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Northwestern College

English Department Newsletter

Fall 2012 Volume11 No. 1

The loss of the beautiful trees –especially the redbud that

flowered in early spring -- has struck the hearts of all those

who used to call Granberg home. However, more important

than the trees and the building were the community that had

been fostered and the memories that had been collected

within the walls of the old English department house.

Granberg was a house with a long history and a story to

tell. Dr. Joel Westerholm, who had the same office for 22

years, remembers when he had a little “Mickey Mouse” table

in the corner of his office where his children played. “You

don’t replace a history like that very quickly.” In Granberg,

“there were all sorts of stories about the cracks in the wall

and the creaks in the floor.” Granberg Hall will be missed.

When I asked Dr. Michael Kensak how he felt when

Granberg was torn down, he replied by describing a picture:

“I was in shock when I saw a picture of Granberg Hall with

only my office missing. The demolition machine came and

took a bite – all that history, gone in one quick bite. It was

like watching a slow death as we all watched and pondered

our mortality.” However, seeing the progress of the new

Learning Commons coming out of the hole that was

Granberg has been heartening.

Also heartening is the fostering of a new community and

the collection of new memories in the homey cottages that

now house the evicted.

For a while, rumor had it that the English department was

going to be moved to the basement of the North Suites.

Some English classes now meet in the jail-like bowels of this

new dorm. Westerholm has trained his students to refer to

their classroom as Bunker 13: “We and the cockroaches

would have survived a nuclear attack.” Fortunately, alter-

native accommodations for offices were arranged. The

English department now resides on the far northeast corner

of campus in Doorenbos and Muilenburg cottages. The

English professors are relieved to still be in a house setting,

although they regret the necessary separation. Kensak

laments, “Now I can’t yell sarcastic comments across the

hall to Ann.” Westerholm is concerned for his colleagues in

Muilenburg, “because they’re a long ways from the

coffee pot!”

Dr. Keith Fynaardt in his office in Muilenburg cottage Muilenburg Cottage front room

(Continued on page 2)

In This Issue…

Spring 2012 Courses 2-3

Spectrum 3

Cardboard Magazine 4

Deepsong 4

Festival Faith & Learning 5

Granberg Wake 6

Sherman Alexie 7

Alum Visits 7

Alum Profile 8

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The professors have mixed feelings about having their

offices in ex-bedrooms. Kensak says it makes him feel like

he is coming home for work: there are kitchens and living

rooms, and their offices are in bedrooms. “I can bop over to

Joel’s bedroom and see what he is up to.” Dr. Keith Fynaardt

over in Muilenburg cottage says it’s awkward having his

office in a bedroom that faculty have slept in.

Kensak is already feeling at home in his new office. He

is impressed with how large his office is; he believes he has

over 1,000 books in his closet alone. “I think I could fit four

or five VPH offices into this room!” In fact, with smaller

classes, Kensak invites the students into his office where

they sit around a table and dissect a text together. This

totally changes the dynamic; “It’s like having the students

over for dinner, except the text is the food!”

Besides the split into two houses, another downside of the

new accommodation is that there is less student traffic.

Doorenbos and Muilenburg are farther away from the center

of campus than Granberg was. Muilenburg is usually very

quiet. It is, as Fynaardt says, “A really quiet place to read

and write and be introverted like so many English profs

are.” However, the quiet is a result of both the separation of

the English department and the “long” walk. According to

Westerholm, “What we need now is a skywalk to

Muilenburg and to the center of campus.” In the meantime,

we should all follow Kensak’s example and use the long

walk to ponder and pay more attention to the trees.

Doorenbos Cottage common area

Dr. Michael Kensak in his office in Doorenbos Cottage

Death of a Redbud (Continued from page 1)

ENG 380 Special Topics in Writing Writing With Images

Dr. Samuel Martin Tuesday/Thursday (First Half) 1:45—3:15 pm

Writing With Images is a multi-genre creative writing workshop

designed for writers interested in exploring the possibilities of

engaging the visual image through poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Most of the course work is devoted to practical work on writing with

pictures including work with domestic and archival photographs, fine

art, and found images, but this will be supplemented with a considera-

tion of the nature and history of this subgenre (pushing beyond the

idea of image as mere illustration). As part of the course there will be

close readings of, and presentations on, a number of key texts. A final

portfolio, the presentation of a critical reading of at least one author,

and participation in peer critiques and group work will form the basis

for evaluation in the course.

CCOURSEOURSE OOFFERINGFFERING FORFOR THETHE SSPRINGPRING 2013 S2013 SEMESTEREMESTER

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ENG 480 Special Topics in Literature & Culture

Poetry and Prayer

Dr. Joel Westerholm Tuesday/Thursday 1:45—3:15 pm

If you find them disguised as Poems

or Short Stories, please

SUBMIT them to SPECTRUM.

