life and writing

“Nazar” Translated into Romanian

by andrewkooman on September 22, 2010

I was pleased to get word today that my short story “Nazar,” winner of the 2004 Hobson Prize for Fiction, has appeared in the Romanian literary journal EgoPhobia. The story appears in the online journal in English and Romanian. The translation was done by Laura Badea of MTTLC, a partner of EgoPhobia.  MTTLC is the [...]

{ 0 comments }

Got What It Takes? Re-imagining Discipleship

by andrewkooman on September 15, 2010

Invitations to self-sacrifice and selflessness are seldom extended today. We’re a Get-Anything-You-Want-For-Cheap kind of culture whose convenience and blessedness comes at the expense of others we don’t see and, gosh-darnit, we want to keep in that way. We’re insured or have access to insurance to protect the kingdoms we build for ourselves. We’re padded, protected, [...]

{ 5 comments }

Dying Words and Feeding Sheep

by andrewkooman on September 8, 2010

Have you ever had someone share with you their dying words?  I have.  Such words leave a mark. Both of my grandmothers shared words with me before they died that I remember clearly.  Oma, on her hospital bed, in and out of consciousness, spoke privately with each of her children and grandchildren who were present.  [...]

{ 3 comments }

The Bible’s Shocking Four Letter Words

by andrewkooman on September 1, 2010

Have you ever been shocked at the four-letter words in the Bible?  Sometimes they offend me more than the four-letter words I hear on the street, because they offend and upend my whole view of things. Scripture, for instance, has the gall to tell you to go and find yourself and then shows you just [...]

{ 0 comments }

The Wonder and Horror of the Greatest Command

by andrewkooman on August 25, 2010

Annie Dillard asks a question about beauty in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek that nearly stops my beating heart.  She frames the question with an Eskimo story told by Farley Mowat about a man, his young wife, and the girl’s mother at the top of the world.  Jealous of her daughter’s love, the old woman strangles [...]

{ 4 comments }

Making of Mephibosheth – Chat Group 4

by andrewkooman on August 18, 2010

The following is part of the back story I developed for the narrator in my short story “Mephibosheth“.  Birk Sproxton, who led the creative writing class at the Red Deer College in 2002 (where said story emerged) gave us a character assignment to generate a life for the narrator and to write a story in [...]

{ 0 comments }

Making of Mephibosheth – Chat Group 3

by andrewkooman on August 11, 2010

The following is part of the back story I developed for the narrator in my short story “Mephibosheth“.  Birk Sproxton, who led the creative writing class at the Red Deer College in 2002 (where said story emerged) gave us a character assignment to generate a life for the narrator and to write a story in [...]

{ 1 comment }

Making of Mephibosheth – Chat Group 2

by andrewkooman on August 4, 2010

The following is part of the back story I developed for the narrator in my short story “Mephibosheth“.  Birk Sproxton, who led the creative writing class at the Red Deer College in 2002 (where said story emerged) gave us a character assignment to generate a life for the narrator and to write a story in [...]

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →