DownloadJan. 26, 2009 issue
Online center promotes Mennonite writing
By Jodi H. Beyeler Goshen CollegePage:
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GOSHEN, Ind. — Mennonites and non-Mennonites interested in Mennonite writing now have a place to go online for a multitude of resources: the Center for Mennonite Writing.
The Center for Mennonite Writing Web site has been launched by site editor and Goshen College professor of English Ann Hostetler, right. The vision for this undertaking, Hostetler said, should be attributed to professor emeritus of English Ervin Beck, left, who will initially edit the site’s bimonthly journal. — Photo by Jodi H. Beyeler/Goshen College
CMW, a project of the Goshen College English Department, was launched in mid-January.
“We’ve had enthusiastic responses from some of our contributors, and we hope that more people who care about Mennonite writing will find that Goshen College is a virtual hub for this sort of ongoing creative activity,” said Ann Hostetler, site editor and professor of English.
“We also hope that the Web form of this journal will open up the possibility of an international reach and scope for the study of Mennonite literature.”
The site has three components: a journal section that includes new writing and criticism; a resources section that includes writers’ biographies, bibliographies, links to other relevant sites and classic Mennonite texts; and a community section that is interactive and includes forums and discussion groups.
The bimonthly journal, called CMW Journal, will be initially guest edited by Ervin Beck, professor emeritus of English, and will reflect “the best of contemporary Mennonite writing” in the genres of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and criticism.
“Each issue of the journal will focus on a theme of special interest to Mennonite literature,” Hostetler said. “A web journal, I felt, would offer many attractions: the possibility of incorporating sound files as well as images, a venue for publishing a wider variety of creative and critical works in the same place, a greater tolerance for informal prose and the occasional opinion piece, and an interactive blog.”
The first issue, on orality in Mennonite literature, features a critical essay by Magdalene Redekop of the University of Toronto; mp3 files of Low German comedy; a series of poems by Carl “Stevens” Haarer, radio journalist and 1979 Goshen alumnus; and a new short story by Bob Johnson, a northern Indiana journalist. Future issues will focus on Yorifumi Yaguchi, life writing, Mennonite folk culture, martyrdom and poetry.
In addition, the site has a resources section that features links to Mennonite writers’ Web sites, Mennonite publications and other Web resources.
Matthew Yoder, a 2008 graduate from Lancaster, Pa., designed the site. He began work on it as part of the college’s summer 2007 Maple Scholars program, with direction from Hostetler and Kyle Schlabach, assistant professor of English.
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