Don’t try hiding them

or pretending they don’t exist.

They are out there, watching you,

waiting, wanting to be seen…

taking your picture.

We at Spectrum, NWC’s literary

journal, can help. Just send

your poems or short stories as

attachments to

samuel.martin@nwciowa.edu.

Deadline: January 30th

Remember, You’re Not Alone.

SPECTRUM STAFF Spring Semester 2013

Are you…

Passionate about Poetry?

Psyched about Short Stories?

Oogly-eyed about Other Worlds?

If you are interested in working as either an editor

or designer to bring cutting-edge creative work to

print, please contact Dr. Martin:

samuel.martin@nwciowa.edu

Experience is an asset.

Passion and commitment are essential.

In Poetry and Prayer, we read some of the literature of the Christian faith. We will be reading a

series of poems addressed to God, starting with the Psalms and ending with praise songs from the

last fifteen years or so. And we will read them with several different aims. Intellectually, we will

study the ways in which Christians’ ideas of themselves and of God have evolved over a couple of

millennia. God may be the same yesterday, today, and forever, but he is also infinite, and we human

beings are trapped in history, and in historical ways of thinking. We will examine what aspects of

God have been most significant for Christians at given moments of human history. Aesthetically,

we will also read this material for its inherent beauty: God is present in the beauty of the world he

has created, and we will see him often both in the matter of the poems and in the pleasure to be had

from a beautifully crafted artifact. My hope is that these encounters with God will also lead to an

enriched devotion: we will worship God more wisely for having seen how other Christians through

history have offered their worship.

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As part of the Deepsong reading series,

narrative poet Paul Dickey will be reading

in the NWC TePaske Art Gallery

on Tuesday, November 13th

Paul Dickey, author of the poetry collection They Say This Is How

Death Came Into The World, is a widely published poet whose work is

“full of sly twists and turns, surprising nuances, and witty insights. At

once profound and mischievous, wicked and accurate, serious and

comic, [Dickey’s poems] offer a reflection of reality that appears at

first glance to be a fun-house mirror. […] Dickey's poetry is grounded

in a recognition that, to quote Sherwood Anderson, ‘each truth [is] a

composite of a great many vague thoughts,’ all equally beautiful and

disturbing, somber and happy.”

Northwestern students and graduates,

as well as freelance writers from other

colleges, have contributed more than

120 posts to the Cardboard magazine

blog and racked up page-views

approaching the 16,000 mark. The

blog, a product of the Publishing

courses taught by Professor

Sowienski, is edited by Writing and

Rhetoric major Tom Westerholm.

As blog editor, Westerholm looks for

posts that will get noticed. “Cardboard

works best when it's a little subver-

sive,” he says. “Not so subversive that

we are offensive to our normal reader-

ship, but subversive enough to grab

attention and people's page-views.

Funny posts are also good.”

An example of a humorous blog (or

“snarky blog,” in the words of

Westerholm) is the September 19 post,

CARDBOARD

MAGAZINE

A magazine by Christian college students

for Christian college students

Check it out at https://cardboardmagazine.wordpress.com/

“10 Terrible Christian T-shirts.” In the

blog, Christian rapper KB (profiled in

an earlier blog), talked to Westerholm

about the wannabe pop-culture

references and rip-offs that appear on

t-shirts: “They are terrible….I think

we need to remind our Christian

brothers that just because we are

Christian doesn’t mean we are exempt

from copyright infringement.” An

example noted in the blog is a t-shirt

with the Adidas logo; the logotype

underneath reads, “addicted/to Jesus.”

In addition to the Culture category,

blogs may also be tagged under Faith,

Missions, and Music.

The blog, however, is not the ultimate

publishing goal, but a means of build-

ing the audience for a forthcoming

Cardboard digital magazine,

“published by and for Christian col-

lege students.”

Sowienski says, on one hand, it’s an

impossible goal for a college the size

of Northwestern to plan on publishing

a digital magazine, followed by a print

version the next year. On the other

hand, he continues, God keeps placing

a small but dedicated group of stu-

dents in his class who keep pushing

toward their big goals.

In the Spring semester, both Introduc-

tion to Publishing and Advanced

Publishing (ENG390 and 395, 4 cred-

its each) will be offered. Students will

learn about the publishing industry in

addition to writing for the blog and

digital magazine, as well as fill a

number of editorial roles.

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“To give word to something is to give it life,” said Jonathon Safron Foer, author of Eating Animals and

Everything is Illuminated, at the 2012 Festival of Faith and Writing.

The Festival of Faith and Writing takes place every two years at Calvin College in Grand Rapids,

Michigan. The Festival’s mission is “to locate, celebrate, and encourage serious imaginative writing by

Christians of all denominations and communions,” as well as “welcome the work of writers in other faith

traditions who acknowledge or seek spiritual understanding, grace, or transcendence.” Foer, the plenary

speaker for the first night of the Festival, is a writer

brought up in the Jewish tradition. Other writers at the

festival included: Marilynne Robinson, Shane Claiborne,

Gary Schmidt, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Craig

Thompson.

