Grand Rapids, Mich. -- The 2006 Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College, to be held April 20-22, will welcome a number of celebrated African-American authors and illustrators. Notable among them are four members of the Pinkney family: Jerry, Gloria, Myles C. and Sandra.
"The Pinkneys are sort of a dynasty in the world of children's publishing," explained Calvin English professor Don Hettinga, a member of the festival committee.
The patriarch of the family, Jerry Pinkney, has illustrated more than 100 books for children since 1964 in his distinctive mottled watercolor style, among them Black Cowboy, Wild Horses, Sam and the Tigers and The Patchwork Quilt.
He has created art for the United States Postal Service Black Heritage stamps and the 2005 National Book Festival, has had more than 20 retrospective shows of his work at major U.S. venues, and has taught illustration and conducted workshops at universities across the country.
Beyond their impressive panorama of accomplishment in both the children's literature and African-American children's literature fields, the Pinkneys are a natural fit for the 2006 Festival of Faith and Writing, says Hettinga, because of their evident and explicit faith.
"They represent perhaps the best of what festival is about," he says. "They are people who do excellent work in their genre and are recognized for their excellence, and there's a special quality about it. They're not doing books that are necessarily Christian books, but they're doing good writing and good illustrating as Christians. There's a clear positive light and a clear moral vision in their work - along with an evident appreciation for children as image bearers of God."
Keynote speakers for the event will be Marilynne Robinson, Salman Rushdie and Walter Wangerin Jr. They join a long list of past notable keynoters at the Festival, including John Updike, Maya Angelou, Chaim Potok and Joyce Carol Oates.
For the full story see:
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2005_06/pinkneys.htm For more information contact Donald Hettinga at 616-526-6520.
Calvin College is one of the largest Christian colleges in North America and is recognized as a center for faith-based liberal arts teaching and scholarship. It is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
-30- ................... Henry Hess Director of Communications The Christian Reformed Church To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit www.crcna.org