in part due to his dismay over how the majority of american evangelicals had fallen under the sway of right-wing politicians. he even ran for congress as a democrat!) he also had one of the last unofficial heresy trials; the church didn’t like that he said jesus lived in everybody, whether or not they were christians. the council ultimately decided not to formally condemn him as a heretic, but they chastised him for being “methodologically naïve and verbally incautious.” (obsessed.) he was astonishingly curious and open-minded, especially for his cohort, and loved and celebrated his jewish granddaughters — me and my sister — loudly and with great joy. 

despite the primacy of religion in his life, i barely heard him preach as a kid. one of the few times i did hear him speak was at an event at yale divinity school. i bashfully explained to the girl behind the check-in desk that i wasn’t on the list, but my grandfather was tony campolo and he said that it shouldn’t be a problem to get me in to hear his talk. her eyes got wide. “you’re so lucky,” she whispered. i laughed; i knew her reasons for thinking i was lucky were probably pretty far from the reasons i thought i was (hers probably had more to do with the concept of my eternal soul), but we agreed just the same. to so many people, he was living proof that it was possible to build a kind of heaven here on earth. to me, he was pop pop, the one and only. 

it would be utterly impossible to sum pop pop’s life and work here, but i wanted to share a few articles and videos that brought me comfort this week…

his official obituary.

a fairly thorough list of some of his more notable public-facing moments can be found at christianity today. 

a roundup of some people’s responses to his passing. 

this great interview. my grandfather and i differed in our opinions on a great many topics, but i have never tired of hearing his thoughts. 

an ex-vangelical perspective on pop pop. 

(and if you want a bonus, you can read this interview with my grandmother, who has advocated for full acceptance of lgbt+ people within the church for decades.)

this supercut of my grandfather’s most famous sermon — “it’s friday, but sunday’s coming”)  from the beginning of leaving my father’s faith, a documentary on my grandfather and uncle. (i confess i haven’t been able to make myself watch the whole thing yet.) 

finally, my grandfather consulted on this iconic scene from the west wing, which brings me a lot of joy. 

reading. 

continuing with sirens and muses by antonia angress. 

the below postcards from my grandfather to my grandmother.

”just me alone, / the most stupid weed, / my stupid face turned toward the sun.” (this poem reminds me of “meditations in an emergency” — “hand on my heart. hand on my stupid heart.”)

“7 days in the cultural life of a broadway stage manager.”

this beautiful obituary of morgan jenness, a pillar in the theatrical community. 

as others have pointed out, you can basically get a whole new york season announcement by reading the nysca fy2025 grant recipients. (new sarah delappe play incoming!)

are love songs dying?

seeing. 

the hills of california by jez butterworth, directed by sam mendes, starring an incandescent laura donnelly. i really didn’t have time to see theater when i was back in new york for all of two seconds, but given that i saw the ferryman four (!) times, i knew i’d absolutely kick myself if i missed this one. the hills of california didn’t quite inspire ferryman-like levels of adoration for me, but it did provide another opportunity to watch laura donnelly hold an audience in the palm of her hand for three hours. at a couple points, i felt myself wishing for a little more trust in the audience — like when the single most stunning image of the show was followed up with a line explaining the metaphor… twice — but then, at intermission, the woman behind me said to her husband, “i don’t understand why it’s called the hills of california. they only mentioned that song once.” (1. they had mentioned it at least twice, and 2. oh noooo how will we ever know what the hills of california represent to these four little girls from liverpool who just want to be big song and dance stars?) anyway, i feel so lucky that living in new york (as i still do! even if i’m traveling again!) lets me see theater made by the greats in my own backyard.

did i mention i’m traveling again? cori made me the below meme. (classic.)

back to abbott elementary. it’s so comforting. 

paul mescal on hot ones.

okay, one more little bit from my grandfather. (warning for 2016 election vibes. ow.)

hearing. 

this album, which came to me via my friend katherine, who got it from my friend emily, really helped me this week. 

obsessed with this band jonny showed me: the tillers. 

a less-than-three-minute album of gorgeousness. 

making.

a bright spot this week was announcing the apple corps, our newest venture with good apples collective. the apple corps will be an advisory committee made up of trusted artists who have worked with gac on a number of previous projects. specifically, we’re so excited to be bringing usual suspects paige seber, mia fowler, saawan tiwari, and willow funkhouser on board in an ongoing capacity. you can read more about them and the corps on our website — and below!

sophie sent me a full draft of her latest play! i’m so excited about it. it’s set in a magdalen laundry in inwood. i’ll be directing a reading of it for sophie’s columbia mfa thesis this spring. we had a rapid fire discussion of it on thursday and i really can’t wait to dive in more deeply. 

toured a theater for good apples collective’s next production! sophie toured another one after i left for florida. it’s getting more real…

and, of course, i prepped for another rose 5.0! caribbean islands, here i come!