The speakers at the Festival seemed to repeatedly sug-

gest one thing: stories are powerful. Foer expressed that

writing is a way to make the world better. “While I

might not leave the world a better place, I’m committed

to acting like I can,” he said in his keynote address.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the final plenary speaker of

the Festival and author of Purple Hibiscus and The Thing

Around Your Neck, explained that she writes stories

because “fiction matters.” Fiction is a way for humans

to see a world that they hadn’t seen before, to consider a

real view from a fictional character.

Stories are powerful. That was one message. But, as Northwestern students found out, the Festival is

empowering. “One of the really wonderful things I experienced at the festival was the realization of how

much I've grown as a writer and reader since the last time I was there as a freshman,” said then junior

Shelby Vander Molen. “[This year] I found myself realizing often during our time in Grand Rapids that I

understood so much more, had read more, talked more, could make more connections. . . The experience

at the festival was not only invigorating, inspiring, and

refreshing but also an affirmation of the quality of the

English Department at NWC and how it has grown me as

a writer, a scholar, and a person.” Christine Roy, then a

senior at Northwestern, realized that while the Festival is

full of extraordinary authors to be intimidated by, the main

sentiment collected at the Festival is inspiration. “Each

session left me with thoughts and words that I longed to

group together and make poetry out of,” Roy said. “Each

author gave me a glimpse into their adventures and made

me realize how exciting writing can be. It was intimidating

to be around so many accomplished people, but they were

quick to remind me that their accomplishments started

with baby steps.”

by Ashlee Koedam

Stories Overwhelm and Unite at the Festival of Faith and Writing

The next Festival of Faith and Writing will be held April 10-12, 2014. If you are a writer, a reader, a

lover of words, a person of faith, or a person who loves stories, this conference is well worth your time.

The Northwestern Group attending the last keynote lecture.

Students Morgan Stahl, Jasmine Smith, and Christine

Roy meet author Craig Thompson after his breakout

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English Department alum, Jill Haarsma, writes a tribute to Granberg on the wall.

Professors Fynaardt & Van Es bond over their

Dordt heritage.

English alum Tricia Wiese speaks at the wake. Kaiti Heng shares Beacon goals with

fellow mourners.

On Friday, April 13th, 2012, Northwestern students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered

to say goodbye to their favorite building on campus: Granberg Hall.

Mourners descended into the basement where they offered their respects to the build-

ing by placing a silk rose next to a commemorating picture, as well as writing their favorite

memories on the walls: “Drinking coffee,” “Cheers to Penny Kittle,” “The first true cele-

bration of learning,” “Devotionals with Westerholm is the segregation of faith and learning,”

and “wir werden dich vermissen,” translated, “We will miss you.” (Granberg was also often

the home to German students).

After some mingling and food, it

was open mic time when many shared

their favorite stories of the building.

English Department Lecturer Ryan

Pendell told of one of his excursions as

a student, sneaking into Granberg at

night and eating ice cream in the pink

bathroom upstairs. “We had the idea

of having a tub of ice cream in a tub,”

he said.

Beacon editor Katie Heng shared

some of the most memorable “Beacon

Goals,” like, “Put windows in the base-

ment.” Kristin Trease told of the

eventful day in Granberg when Dr. Fynaardt explained the link between the words prostitute

and prostrate. Arlo Van Beek even wrote a poem for the building, which ended:

You are soon to be relieved of your duties

Parted out to the smallest treasure

Our acquaintance is more than 20 years

I have to admit, it’s been a pleasure.

To finish everything off, Dr. Westerholm performed a sing-along song to the tune of “Blowing in the

Wind.” The chorus of this song was sung, and felt, by the entire room:

The answer my friends, was found in Granberg Hall. The answer was found in Granberg Hall.

Indeed, the answers to many questions were found in Granberg Hall.

Sarah Kugler finds something funny, while Dr. Kensak is too overcome by grief to smile

by

Ash

lee

Koed

am

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On September 26, a

group of faculty and stu-

dents from Northwestern

and (gasp!) Dordt drove

to Brookings, SD to hear

Native American author

Sherman Alexie talk

about his writing, his

books, and his story.

If you are white,

like myself, there is a

good chance Sherman

Alexie will make you

uncomfortable. Not the

kind of uncomfortable

that you feel hanging

out with people you

don't really like, when

you think to yourself "That was awful, let's not ever do

that again," but the kind of uncomfortable when you

think "Huh, that was fantastic, he's right, and now I

need to change my life because I'm the worst."

