Mindy Withrow

Diary of a Festival: Day 3

And now we come to the end. Festival 2008 is officially concluded. Retrospective comments will undoubtedly be forthcoming, but this will be my last dispatch from the field. I hope the freshness of these reports has been worth their jumbled telling!

There were no earthquakes last night, unlike Thursday overnight—a detail I forgot to mention yesterday in my sleep-deprived state! (We were so exhausted we didn’t even wake up, so it was inconsequential to my story anyway…) I had intended to begin my last day with Kathleen Norris, but Krista Tippett was speaking at the same time. Darn concurrent sessions! I really enjoy Tippett’s radio program Speaking of Faith, and found her book by the same name beneficial as well (another review I owe you), and since the Norris session was being recorded, I decided to catch that one later via mp3.

Tippett’s talk addressed the “Limits and Possibilities of Words” as we speak of faith. Since it consisted primarily of readings from her book with commentary, I was already familiar with the content of the discussion. But I was glad for the opportunity to observe her in person, and I concluded that she is as open and thoughtful in real life as she is on radio. Her show is not just a niche she carved for herself as a journalist, but the result of genuine and passionate exploration of the nature of lived faith. She reminded us that having “eyes to see and ears to hear” is a vital spiritual discipline for this time. She revealed that most of her interviews are done remotely rather than in person, with closed eyes and headphones on so she can focus her full attention on the voice of her guest—giving her the advantage of hearing that person’s message the way her listeners will, without eye contact or body language. A few comments that stuck with me are her recounting of Martin Marty’s dichotomy of religious people not as conservative and liberal, but as “mean and non-mean”; and her interest in talking with scientists in part because they remind us that creeds are like a scientist’s working hypotheses—not final and all-encompassing, but the best possible starting points for our work.

Following that, I sat in as Ingrid Hill and Eric Jager discussed the similarities of their research processes in their differing genres (fiction and creative non-fiction, respectively). They talked about keeping the “core story” front and center while engaged in the detail work, about the types of sources to which they turn for information, and how the extension of common experience plays a role that research cannot. They also admitted that there will always be someone who knows more than you do, but rather than allow that to intimidate you, take the opportunity to consult those people as you do your homework—and remember that what you write is not the last word anyway!

Lunch was spent in the company of my “Fiction: Characterization” Circle, where we compared notes on sessions. It was a much smaller group than on Thursday, which seemed to free up the discussion and help us get to know each other a bit better. These are some thoughtful writers whose careers I am interested in following. I found the Circles a helpful aspect of the Festival and hope the committee will choose to continue them in the future.

My afternoon sessions reflected the pattern of the morning ones, beginning with “Religion in America: Jon Sweeney and Phyllis Tickle in Conversation,” which was more of an interview of Tickle. She has high energy, plus vast knowledge of the history of the religious publishing industry and the evolution of the Western Christian climate. One astounding statistic mentioned (the source of which I missed) is that, though overall book sales were up in 2007, only 50% of American households purchased at least 1 book— which means that this weekend alone, I purchased about 8 times as many books as half the US population bought all last year!

Then it was back to Eric Jager, who expanded on his earlier session with a more focused discussion on developing historical research into compelling narrative. In keeping with his earlier comments about carefully maintaining the “core story,” he emphasized “first things first.” Using examples from his book The Last Duel—a historical narrative of a 14th century duel between French knights—he analyzed issues of structure, suspense, and setting. I appreciated his diagram of the “story arc” like a bridge with supportive arches, in which the series of arches represent small cohesive structures such as chapters that, working together, result in a strong and smooth larger unit. He graciously left plenty of time for questions, which I wish more of the other presenters had done as well.

The final Festival moments featured Katherine Patterson on “Stories of Beauty.” “The stories we tell ourselves shape us,” she began; therefore it is edifying to consider our stories. Unfortunately, “we cling to the old story obtained in childhood because we don’t want to do the hard work of updating it.” But update we must if we are to continue exploring reality. For example, the “new science” is telling us that beauty illumines science as well as art. The story of the cosmos is one of beauty, she said, and so is the story of the Bible. Morality is not the basic theme of the Bible, but something closer to beauty; when God completed his creation and called it good, it was “aesthetic not moral” goodness. Thus beauty must be primary in the “story” we pursue. Children (and adults) don’t need lectures on virtue, but works of beauty; and beauty is born of play, of imagination. Citing Aquinas, she identified beauty as that which has simplicity, harmony, and brilliance. Then she read a delightful passage from her latest novel, Bread and Roses, Too, about the necessity of beauty as sustenance of the soul. In closing, aware that her comments were the last of Festival 2008, she urged us not to go home burdened with the immensity of applying the ideals and principles gleaned here, but to go out like King David with joy, and “Play!”

As if to second her motion, the universe hung a full apricot moon above the dark treeline to bless our journeys back to hotel and home. So for now—at least for the rest of the weekend!—I will relinquish the digesting and interpreting I still need to do, and go to sleep, perchance to dream of beauty and history and faith and fiction and all the glowing gifts of three magnificent days.

[Cross-posted at I’ve Only Been Wrong Twice, where a team of bloggers are recording our Festival experiences for your reading enjoyment!]

19. April 2008 by Mindy
Categories: Festival of Faith & Writing | 1 comment