Lament of an Audience on the Death of an Artist

This is the record of the pilgrimage of one great artist, reflected in the experience of one small audience. When Sam Peckinpah died in 1984, I spent some time working out my responses to his work as a whole and, more generally, puzzling over the experience of following contemporary artists as their work takes shape. I ended up lamenting Peckinpah's death, pondering those wonderful movies, and reflecting on what all our watching, reading, and listening amounts to in our living. Cordell Strug studied philosophy at Purdue University but spent most of his life as a pastor in rural Minnesota. He has written on philosophy, religion, literature, and film. He is the author of All Hands Stand By to Repel Boarders: Tales from Life as a Lutheran Pastor and The Other Cheek: Gospel, Empire, and Memory in One Christian's Journey.