Category Archives: General

Saying it New at the Festival: Art and the Christian

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Jake, Jesus, and the Bear

Jake at the Rock & Sling Table

Post-Festival Blog Post: In which Jake looks back on his experience, and likes what he sees.

  • Artists should seek to have the “courage of risking respect for all those who they encounter.” – Marilynne Robinson
  • Artists ought to “provoke the possibilities of how we live in the world.” – Shane Claiborne
  • Artists create stories. “Stories make you more humane, and more human.” – Gary Schmidt
  • “You will never love art well, until you love what it mirrors better” – Ruskin via Gary Schmidt

Do you sense a theme there? Throughout my time at Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing I sure did. What does it mean to be to be an artist? A Christian? A human?

I’m not going to claim to have a profound new insight from my time at the festival, but I am certainly feeling challenged, inspired, and eager as a result.

Tania’s previous post describes the atmosphere of the event well. In our daily lives it may be rare for us to find people excited about the same things we are. Our Christian friends may not care about our art, and our artistic friends may not care about our faith. It was different at this festival, though. I felt a strong connection with everyone I interacted with. Those people care about the things I care about. And if you’re reading this, odds are you care about many of those things too.

I’m still processing some of the things I heard from the sessions I attended, but there remains in me a general impression of two qualities: eager hope and earnest humility.

Art is not something we should use to impose our beliefs onto others. Rarely does that effectively communicate anything valuable and rarely does that us that allow us the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way.

Art is about connecting with people. Art is about challenging preconceptions of difference and allowing us the opportunity to love others unconditionally. Art spurs us on to action in a broken and frightened world. Art is about humbly suggesting an alternative to the way we currently live.

When you look at art this way, are we not simply saying that art is part of the function of our communicating the Gospel? Jesus, after all, spoke in brilliant little parables. In fact, in Matthew 13: 34 -35, it says that: “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.’”

Jesus’ parables weren’t about saying something new, but about revealing those things that were established at the beginning of creation.

Similarly, our art should not be about saying something new for our advantage, but about somehow showing others that we care about those truths Jesus spoke about. We don’t have to do this explicitly (Jesus’ parables were often subtle, ambiguous, and misunderstood), but we do need to do this intentionally and graciously.

If all of us were willing to write with the kind of courage that allowed us to risk respecting all we encounter, as Marilynne Robinson describes, think of how effective could we be in our creation of connection to a desperate world.

Jake Slaughter is an editorial intern with Relief and will graduate from Trinity International University with a degree in English and English/Communications this spring.

This Ragged Band: Post-Festival Thoughts

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Tania Runyan

I know many of our readers have faced this dilemma: In the writing world, no one understands my faith. In fact, they often look down on people like me. At church, no one understands my art. In fact, they often look down on people like me.

Now, I am blessed to attend a church very supportive of my poetry career, a fellowship that buys my books and packs out local coffee houses at my readings. Also, other writers usually at least tolerate my faith. But not every artist is fortunate enough to feel accepted by both sides. And sometimes we need an experience much deeper than mere acceptance, more enthusiastic than a polite smile and nod.
Enter the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. For four glorious days in Grand Rapids, I could be myself–my true messy, vulnerable, Jesus-obsessed, word-obsessed, praying self. Upon arrival, I embraced friends I had seen in person just once or twice or, in many cases, only on Facebook. We spoke effortlessly about poetry, church, parenting. We ambushed restuarants, sharing meals like extended families. We shared testimonies, confessed our darkest, ugliest writing jealousies and fears. (Okay, that was mostly me.) I even munched pretzels and hummus loudly at the Relief table while pitching the journal to potential subscribers, and Brad Fruhauff was totally cool with it.
Sure, maybe we’re just a bunch of nice people with exceptional interpersonal skills. But the weekend felt different than that. We had a spirit connection: a connection in Christ and a connection through our creative passions. As Dave Harrity, director of the Antler writing and teaching community wrote in a post-conference email, “Isn’t it wild what the incarnation has done to our relationships? Instant friends with like-minded people.”
Like-minded does not always mean like-aged, like-gendered, like-moneyed, like-denominationed, like-genred. But those characteristics slip to the margins when God takes the center. After the festival, Marci Johnson, poetry editor at WordFarm, posted this passage from Kathleen Norris’s Amazing Grace wherein Norris describes the worshipping body. I believe it describes how many of us writers felt this weekend:
I like to think that it resembles Christ’s ragged band of disciples in this manner, a diverse group with remarkable variance in personalities and attitudes toward Jesus. They were by no mean considered respectable by the religious establishment of their day, and they demonstrated many doubts and questions about this Jesus who has come into their lives.
We writers, ragged clothing and all, may not always earn the highest respect for our earning power and use of time. And yes, we have plenty of questions and doubts. But whatever we’re doing, we’re doing with this incarnation in our lives. And we’re doing it together.
Tania Runyan is guest poetry editor for Relief 6.1. Her book A Thousand Vessels is out now from WordFarm Press.

