Rene Stienke's Lecture

            I also went to another lecture at the Vibrant Word Writing Festival held by Luther College on October 30. In her talk called “The Beautiful Strange: Writing a Novel,” the author Rene Stienke talked about the importance of literature in people’s lives. She spoke of how things that seem strange can also be beautiful and compelling and how her own experiences have made an impact on her writing. Stienke’s lecture was interesting but not very engaging. Her topic was interesting and she did have some very thoughtful things to say. However, her lecture felt very scripted (she was, after all, reading from her paper almost the whole time) and the audience did not have the opportunity to be an active part of her lecture. Stienke was much livelier when she was not reading from her script and it was then that I really wanted to pay attention. It was easy to see her passion and enthusiasm better when she wasn’t so focus on what she had written down, but rather on how she herself was connected to the material. Rene Stienke definitely approached her lecture as a writer, rather than as an experienced educator.