Words

I’ve just spent three delightful days immersed in literature at Calvin College’s Festival of Faith and Writing. Well, actually two of the days were delightful. By Saturday I had developed the typical “brain freeze” that usually accompanies conferences lasting longer than a day, and I walked around in a bit of a fog. But still. What a gift to spend three days listening to stories, poems, and essays by the very people who created them and learn about their creative process and life experiences. And even more, to hear how their faith impacts their writing.

Language is a gift from God. Words themselves are a gift from God. The very idea of communicating - both with God and other people - is such a wonderful and important gift from God. I enjoyed hearing from authors Wally Lamb, Lisa Samson, Peter Manseau, Scott Cairns, Avi, Kate diCamillo, and Sally Lloyd-Jones, as well as others. Although some write for adults and others write primarily for children, a common theme emerged: the interdependence we have with each other. We are relational people, and language - words - reflects that.

Kate diCamillo spoke about the fact that life is both beautiful and difficult and literature (for adults and children) should reflect both these truths. Lisa Samson shared how her novels portray her faith journey as she has learned to marry her belief and faith practices in books like Quaker Summer. Wally Lamb’s books deal with the theme of quest - his characters often search for the meaning of life, turning from some type of chaos to find order. And Peter Manseau and Dara Horn described how we find universal truth, even in books written about a specific culture or time period.

I come away from the conference with a renewed appreciation for the beauty of words, a desire to improve my own writing and the writing of my students, a recognition that published authors are “regular” people, and a challenge of recognizing who my neighbor is and how I impact them.

I also have a new reading list that will definitely last through the summer!