Too Busy Not to Attend Festival

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If you’re going to Calvin’s Festival of Faith & Writing, you probably recognize this banner (which was the best I could do in a hurry from their site). We at Relief look forward to this event as one of the best times to be had in the world of Christian literary culture. We always hear from great favorite authors, discover new authors, and meet many of our own authors. Authors authors authors!

We also enjoy meeting readers and introducing ourselves to new readers. In general, people at the Festival are pretty open to what we do, but it’s interesting how quickly you find out if someone’s a Relief person or not. Use words like “edgy” and “raw”, reject what is safe, and say things like “We want Christian writing that doesn’t suck,” and most people will either light up or shut down. Well. We’re not here to offend, but we’re not afraid of doing it, either. As Wallace Stevens says of poetry (also mocking Christian uppity-ness),

This will make widows wince. But fictive things
Wink as they will. Wink most when widows wince.

I am personally far too busy to even be going this year, but that’s almost a good reason to go. Festival is soul-enriching and inspiring. I’ll be looking forward to Marilynne Robinson, Scott Cairns, and Craig Thompson, among others. Relief authors Paul Willis, Amy Frykholm, Marjorie Maddox, Jeanne Murray Walker, and some others I’m not thinking of, will also be speaking.

We’ll do some blogging, of course, as we go, but we’re also interested in meeting you if you’re around. Stop by our table in the exhibitor hall and say hello.

Brad Fruhauff is Editor-in-Chief of Relief.

Festivals, Comics, and Craig Thompson

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Craig Thompson

Why is Jake excited for Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing 2012? Here’s a reason: Craig Thompson

Graphic novels, comic books, or comic strips; however you label it, I love comics.

Like a lot of people I grew up reading the occasional Superman or Batman comic. And like a lot of people I gave it up early on for more “mature” pursuits. Early in high school, however, I realized that comics and superheroes are not synonymous.

Sure, the comic medium developed primarily through its American mid-twentieth century portrayal of super-human characters, and if the recent blockbuster movies indicate anything, people still enjoy these iconic figures. But, to say that all comic books are about superheroes is as absurd as saying that all movies are romantic comedies. And who in their right mind would even want that?

I think we ought to think of comics as a medium through which different kinds of stories can be told. Comics should be thought of as similar to television, movies, and novels. And in many ways, it can be a more diverse and streamlined medium than any of those above.

Think about it. One person, with a lot of skill, and with basically no budget, can make comics. You don’t need to get a producer or studio’s approval. You don’t need to consult with anyone, unless you want to. And as a result, you can tell stories that no one else would allow, and do so completely on your own terms.

 

Craig Thompson’s Blankets is one of those books that first showed this to me. It was published in 2003 and has recieved a lot of attention over the years. Thompson is a highly skilled artist, and his autobiographical narrative feels impressively honest and personal. The story is primarily concerned with his first experiences of falling in love while in high school and his life growing up in a Christian church. The narrative concludes at the point where I assume Thompson was when he began the graphic novel. He is no longer convinced of the validity of the Christianity he believed earlier in life, but he seems to hold onto some elements as important. This resolution is fascinating in that it isn’t simple or neat: it is fundamentally and unflinchingly realistic.

Blankets is an subtle and thoughtful piece, and I think that speaks to the importance of it. The story could not be told as well or as artfully in another form. Its existence is a sign of the power and diversity of the comic medium as a whole. If you’ve never read a non-superhero comic or graphic novel, Blankets may be a great place to start.

Thompson is going to be speaking at Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing this weekend several times, including a gallery reception and book signing Friday evening.

I’ll be there. Will you?

Jake Slaughter is an editorial intern with Relief and will graduate from Trinity International University with a degree in English and English/Communications this spring.

Swirling in the Blue Like Jazz

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After being invited to a preview showing of Blue Like Jazz: The Movie in New York City, intern Jake Slaughter considers the movie’s role in culture.

