ONLINE EDITION: ARTS (vol. 29, no. 1)
Hearing Flowers Speak
by Wilson Yates, Editor Emeritus of ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies
PORTFOLIO: Carole P. Kunstadt
Carole P. Kunstadt creates exquisite, tactile works, most often from religious materials such as the Bible and related texts. Kunstadt says her background informs her art practice: "Having been brought up Jewish, and having married into a family that fled Europe in 1938, I am most sensitive to the importance of memory and history."
IN POETRY: Invitation
by Sofia M. Starnes
Sofia M. Starnes, Virginia Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014, is the author of six poetry collections. She is the recipient of a Poetry Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Sofia serves as Poetry Editor and Poetry Book Review Editor of The Anglican Theological Review. www.sofiamstarnes.com.
Sofia M. Starnes, Virginia Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014, is the author of six poetry collections. She is the recipient of a Poetry Fellowship from the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Sofia serves as Poetry Editor and Poetry Book Review Editor of The Anglican Theological Review. www.sofiamstarnes.com.
IN POETRY: Sabbath
by Christine Valters Paintner
Christine Valters Paintner, Ph.D., is a Benedictine oblate and an American poet and writer living in Galway, Ireland, where she leads pilgrimages and retreats. She is the author of ten books of nonfiction on creative process and contemplative practice. Her poems have been published in The Galway Review, Headstuff, Skylight 47, Spiritus, Tiferet, Anchor, U.S. Catholic, and Presence. www.abbeyoftheArts.com.
Christine Valters Paintner, Ph.D., is a Benedictine oblate and an American poet and writer living in Galway, Ireland, where she leads pilgrimages and retreats. She is the author of ten books of nonfiction on creative process and contemplative practice. Her poems have been published in The Galway Review, Headstuff, Skylight 47, Spiritus, Tiferet, Anchor, U.S. Catholic, and Presence. www.abbeyoftheArts.com.
IN POETRY: Mitzvah: Organ Donation
by Sister Lou Ella Hickman, I.W.B.S.
Sister Lou Ella Hickman, I.W.B.S., is a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. She is presently a freelance writer and spiritual director. Her poems and articles have been widely published in numerous magazines as well as in the anthology After Shocks: Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events. Her first book of poetry, she: robed and wordless, published by Press 53, was released in the fall of 2015. slehickman@iwbscc.org.
Sister Lou Ella Hickman, I.W.B.S., is a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. She is presently a freelance writer and spiritual director. Her poems and articles have been widely published in numerous magazines as well as in the anthology After Shocks: Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events. Her first book of poetry, she: robed and wordless, published by Press 53, was released in the fall of 2015. slehickman@iwbscc.org.
IN POETRY: The Soul Longs for Home
by Jeanne Murray Walker
Jeanne Murray Walker is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently, Helping the Morning: New and Selected Poems (WordFarm Press). Her poetry and essays have appeared in several hundred journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry. She is the recipient of many fellowships as well as 16 nominations for The Pushcart Prize. She is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, where she heads the Creative Writing Concentration. She is currently serving as Mentor in the Seattle Pacific University low residency M.F.A. Program. jwalker@udel.edu.
Jeanne Murray Walker is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently, Helping the Morning: New and Selected Poems (WordFarm Press). Her poetry and essays have appeared in several hundred journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, The American Poetry Review, and Best American Poetry. She is the recipient of many fellowships as well as 16 nominations for The Pushcart Prize. She is Professor of English at the University of Delaware, where she heads the Creative Writing Concentration. She is currently serving as Mentor in the Seattle Pacific University low residency M.F.A. Program. jwalker@udel.edu.
IN POETRY: The Rain in October
by Wally Swist
Wally Swist makes his home in South Amherst, Massachusetts. His books include Huang Po and the Dimensions of Love (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012); The Daodejing: A New Interpretation, with David Breeden and Steven Schroeder (Lamar University Press, 2015); Invocation (Lamar University Press, 2015), and The Windbreak Pine (Snapshot Press, 2016). Forthcoming books include The View of the River (Kelsay Books, 2017), Candling the Eggs (Shanti Arts, LLC, 2017), and Singing for Nothing from Street to Street: Selected Nonfiction as Literary Memoir (The Operating System, 2018). wswist@yahoo.com.
Wally Swist makes his home in South Amherst, Massachusetts. His books include Huang Po and the Dimensions of Love (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012); The Daodejing: A New Interpretation, with David Breeden and Steven Schroeder (Lamar University Press, 2015); Invocation (Lamar University Press, 2015), and The Windbreak Pine (Snapshot Press, 2016). Forthcoming books include The View of the River (Kelsay Books, 2017), Candling the Eggs (Shanti Arts, LLC, 2017), and Singing for Nothing from Street to Street: Selected Nonfiction as Literary Memoir (The Operating System, 2018). wswist@yahoo.com.
IN THE STUDY: A Tale of Two Cities
by Robin Jensen
Robin M. Jensen is The Patrick O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Her numerous books, articles, and essays in collected works reflect interests in the interlacing fields of theology and the arts. Her most recent book, The Cross: History, Art, and Controversy (Harvard University Press, 2017) examines the symbol’s doctrinal questions, particularly about whether the crucifix should emphasize Jesus’ suffering or his glorification.
Robin M. Jensen is The Patrick O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Her numerous books, articles, and essays in collected works reflect interests in the interlacing fields of theology and the arts. Her most recent book, The Cross: History, Art, and Controversy (Harvard University Press, 2017) examines the symbol’s doctrinal questions, particularly about whether the crucifix should emphasize Jesus’ suffering or his glorification.
