March 26, 2001

Baylor writes new chapter in faith & art
___WACO (ABP)--Many Christians tend to flock to "religion" sections in their favorite book stores, but spiritual themes are cropping up in other places as well.
___To draw attention to the trend, Baylor University recently featured a festival of literary voices from Anne Lamott to Lee Smith and Bret Lott at the Baptist-affiliated school's

LAMOTT

second annual Art & Soul conference.
___A crowd of hundreds gathered on the Waco campus to hear Lamott, author of critically acclaimed novels and best-selling non-fiction books including "Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith" and "Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life."
___Scholarly sessions addressed the work of writers such as C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and J.R.R. Tolkien.
___Workshops on writing for peace and justice were new this year--a theme that emerged from author John Grisham's talk last year, said Greg Garrett, director of religious faith and literary art at Baylor.
___Garrett said he already is fielding requests from secular publishers to get their authors on the program and that this has quickly become one of the largest events of its kind.
___In a way, the interjection of faith into writing is nothing new. But until recently, he said, there was a sense that Christian writing was by Christians and for Christians--"that art had to be the servant of religion, as opposed to another and perhaps equally compelling way to communicate ultimate meaning."
___The writers at the Baylor conference, on the other hand, may be Christian, Jewish or Buddhist, but they are writing for a larger crowd, working "to create the most compelling art they can and trust that it can speak to people," Garrett said.
___"The things we believe most strongly and profoundly come out in our writing," Garrett said.

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