A Sparkling New Podcast on “Tell It Slant” – The Biography of Chuck Fager

Announcing A Brand-New, free podcast, now online at the link below:

Tell It Slant-Podcast with Emma, Chuck & Mark

A Review of Tell It Slant

By Dan Whitley

(Chuck, here is my review. I don’t think I did the book any justice, mainly because I was never very good at book reports in school. I really loved the book. And it gave me a bigger picture of who you are, and have been, in service of Friends and beyond.)

I’ve always called him the “Quaker Muckraker”, a title he owned up to in a recent phone conversation. But Chuck Fager is more – much more – than that. In fact, until I read his biography/autobiography titled Tell It Slant, I had no idea how much more.

My acquaintance with Chuck goes back to the early 1970s when I was working for Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers). I lived in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC and Chuck in northern Virginia. I would have to say that I knew “of” Chuck more than I actually “knew” him back then.

Dan Whitley

After reading Tell It Slant, I have come to admire Chuck and his journey through life in a new way, a way that includes great admiration.

This is a uniquely written biography – I add the word autobiography for this reason: The stated author is Emma Lapansky-Werner, a Professor Emeritus at Haverford College; added to that are the words “with Chuck Fager.” This book is a fascinating blend of Professor Lapansky-Werner’s story of Chuck’s life, but a large part of the book are pieces from Chuck’s writings over the years. It made me feel like the two of them were in my room talking to each other, first one saying this and then the other saying that about events and ideas.

I have to admit that I have sometimes been suspicious of Chuck’s muckraking vocation, so when he called me to say he wanted to do an interview about a controversy that the church I was pastoring had with the larger Quaker body, at first, I said “no.” However, I am so glad then I did say yes, and that Chuck visited the church on a weekend, attended worship, interviewed members, and spoke with me and my wife. Although he did not agree totally with us about the controversy, he understood us and wrote a very fair article. Today, when people want to know about the controversy, I hand them a copy of Chuck’s newsletter called A Friendly Letter.

Having spent a good deal of my life working for and with Quakers, reading Tell It Slant brings back many memories about so many good folks. The book covers Chuck’s involvement in the civil rights movement, the peace movement – particularly around the issue of the Vietnam War – unions, postal service (yes, Chuck worked for the Post Office, sorting and delivering mail). Chuck has been a teacher, a story-teller, and a speaker among Friends and beyond. He even wrote some for one of my favorite magazines, Christianity Today.

Chuck is a progressive/liberal Quaker – and somewhat of a gadfly at that. I think the thing I most admire about Chuck – and it comes through loud and clear in the book – is his quest for truth and his ability to have his own thoughts and opinions while understanding those of others. He doesn’t always hesitate to go after those with whom he disagrees, but he is willing to listen as he expresses his disagreements.

One of Chuck’s biggest contributions to current Quaker history has been his chronicling of the various rifts and separations that have occurred among Friends in recent years. One of the casualties of those rifts was the demise of North Carolina Yearly Meeting, at one time a major part of American Quakerism with a long history in the Tar Heel State. It was also the branch of Friends I grew up in.

In the book is the story of Chuck’s involvement with Quaker House, a place where soldiers from Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC could come for counseling and get advice on how to apply for conscientious objector status. Chuck’s father retired from the Air Force with the rank of Lt. Colonel and Chuck was in the Air Force ROTC at Colorado State University. With that history and with his commitment as a Quaker to peace, he was in a unique position to be of service at Quaker House.

When I think of Chuck Fager I think of his visit to our church in a time of turmoil and writing a clear and fair account and I think of his eleven years of service at Quaker House. There is a ton of stuff I haven’t even touched upon. This book was a treat to read. I don’t like big books (counting the addenda in the back it is 569 pages) but I had trouble putting it down. I highly recommend it.

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