Earlham School of Religion
in Richmond, Indiana presents
The Ministry of Writing: An Annual Colloquium
October 19 & 20
Elizabeth Cox, keynote speaker
“I realized … that I was always writing about forgiveness. The first book was about self-forgiveness, the second book was about forgiving someone else, and the third book was about asking for forgiveness. As I write, I feel that kind of forgiveness working in me…” So says Elizabeth Cox, who is coming to Earlham School of Religion as the keynote speaker of its annual Ministry of Writing Colloquium.
Elizabeth is the author of three novels (Familiar Ground, 1984; The Ragged Way People Fall Out of Love, 1991; and Night Talk, 1997) and the newly released Bargains in the Real World, a collection of short fiction.
She also writes poetry, essays and short stories. Her short story "The Third of July" was included in Prize Stories 1994: The O. Henry Awards, and "Land of Goshen" was cited for excellence in Best American Short Stories. Night Talk received the 1998 Lillian Smith Book Award for fiction and was nominated for the 1999 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Elizabeth grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, graduated from the University of Mississippi, received her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and currently teaches one semester a year at Duke University.
Elizabeth will give a presentation to the wider Earlham and Richmond
communities on Friday evening, October 19 and speak twice to colloquium
attenders on Saturday, October 20.
Workshops
“Wilderness and the Writer's Trail”
led by Peter Anderson
In the Bible, wilderness was, at times, a place of desolation; at times, a place of revelation. Today, we often experience wilderness as the terrain of contemplation. In group writing exercises, we'll consider images of wilderness as they apply to the writer's inward and outward travels.
Peter Anderson teaches writing at ESR. As a contributing editor with the Salt Journal, he focuses on religion and spirituality. He has written a dozen children's books on topics related to history and natural history. More recently, he finished a collection of essays -- Walking the Big Empty -- which explores relationships between place and prayer.
“Seeking God in the Details”
led by Kathleen Bolduc
We are called to transformation as the reflective process moves us toward new insights; as we seek and find God’s presence in the minutiae of our lives. In this workshop you will have the opportunity to slow down and reflect on a specific life experience. There will be times of guided reflection, Scripture exploration, writing and sharing. Please bring your Bibles as well as a notebook.
Kathleen Bolduc was the 1992 Patrick Henry Scholar at ESR, where she worked on her book His Name is Joel: Searching for God in a Son’s Disability (Bridge Resources, 1999). A Place Called Acceptance: Ministry with Families of Children with Disabilities (Bridge Resources), will be released in the summer of 2001. Kathy has led writing workshops at The Writing Academy, St. David’s Christian Writers’ Conference, and ESR.
“The Poet as Maker, Seeker and Seer”
led by David Craig
Poets need a kind of personal violence to become seekers/ seers. The focus will be on powers of mysticism and metaphor, and the spirituality of the poet's quest as we surprise ourselves with language, move against the cliché, and risk our sense of self and the human condition. Poets are encouraged to send, along with their registration, a poem for discussion in the workshop. (Poems need to be received by October 1 to be considered.)
David Craig is Professor of English and Creative Writing at the Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio). He has published seven collections of poetry, including Mercy’s Face: New and Selected Poems and The Roof of Heaven. He has also published three works of fiction (The Cheese Stands Alone, Our Lady of the Outfield, and When All the Flowers Grew).
“Faith and Fiction: Spiritual Seeking and Writing Fine Stories”
led by C. Michael Curtis
Contemporary literature may not be the first place you think of to find God, but this workshop will challenge the reader to find faith in fiction. Faith and fiction both challenge our deepest yearnings and provide our greatest comfort in ways mysterious and immense. Participants are encouraged to send a short story along with their registration (must be received by October 1 to be considered). These stories will be reviewed by Mike and a few will be used as discussion starters in the workshop.
C. Michael Curtis is senior editor of The Atlantic Monthly, which involves editing all fiction, the Letters to the Editor, and other pieces. He screens some 12,000 manuscripts annually. Curtis was the editor of God: Stories, American Stories: Fiction From The Atlantic Monthly, and many more. His essays, articles, reviews, and poems have been published in The Atlantic, The New Republic, National Review, and Sport.
“Writing the Young Adult Novel”
led by Alan Garinger
Fiction for young adults is booming. Writing for this market is an art and business. If you’ve ever wanted to write books for young readers – or have even begun a manuscript – this workshop will help you. You’ll learn how to make your ideas into stories full of clarity, expression and purpose – and then present them to publishers.
Alan Garinger is a nationally known author, having written everything from teleplays for public television to biographies and text books. Alan was an educator for 27 years in settings from preschool to college. For the last several years, Alan has been working on books for young readers. His titles include Water Monsters, A Good Beginning Has No End and A Torch in the Darkness, an award-winning tale of a German boy artist in the renaissance.
From Theo-logy to Theopoetics
led by Scott Holland
The postmodern condition may, for good reasons, be characterized by incredulity toward churchly morality and God-talk. Nevertheless, there is an emerging spirituality marked by intellectual curiosity and aesthetic desire that celebrates poem over proposition, metaphor over moral. This workshop will explore the possibilities of naming oneself and rending God’s name through a writing life informed more by theopoetics than theology.
Scott Holland is Assistant Professor of Peace Studies and Cross-Cultural Studies and Director of Campus Ministry at Bethany Theological Seminary. He is also a contributing editor to Cross Currents: The Journal for the Association of Religion and Intellectual Life.
"Little Truths and Big Truth: Writing as a Ministry"
led by Gregory Wolfe
Workshop Description for Greg Wolfe -- Spiritual writing has become a literary phenomenon in America today. Writers like Anne Lamott and Kathleen Norris have crafted moving personal narratives that unite subjective experience with objective faith. Using their writing as a touchstone, this workshop will explore the challenges of writing about the life of faith, including creating a personal voice and bridging the gap between the universal and the particular. We will also face head on an enduring tension in spiritual writing—the tension between writing about Big Truth, while also being faithful to the "small truths" of everyday life.
Gregory Wolfe is the publisher and editor of Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion and the Director of the Center for Religious Humanism. He also serves as Writer in Residence at Seattle Pacific University. Among his books are Malcolm Muggeridge: A Biography and (co-authored with his wife Suzanne) Circle of Grace: Praying with — and for — Your Children. He has published essays, reviews, and articles in numerous journals, including Commonweal, First Things, National Review, Crisis, Modern Age, and New Oxford Review. He received his B.A. from Hillsdale College and his M.A. in English literature from Oxford University. Wolfe is currently writing a book on Christian humanism.
Schedule & Cost
Friday, October 19
7:00 p.m. Registration
7:30 p.m. An Evening with Elizabeth Cox
Saturday, October 20
8:15 a.m. Registration and Coffee
9:00 a.m. Worship
9:30 a.m. Keynote Address by Elizabeth Cox
10:30 a.m. Refreshment Break
10:45 a.m. Workshop Session One
12:15 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Workshop Session Two
2:45 p.m. Closing Gathering with Elizabeth Cox
3:15 p.m. Autograph Party and Refreshments.
A $55 (before October 1) registration fee covers all colloquium events including the Friday night gathering, all plenary sessions and workshops, Saturday lunch and refreshments.
For more information, contact:
Writing Colloquium 2001
J. Brent Bill, Director
Earlham School of Religion
228 College Avenue
Richmond, IN 47374
E-mail: billbr@earlham.edu