In Episode #37 of Rewrite Radio, Scott Hoezee, a noted preacher himself and the director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary, conducts a wide-ranging interview with Fleming Rutledge. Fleming Rutledge is an Episcopal priest and writer of nine books, including the award-winning The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ. Ordained to the diaconate in 1975, two years later, she became one of the first women to be ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church.

In Episode #36 of Rewrite Radio, independent scholar Sarina Gruver Moore talks with author Afaa Michael Weaver about how his journey took him from factory work to a Fulbright and ultimately to a professorship and an established writing career — and the spiritual practices that helped him along the way.

In Episode #35 of Rewrite Radio, we listen back to the 2004 Festival as Jacqueline Woodson considers how her upbringing, including her family’s faith commitments, prepared her for life as a writer, a mother, and a humanitarian.

Episode #34 of Rewrite Radio features a conversation between the writers Jamie Quatro & April Ayers Lawson, hosted by Amy Frykholm. Titled, “Sex, the Spirit, Short Stories, and South”, this conversation takes up the complicated work of writing about religious experience and sexual experience. It may not be appropriate for all listeners.

In episode #33 of Rewrite Radio, Kathleen Dean Moore, a philosopher and nature writer, proposes that the art of spiritual nature writing is to explore unfathomable ideas - mystery, astonishment, sanctity, despair - in the plain language of ice and frogs, returning stars, bells, birdsong, and pawprints in snow.

In Episode #32 of Rewrite Radio, Gary Schmidt discusses the ethical implications of using memories in fiction at the 2006 Festival.

In Episode #31 of Rewrite Radio, Pádraig Ó Tuama and Marie Howe, in a conversation with Micah Lott of Boston College, discuss the political possibilities of poetry: to bear witness, to inspire the moral imagination, and to provide perspective on our neighbors’ lives and the world around us.

In Episode #30 of Rewrite Radio, we listen in from Festival 2010 where Richard Rodriguez delivers the speech he rewrote after realizing that Festivalgoers really did want him to talk about the complexities of faith and class in his life as a writer.

In Episode #29 of Rewrite Radio, Anya Silver and several poets discuss the landscape of joy amidst suffering in their personal and public lives.

In Episode #28 of Rewrite Radio, Luci Shaw is interviewed about the role of community in the life of a writer and what it takes to forge and sustain friends for the long haul.

In Episode #27 of Rewrite Radio, Madeleine L’Engle reflects on her life and the “cosmic” questions that have guided her writing. Why do bad things happen? Why do people die? Why? Weaving stories of hurt knees and publisher rejections with the realities of marriage and the deaths of those she loves, L’Engle illuminates her commitment to writing and abiding faith in God.

In Episode #26 of Rewrite Radio, Billy Mark, Kwame Alexander, and Nate Marshall engage in a conversation about the power of poetry for children and young adults.

Episode #25 of Rewrite Radio features a collection of excerpts from our first season of the podcast, curated and edited together by our creative director Jon Brown. Previous Festival speakers in order of appearance: Frederick Beuchner (1992), Katherin Paterson (2004), Brian Doyle (2012), Patricia and Alana Raybon (2016), Ashley Bryan (2016), George Saunders (2016), Ashley Bryan (2016), Barbara Brown Taylor (2004), Zadie Smith (2016), Tobias Wolff (2016), Frederick Buechner (1992), Kelly Brown Douglas (2016).

In Episode #24 of Rewrite Radio, we listen to Katherine Paterson at the 2004 Festival. In this talk, she discusses how and why she finds meaning in the midst of life’s chaos, the comforts and challenges of art, and also the vital importance of teachers.

Episode #23 of Rewrite Radio features Barbara Brown Taylor at the 2004 Festival of Faith and Writing. In this talk she discusses writing for the ear and the difference between what she calls the language of belief and the language of beholding.

In Episode #22 of Rewrite Radio, we feature a conversation with Shauna Niequist at the 2016 Festival of Faith & Writing. Shauna was interviewed by Ansley Kelly, a Calvin College senior at the time, and their wide-ranging conversation that includes claiming the authority to create, the need writing meets in Shauna’s own life, the writing practices she’s developed over the years, and the joys of Razor scooters and dancing in the kitchen.

In Episode #21 of Rewrite Radio, we have something a little different in store for you. Russian poet, author and activist Irina Ratushinskaya passed away in early summer of 2017, and we dug into the Festival archives. We knew we wanted to celebrate her life and work with a special episode.

Episode #20 of Rewrite Radio features M.T. Anderson at the 2016 Festival of Faith & Writing and his talk titled, “The Sacred and the Strange”. M.T. (or Tobin as his friends call him) talked about how paying attention to what might be considered ‘unusual’ religious practices can help us see our own faith with new eyes.

In Episode #19 of Rewrite Radio, we hear David Dark talking about “attention collections” at the 2016 Festival of Faith & Writing. Attention collections are memories, fears, even playful obsessions - anything that has left a deep impression on us. David encourages writers to examine these things in service of the question: What do I have in me that may be of use to someone else?

Episode #18 of Rewrite Radio features Marilyn McEntyre speaking at the 2016 Festival of Faith & Writing in a session titled, “Called to Clarity: Writing for a Polarized Public”. She discusses strategies for writing about subjects that deeply divide us, pulling wisdom from an array of authors she’s found who do this exceptionally well.