Joseph Bottum’s name is likely familiar to many readers of Religion and Liberty: From his tenure as editor-in-chief at First Things to his lovely poetry to his essays at premier venues like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, andThe Times of London, Bottum has been a leading figure of conservative American letters for decades. For all that prominence, however, there will likely be many readers as surprised as I was to see his latest book: a collection of Christmas-themed short stories and reflections titled Frankincense, Gold, and Myrrh: A Christmas Chrestomathy.
Upon further investigation, I shouldn’t have been surprised; Bottum’s Christmas literature is at least as well-known as his social and political commentary, probably more so. One of his Christmas essays, “Dakota Christmas,” had a strong run as the number one bestseller on the Amazon Kindle Singles list. A Christmas Chrestomathy presents three short stories along with several shorter nonfiction reflections from Bottum’s collection of annual Christmas writings.
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