A lot of people read Donald Miller’s book Blue Like Jazz when it was published in 2003, but somehow I managed not to. The book was in my periphery though; it’s not every day that a non-fiction book concerned with Christianity is a New York Times bestseller.

Nine years later with the theatrical release of the Blue Like Jazz film about to happen on April 13, it seems like there is another opportunity for an even larger audience to interact with Miller’s story, and I got a chance to see the film early.

In New York on Thursday, April 8, a friend and I were given a tour of part of the News Corporation portion of Rockefeller Center, during which we got to meet Don Miller and director Steve Taylor. We sat in on an interview (and my friend Garrett got to ask some very insightful questions) between Don, Steve, and Fox News host Todd Starnes. After the interview I was invited to see a preview showing of the film in Manhattan as part of a month-long tour across the country in order to promote awareness of the film.

Weeks later, and the film is still on my mind. I would prefer to watch it again before I give a full review, but I feel comfortable enough describing my initial reactions to what has already been a very polarizing movie.

In the interview I was a part of and before the screening of the movie, the team was very upfront about their opinions about the current state of “Christian” film. In a recent blog post Steve Taylor lists five things that the public believes about “Christian Movies.”

1. Sentimentality trumps substance

2. Good intentions trump artistry

3. All conflict must be tidily resolved

4. “Safe for the whole family” is a de facto requirement

5. Or as writer David McFadzean summarized, Christian movies are like porn – poorly lit, poorly acted and you always know how they’re going to end.

Indeed, the Blue Like Jazz movie actively fights falling into these traps. As a piece of film, I thought it was impressively done, especially considering the estimated $1.25 million budget, raised partially through Kickstarter donations. The cinematography was elegant, the soundtrack was impressive, the acting was certainly not cheesy, and the screenplay was clever.

But most importantly to those involved in the film’s creation, they avoided the clichés of a “Christian Movie.” The film is PG-13, and it certainly earns it. With most of the plot taking place at Reed College, know for its partying, anything less than a PG-13 rating would have been awkward and forced. Anyways, the movie’s “mature themes, sexuality, drug and alcohol content, and strong language” are all central to the narrative being told.

In brief, the movie is the story of a slightly fictionalized Donald Miller’s attempts to run way from his Christian faith by indulging in all the typical worldly pleasures available at a secular university. Ultimately (spoiler alerts!) Don finds himself drawn back to his faith, and confesses to all the individuals he wronged that “he misrepresented Jesus to them.” The resolution isn’t neat and tidy though, and Don still admits that he is unsure of the validity of all the religious trappings of his past.

I’ll admit I have some qualms with the movie. While I appreciate the attention to the avoidance of clichés, I think the makers are perhaps too cautious in sharing the full meaning and implications of the gospel. Don’s confession that “he misrepresented Jesus” is very effectively done, but I was still left wondering “What does it mean to properly represent Jesus?” It seems that between transitioning from the page to the screen, Miller and those involved decided to hold back part of Christ’s message, possibly because of their effort to avoid the aforementioned cliches.

Ultimately, I think that this movie has the potential to be a means through which we can begin some very important conversations with Christian and secular friends who may see it. I like that the film shows that Christians aren’t perfect, and that any attempt on our part to pretend to be is damaging to both us and others.

Throughout this month of preview showings the response has been fascinating. Steve Taylor’s post I linked to earlier describes how some Christians are writing off the film as offensive or damaging to the public’s perceptions of Christianity, to which he responds (accurately, I might add), “as if the public thinks we’ve got our act together perfectly, as if they don’t already see the hypocrisy in our midst. They just think we’re too dumb to see it ourselves.”

While secular audience may have some problems with the film, I am curiously awaiting to see how Christians respond. I think Mike Cosper explains it well in his review on the Gospel Coalition website:

“It’s testimonial; or as I said earlier, he’s a witness, not an authority. Miller shows a plausible way of trusting in Jesus in a post-Christian world… If it’s prescriptive, then Miller has advocated homosexuality, drug abuse, and more. If it’s descriptive, then it’s actually an encouraging message that even here, in the heart of progressive, post-Christian America, God is at work, and hope for the transformative effects of the gospel isn’t lost.”

Blue Like Jazz: The Movie opens in theaters April 13, and we at Relief want to hear your opinions. Post in the comments section with your thoughts.

Jake Slaughter is an editorial intern with Relief and will graduate from Trinity International University with a degree in English and English/Communications this spring.