While few of us knew her personally, we felt like we did, and we would tell you we lost a friend on Thursday.

Madeleine L'Engle has died.

Her writing has meant very much to many of us, encouraging, inspiring, and entertaining us, spurring us on to deeper thought. It's amazing how all of the news articles speak only of A Wrinkle in Time and rarely about any other of the charming works in her prolific collection. I guess that means it's about time I read A Wrinkle in Time, especially now that I'm an elementary teacher, and especially if I want to keep calling her a friend. I actually bought it right before we left for the summer. (It's a cheap buy on Amazon!) It's about time I dig in.

Other remarks.

An excerpt from an interview:

So to you, faith is not a comfort?
Good heavens, no. It’s a challenge: I dare you to believe in God. I dare you to think [our existence] wasn’t an accident.

Many people see faith as anti-intellectual.
Then they’re not very bright. It takes a lot of intellect to have faith, which is why so many people only have religiosity.

Have you read the Harry Potter books?
I read one of them. It’s a nice story but there’s nothing underneath it. I don’t want to be bothered with stuff where there’s nothing underneath. Some people say, “Why do you read the Bible?’’ I say, "Because there’s a lot of stuff underneath."