Alumni Ink: Ken Colombini (’85) Defends G. K. Chesterton

“While the world rejects the idea there is a ‘whole truth of things’ … Chesterton saw that this must be the case — and he grasped that truth far better than most self-proclaimed ‘thinkers’ today,” says alumnus author Ken Colombini (’85) in his latest article in Crisis magazine, where he argues in favor of G.K. Chesterton’s intellectual merit. “I would argue that the best word for Chesterton is brilliant, in the fullest sense of the term.”

Read: Chesterton the Brilliant, by Ken Colombini (’85)

In the article, Mr. Colombini argues against the view of many intellectuals — from Chesterton’s time to our own — who think the author was a shallow thinker and prefer to ignore his wealth of writings. Chesterton, Mr. Colombini admits, was not an esteemed scholar or professor. Indeed, he was not an academic at all, but rather an artist and writer. Yet he nonetheless produced some of the most intellectually moving theological, philosophical, and literary works of the 20^th century. 

“A person cannot honestly read works like The Everlasting Man, Orthodoxy, or his short appreciations of Aquinas and Francis of Assisi and claim he was not a serious thinker,” says Mr. Colombini. “Even his entertainments, like The Napoleon of Notting Hill, The Man Who Was Thursday, or the many Father Brown mysteries, show a mind who could use entertainment to advance deeper considerations about life and our place in the world.”

A former newspaper reporter, editor, and columnist, Mr. Colombini transitioned to public affairs in the 1990s with positions in California state government and Anheuser-Busch. Now as the Renewable Fuel Association’s communications director, he is responsible for the development and implementation of a broad range of the national trade association’s communication strategies. Mr. Colombini is also a prolific writer in Catholic and related media, having published numerous essays in First Things, the National Catholic Register, Crisis, Inside the Vatican, The American Conservative, and other online outlets.