Skip to main content
  • Current Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff

Footer quick links

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now
  • Apply
  • About
    • Campus Map
    • College Profile
    • Community Commitments
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • History of Westmont
    • Institutes & Centers
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts
    • Ridley-Tree Museum of Art
    • Westmont Magazine
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
  • Academics
    • Academic Services
    • Augustinian Scholars Program
    • Academic Opportunities
    • Majors and Programs
    • Office of the Provost
    • Outcomes
    • Voskuyl Library
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
  • Admissions
    • Prospective Students
    • First-Year Students
    • Transfer Students
    • Visit Westmont
    • Student Financial Services
    • Admitted Students
    • Confirmed Students
    • Prospective Parents
    • Meet your Counselor
    • Confirm your Place
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
  • Student Life
    • CATlab
    • Living on Campus
    • On Campus Activities
    • Off Campus Activities
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • COVE Career Center
    • Ministries
    • Chapel
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
  • Giving
    • Why Give?
    • Where to Give
    • How to Give
    • Giving Societies
    • Contact Us
      • Give Today
  • Athletics
  • Research
  • Westmont TV

Westmont Magazine

  • Magazine Home
    • Feature Stories
    • Westmont News
    • Alumni Stories
    • Faculty News
    • Past Issues

WINTER 2005

Westmont Magazine A Literary Event

More Than 100 Scholars from 30 Institutions Visit Westmont

Poets, writers and scholars came to campus in January when Westmont hosted the Western Regional Meeting of the Conference on Christianity and Literature. English Professor Cheri Larsen Hoeckley organized the two-day event.

Participants presented papers on the theme, “Who is My Neighbor? Reading and Faith in a Global Community.” Topics included “Good Samaritans Outside the Gospel,” “Neighbors, Others and Ourselves in Film,” and “Novels, Nations and Imagining Others,” along with 25 other panels.

Palestinian poet Naomi Shihab Nye read her work in a session open to the public. An essayist, children’s author and songwriter as well as a poet, Nye has written numerous books, including “19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East.”

“She brought a wonderful voice to our community,” Hoeckley said. “She was so generous with the students.”

Rev. Norm Freeman, a Grammy Award-winning percussionist, led a Jazz Vespers service to end the event. A graduate of Julliard and a professional musician, he became an Episcopal priest in 1997.

“It was the perfect way to wrap-up a weekend of hard thinking and good conversation,” Hoeckley said.

“I was really pleased with the way the theme brought writers and Christians together to think in a rejuvenating and challenging way,” she reflected. “It seemed like the right time for it.”

Christine Kepner, a Spanish professor from Wheaton College, echoed Hoeckley’s comments. “My colleague Phyllis Mitchell and I were both enlivened by what we heard,” she said. “The presentations were helpful to me in identifying direction and resources as well as in gaining insight. The setting was lovely, of course; and the spirit among the participants was warm and collaborative.”

Footer links menu

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now

Footer Utility menu

  • Employment
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Emergency Info
  • Consumer Information

955 La Paz Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108 

805-565-6000

Contact Us

 

Social media menu

©2023
Westmont College - All rights reserved