Who am I to take on the voice of Moses, or Joseph, or Joshua, or other people whose stories are told in the Bible? That question was foremost in my mind when I was asked to write six chapters for an innovative small group curriculum series that brings to life significant figures from the Bible by telling their stories through …
Poetry and Conversation with Katie Manning
Most poets are thrilled when one of their books of poems is published, but Katie Manning, an outstanding poet who also teaches in the English Department at Azusa Pacific University, gets to experience that joy three times this year, as three of her chapbooks are being published by three different publishers. This success did not come easily. She has been …
What Sherlock Holmes Taught Me About Jesus
Who is Jesus? That is the question we discussed recently in a class I teach at my church. If he were conducting his earthly ministry among us today, what identity would he adopt? Would he be a liberal Democrat? A conservative Republican? Would he like the music I like? Who would his favorite authors be? What movies would he watch? …
Why I Took My Students to a Murder Site
The most recent field trip in my Honors California Literature course was to a nearby murder site made famous in an essay called “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream,” by Joan Didion. On October 7, 1964, Lucille and Gordon Miller were driving home from the Mayfair market after midnight on a sparsely traveled road called Banyan Street in Alta Loma. …
Teaching and the Joy of Repeating Oneself
One of the most frequent questions I get asked about teaching is, don’t you get tired of teaching the same things year after year? The answer is a resounding No. I never get tired of it. In fact, the repetition is part of what I enjoy about my job. I am in my 22nd year as a professor of English …
Is Literature Still Necessary?
Note: This is the first in a series of posts that will consider the question: What does literature have to offer (if anything) that no other art form or media (such as video games, social media, movies, TV shows, etc.) can match? This post will be followed next week by three responses from students at my university—two Honors students and …
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