"I want everyone in the room who speaks a

European-based language to stand up right now," he

said at one point. He then, when most of the white

people in the audience stayed seated (myself included,

I must confess), chided us English-speakers for our

lack of self-awareness.

Surprisingly, this sort of

rhetorically-induced

self-hatred wasn't off-

putting. Rather, it made

me walk away from his

lecture, the stuffy-

sounding "Griffith Hon-

ors Lecture" in Brook-

ings, SD, with a burning

desire to read every

essay, poem, short story,

and full-length novel he

has ever written.

The event was pre-

sented as much less of a

lecture and much more

of a stand-up comedy routine. Alexie veered off topic

to share humorous tangents and non-sequiturs about

life on the reservation and life in the US as a Native

American, demonstrating his intensely strong ability to

tell a story, no matter how seemingly mundane, and

turn it into a hilarious, poignant moment. His books

and essays reflect this story-telling ability, and I would

highly recommend reading them. I'd join you, but first

I have to shake off this crippling white guilt.

by Thomas Westerholm

English teaching majors and minors gathered in Vermeer Dining Hall

on April 13 to hear the wisdom of alum Dan Smith ’99, teacher of high

school English in Marshall, Minnesota.

After a colorful and inspiring reading from Frank McCourt’s Teacher

Man, Smith launched into his views on English teaching. Smith

explained that teaching requires two very important “sides of a coin”:

passion for kids (“learning relationships”) and a passion for the subject

matter. Good teachers, he said, will have both of these passions.

Perhaps the most important part of his presentation was his assertion,

“Teaching English is not a job, it’s a lifestyle.” Smith reminded his

audience that teaching English is a very demanding career choice.

Finally, Smith reminded his listeners of the quality of education

Northwestern offers. Smith is not only an English teacher, but also a

Theater Department director, a Peer Coach, and much more; he is a

leader in the school community. Northwestern, he explained, not only

gives you the skills for your profession, but also the values that make

others respect you as a leader.

Alum Dan Smith ’99Alum Dan Smith ’99 Inspires English Teaching MajorsInspires English Teaching Majors

by Ashlee Koedam

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NWC Alumna Life After Graduation

Walking across the stage and receiving

my diploma at graduation was one of the

greatest experiences of my life. I was and am

very proud of what I have accomplished, and the work I put

in to earn my degree, but after the cheers, the well wishes,

the hugs and goodbyes, I found that the real work was just

beginning.

I never really had much of a plan for after graduation. I had some vague ideas about working in

business, but other than that, I was rudderless.

Returning home to Arizona, I began working part-time for my uncle’s company as a warehouse

clerk, shipping and receiving LCDs. In my free time, I applied online again and again for jobs that I

was sort of qualified for, or that looked interesting, always getting the same email notification that I

had not been selected for an interview and that they would keep my resume on file… blah blah blah.

The economy was trashed, and people just weren’t hiring recent grads.

What finally broke the trend for me came in the form of a lady at my Dad’s church. The leader of

her bible study group outside of the church had mentioned that he was looking to hire someone with a

degree in the Phoenix area. She, knowing I was looking for work, mentioned me to him. With her

recommendation and some help from the other potential candidate, who, as I found out later, showed

up to the second interview in shorts and a t-shirt. (FYI: Don’t do that!), I landed my current job as a

Territory Sales Representative for Ecolab Inc.

In this position, I’m responsible for helping 815 Quick Service Restaurants (fast food places), cov-

ering Phoenix, most of northern AZ and into New Mexico, with all of their cleaning and sanitation

needs. I do everything from repairing chemical dispensers, to conducting cleaning classes for store

leaders, to meeting with and presenting to franchisees and restaurant owners. Day-to-day, my job

mainly consists of visiting my accounts to perform preventive maintenance on their chemical dis-

pensers and to provide on-site training.

My job clearly has absolutely nothing to do with the material of my major, but the communication

skills I learned while earning the degree have been extremely helpful. I got used to having to defend

my statements and to presenting my thoughts to groups of people in the classroom. Now, the material

is different, but the method is the same.

As for literature, I still consider it extremely valuable, and I’m constantly finding ways to incorpo-

rate it into my daily life. I listen to audio-books (no substitute for the real thing, but we all make sac-

rifices) on my extended road trips, and I’ve read Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated,

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World, and Earnest Hemming-

way’s A Farewell to Arms on plane trips this year. I force novels and poetry collections on people for

their birthdays and at Christmas, and then I relentlessly bug them until they’ve read what I gave them.

I also write poetry, or at least begin a lot of poems. The big difference now is that it’s all self-

directed, but I’ve learned that that’s just life.

George Barnes ’10

in his current position at Ecolab

- George Barnes ’10

Phoenix, AZ

The Wordhord. Fall 2012. Vol. 11 No. 1

Northwestern College English Department

Compiled & edited by: Professor Ann Lundberg

Formatted by: Karen VanDerMaaten