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THE VIBRANT WORD: A LUTHERAN FESTIVAL OF WRITING
AT LUTHER COLLEGE, OCTOBER 29-31, 2010
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29
10:30 a.m.
College Chapel Service Center for Faith and Life Main Hall
Patrick Cabello Hansel, New Creation Lutheran Church
(Iglesia Luterana Nueva Creatión), St. Paul, MN??
Music: Pilgrims' Hymn, by Stephen Paulus, text by Michael Dennis Browne
Luther Cathedral Choir, directed by Sandra K. Peter
3:00-7:00 p.m.
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Registration
Center for Faith and Life Lobby
Opening Session
Center for Faith and Life Main Hall
Welcome
Dance
Vibrant Acts of Reading
Amanda Hamp, Luther College Theatre/Dance Dept
Rose Milligan (Luther ’10)
Greeting – William Craft
Luther College Dean and Vice-President for Academic Affairs
Introduction
Keynote address
Poet Robert Cording
College of the Holy Cross
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8:45 p.m.
Reception and Book Signing
Hammarskjold Lounge
Dahl Centennial Union
10:00 p.m.
Open mike
Peace Dining Room, Dahl Centennial Union
Hosted by students from Luther’s Eta Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta
All readers and listeners welcome.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30
8:30-9:40 a.m.
Panel
Art, Idea, and Belief
This Festival intentionally focuses on literary work rather than writing that subordinates art to
message. Why might a writer choose to allow theme to emerge rather than having idea dictate a
work’s parameters—what is the relationship, in other words, between the thematic and the didactic?
How does a writer effectively explore belief or ideas about theology, religion, politics, or morality in
literary work? Is there value in framing and articulating questions and not answering them? The
panelists will use their own work as illustration as they discuss these issues.
Panelists: Robert Cording, Jill Alexander Essbaum,
Gracia Grindal, Paul Shepherd, Walt Wangerin, Jr.
MODERATOR:
Poetry Reading
Mary Crockett Hill and Steven
Schroeder
CONVENOR:
Poetry Reading
John Graber and Barbara Crooker
Convenor:
9:40-10:20 a.m.
Refreshment Break
Center for Faith and Life Lobby
10:30-11:40 a.m.
Panel
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The Past as a Foreign Country
Poetry, historical fiction, and creative nonfiction (including memoir) are based in factual
realities and details. Some writers pore over family records or artifacts; others do scholarly
research to authenticate their portrayal of past eras and figures. What kinds of historical
figures and events lend themselves to creative work? What are the problems of exposition in
this kind of creative work? How does a writer shape art out of the details of past lives? How
does the writer remain true to historical fact and yet create a fully realized imaginative world?
How can the past’s religious dimensions speak to the contemporary world? The panelists will
use their own work
a as illustration as they discuss these issues.
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Rachel Faldet, Mark Mustian, Robert Schultz, René Steinke,
MODERATOR:
Creative Non-Fiction and Fiction Reading
Nancy K. Barry and Walter Wangerin, Jr.
CONVENOR:
11:40-1:00
Jazz Poetry Reading
Cass Dalglish and Philip Bryant
CONVENOR:
Lunch Break
Luther Cafeteria
Lower level, Dahl Centennial Union
Book Signings in the Luther College Bookshop
Main level, Dahl Centennial Union
1:00-2:10 p.m.
Panel
Thoughts on Editing and Publishing
This panel discussion of editing and publishing brings together editors and publishers of a range of
publications, a writer who has been widely published, and a writer who has self-published. Some
topics for discussion: What does an editor consider in selecting work for publication? What are the
opportunities and roadblocks in peer-reviewed publication, and why might a writer choose to selfpublish? Why might a writer choose a secular over a religious journal for publication? How receptive
are secular publications to works that explore religious issues? With recent changes at Augsburg
Fortress Press, the ELCA no longer has a literary publishing venue—what other opportunities are
available for writers focused on Lutheran or wider religious concerns?
Jill Peláez Baumgaertner (Christian Century); Gary Fincke (widely-published author);
Cristy Fossum (self-published author); Katy Giebenhain (Seminary Ridge Review);
Brianna Van Dyke (Ruminate)
MODERATOR:
Poetry Reading
Diane LeBlanc and Vince Wixon
CONVENOR:
Non-Fiction and Fiction Reading
David Faldet
and Thomas Maltman
CONVENOR:
2:10-2:50 p.m.
Refreshment Break
Center for Faith and Life Lobby
3:00-4:10 p.m.
The Beautiful Strange: Writing a Novel
René Steinke
Fairleigh Dickinson University
INTRODUCTION:
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4:20-5:30 p.m.
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Panel
Readers and Writers Networking
Both the Lutheran Writers Project and the Lutheran Readers Project grew out of the 2007
Lutheran Festival of Writing. Paul Shepherd, one of the originators of the Festival, manages
the website of the Lutheran Writers Project (lutheranwriters.org), based at Roanoke College.
The website seeks to serve writers who strive for spiritual and literary depth, engage the
Church’s imagination, enable dialogue, and provide resources for writers, readers,
organizations, and institutions. The Lutheran Readers Project (formerly the Lutheran Book
Club), directed by Mark Mustian, is a resource for readers interested in literature addressing
Lutheran culture, history, and faith. The Readers Project selects books by featured authors
(many are Festival presenters past and present), for which it provides background materials,
study guides, and interviews with writers—all for individual readers or for reading groups.
Got any more ideas you’d like to see for writers, readers, pastors, or churches? This
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roundtable will discuss these projects and brainstorm ideas for other future projects.
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ODERATORS: Paul Shepherd, Mark Mustian
Poetry Reading
Susanna Childress and Katy Giebenhain
CONVENOR:
Poetry Reading
Gracia Grindal and Jill Peláez Baumgaertner
CONVENOR:
6:45 p.m.
Festival Banquet
8:00-10:00 p.m.
Vibrancies
Peace Dining Room
Dahl Centennial Union
Some Returning Writers Read Their Work
Center for Faith and Life Main Hall
Readers: Lauri Anderson, Jill Alexander Essbaum,
Gary Fincke, Carol Gilbertson, Patrick Hicks,
Robert Schultz, Paul Shepherd, Amy Weldon
HOST:
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31
9:00-10:10 a.m.
Panel
A Sense of Place
The presenters on this panel write about such disparate subjects as the Troubles in Northern Ireland,
Finnish Americans in the Upper Midwest, the human and natural ecosystems of Northeast Iowa, and
plain folks in the Deep South. What are some of the challenges in writing about place? How does a
writer avoid stereotyping regions and their people? What techniques translate the specificity of local
detail into universal meaning and appeal? How important is religious practice in the understanding of
place? The panelists will use their own work as illustration as they discuss these issues.
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Panelists: Lauri Anderson, David Faldet, Patrick Hicks, Amy Weldon
MODERATOR:
10:30 a.m.
NOON:
Fiction Reading
Mark Mustian and David Oppegaard
CONVENOR:
Poetry Reading
Joe Wilkins and Cary Waterman
CONVENOR:
Reformation Day Worship Center for Faith and Life Main Hall
Preacher
Rev. Norene Smith
Bayshore Lutheran Church, Whitefish Bay, WI
Music
Nordic Choir, directed by Allen Hightower
FESTIVAL ENDS