Festival of faith & Writing at Calvin College

January 21, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact Dale Brown at 616-526-6468
For the complete story see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2003_04/festival.htm

When the 2004 Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College takes place April
22-24 some 1,700 registrants from across the country will gather to hear over
100 speakers.

What brings them to Grand Rapids?

Festival director and professor of English Dale Brown says part of the appeal
lies in Calvin's willingness to bring together readers and writers not
necesarily interested in easy answers. He points to author Thomas Lynch as an
illustration of what Calvin's philosophy for the Festival is and has been since
the event began in 1990.

Lynch lives in Milford, Michigan, near Detroit, and there he has been a
funeral director since 1974. His writing has been praised for its insights into
death and what the living can learn from the dead. In addition his work is
infused with faith. His Catholicism, he says, remains a basic reference point.
He has, in fact, described himself as a devoutly lapsed Catholic because he has
so many questions. "But," he adds, "the questions wouldn't even form unless I'd
been given this language of Catholicism, which is an advantage."

Lynch's willingness to struggle with life's big questions, from a wellsping of
faith, says Brown, makes him a perfect fit for the Festival.

"We're interested," Brown says, "in writers who show respect for and
understanding of a faith tradition. Some of the writers may, in fact, have left
that tradition, but they're still reacting to it, they're aware of it, and
they're respectful of it."

Contact Dale Brown at 616-526-6468
For the complete story see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2003_04/festival.htm
Received on Thu Jan 22 15:53:27 2004