IN THE SANCTUARY: The Kiss of Christ as Communion
by Jennifer Awes-Freeman
Jennifer Awes-Freeman is a visiting assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a postdoctoral fellow at the Louisville Institute. She recently completed her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University; her dissertation, “Erasing God: Carolingians, Controversy, and the Ashburnham Pentateuch,” is a study of Trinitarian doctrine and images during the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. During the summer of 2016, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame, for which she began a translation of Hrabanus Maurus’ In honorem sanctae crucis. Jennifer’s research interests include images of divinity, iconoclasm, material culture, gender studies, the mutual influence of art and theology, and book culture in the digital humanities.
Jennifer Awes-Freeman is a visiting assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a postdoctoral fellow at the Louisville Institute. She recently completed her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University; her dissertation, “Erasing God: Carolingians, Controversy, and the Ashburnham Pentateuch,” is a study of Trinitarian doctrine and images during the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages. During the summer of 2016, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Medieval Institute at the University of Notre Dame, for which she began a translation of Hrabanus Maurus’ In honorem sanctae crucis. Jennifer’s research interests include images of divinity, iconoclasm, material culture, gender studies, the mutual influence of art and theology, and book culture in the digital humanities.
ON THE STREET: Displacements of Identity in Palestine/Israel
by John Randolph LeBlanc and Carolyn Jones Medine
John Randolph LeBlanc is professor of political science at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he teaches political theory and legal philosophy. He is author of several books, including Edward Said on the Prospects of Peace in Palestine and Israel (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has co-authored a book with Carolyn Jones Medine, Ancient and Modern Religion and Politics: Negotiating Transitive Spaces and Hybrid Identities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), and has published in journals.
Carolyn Jones Medine is professor in the religion department and in the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia, where she is also affiliate faculty in the women’s studies program. Her research interests are in Southern American literature and religion, focusing on postmodern and postcolonial theory. She is co-author with Theodore Trost of Teaching African American Religions (Oxford University Press, 2005).
John Randolph LeBlanc is professor of political science at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he teaches political theory and legal philosophy. He is author of several books, including Edward Said on the Prospects of Peace in Palestine and Israel (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He has co-authored a book with Carolyn Jones Medine, Ancient and Modern Religion and Politics: Negotiating Transitive Spaces and Hybrid Identities (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), and has published in journals.
Carolyn Jones Medine is professor in the religion department and in the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Georgia, where she is also affiliate faculty in the women’s studies program. Her research interests are in Southern American literature and religion, focusing on postmodern and postcolonial theory. She is co-author with Theodore Trost of Teaching African American Religions (Oxford University Press, 2005).
IN THE STUDIO: Learning to See
by James B. Janknegt
James B. Janknegt is a painter tending a small piece of land in a small town 25 miles east of Austin, Texas. He received a BFA from the University of Texas, an MA and an MFA from the University of Iowa. He and his wife are active in the local Catholic Church where they play music and lead the program for adult initiation. When he is not painting, he enjoys reading, gardening, and building things. He recently published a book of his parable paintings called “Lenten Meditations” that is available on his web site: www.bcartfarm.com.
James B. Janknegt is a painter tending a small piece of land in a small town 25 miles east of Austin, Texas. He received a BFA from the University of Texas, an MA and an MFA from the University of Iowa. He and his wife are active in the local Catholic Church where they play music and lead the program for adult initiation. When he is not painting, he enjoys reading, gardening, and building things. He recently published a book of his parable paintings called “Lenten Meditations” that is available on his web site: www.bcartfarm.com.
IN THE GALLERY: Garments of Silk and Gold
interview with Nazanin Hedayat Munroe by John Shorb
Nazanin Hedayat Munroe creates complex installations, often incorporating textiles, a life-long passion of hers. Munroe has just completed her doctorate in art history, with a focus on the history of textiles, at University of Bern in Switzerland. She holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and an MA in art history from San Jose State University. Munroe recently had a piece in the exhibition “Reverberating Echoes: Contemporary Art Inspired By Traditional Islamic Art” at the Doug Adams Gallery at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She has also exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum of San Francisco, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She is adjunct faculty at City University of New York, where she teaches “Arts of the Islamic World.” I met Munroe over lunch in New York to discuss her extraordinary installations.
Nazanin Hedayat Munroe creates complex installations, often incorporating textiles, a life-long passion of hers. Munroe has just completed her doctorate in art history, with a focus on the history of textiles, at University of Bern in Switzerland. She holds a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and an MA in art history from San Jose State University. Munroe recently had a piece in the exhibition “Reverberating Echoes: Contemporary Art Inspired By Traditional Islamic Art” at the Doug Adams Gallery at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She has also exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the de Young Museum of San Francisco, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. She is adjunct faculty at City University of New York, where she teaches “Arts of the Islamic World.” I met Munroe over lunch in New York to discuss her extraordinary installations.
IN REVIEW: Beauty's Vineyard, by Kimberly Vrudny
reviewed by Wayne Roosa
Wayne Roosa is chair and professor of art history at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also a practicing artist. His essays on American painter Stuart Davis have been published internationally. He was an Andrew Mellon Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipient for work on Stuart Davis at Harvard University. He is the author of many catalogue essays and journal articles on theology and contemporary art.
Wayne Roosa is chair and professor of art history at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also a practicing artist. His essays on American painter Stuart Davis have been published internationally. He was an Andrew Mellon Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipient for work on Stuart Davis at Harvard University. He is the author of many catalogue essays and journal articles on theology and contemporary art.
