Spring Quarter’s Thursday Food for Thought lineup is three weeks in, with topics ranging from theater, to journalism, to young adult dystopian. Here is a list of our recent speakers, with links to the featured or associated books discussed:

• Kim Gilnett and George Scranton shared about SPU’s stage production of Letters to Sala (a play by Arlene Hutton), based on the book Sala’s Gift: My Mother’s Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner (call number DS135.P63 K55753 2006  at the SPU Library).
• The Falcon editors and Rick Jackson talked shop about SPU’s student newspaper.
• SPU Junior, Danielle Myers read from her new young adult dystopian novel, titled The Last Burning of New London.

If you haven’t yet made it out to the library’s Thursday Food for Thought program this quarter, join us next week May 2^nd, for Rick Steele’s new book project, Ambassadors in Chains: Teaching Christian Prison Literature in a State Prison. Our final session will conclude on May 9^th, with Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott reading from The Good Fight: how Conflict Can Bring You Closer. We look forward to seeing you there!   

This quarter’s lineup of TFFT topics ranged from theology and pop culture to jazz music, from the creation of a magazine to philosophical and then on to Pacific Northwest regional history. With such a variety of perspectives, each session was filled with unique conversation. Here is a list of the books featured this quarter, complete with a brief bit about what was discussed:

January 24-Priscilla Pope-Levison, professor of theology, and other contributors

Written by professors from disciplines as distinct as health sciences and religion, literature and marriage counseling, Sex, Gender, and Christianity provided perfect jumping-off points for rich discussions.

January 31-Paul de Barros, instructor of music

Longtime Seattle Times jazz and world music critic Paul de Barros, instructor of music at SPU, read his biography of the incomparable jazz pianist Marian McPartland, Shall We Play That One Together?: The Life and Art of Jazz Piano Legend Marian McPartland.

February 7-Hannah Notess, editor of Response

Managing editor Hannah Notess read from articles inside SPU’s award-winning magazine, discussed telling stories through words and images, and talked about the role of print magazines in our digital culture.

February 14-Tom Trzyna, professor of English

Professor Tom Trzyna read from his new book Le Clézio’s Spiritual Quest, which examines the Nobel Prize-winning author’s attempt to create a new philosophy and a new spirituality from three marginal world traditions: Islamic Sufism, the pre-Socratic philosophy of Parmenides, and Aztec religion.

February 21-Bill Woodward, professor of history

Before 21st century American leaders created the Department of Homeland Security to prevent another 9/11, 19th century leaders installed a system of shore guns to prevent another 8/14. Now quaint state parks, these artifacts of a past obsession with “Never again!” raise questions about threats both imagined and real. Bill Woodward read excerpts from a manuscript in preparation.

During Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters, the SPU library hosts a reading program that features campus faculty, staff, and student writers. This event is one way we highlight the scholastic achievements of our community, bringing people from across campus together in an informal session to listen to portions of articles and books written by our very own.

This quarter, we launched on October 11^th with Todd Rendleman, professor of communication, who packed a full house in our library’s Reading Room with his book Rule of Thumb: Ebert at the Movies. During the engaging Q&A session, Rendleman discussed his personal interactions with Ebert. While his book analyzes Ebert as a movie reviewer, it sounded relatable and gracious in its approach. The library call number for this book is PN1998.3 .R46 2012.

Last week, we again welcomed professor of New Testament and theology, Jack Levison, to the library, where he read from his new book Fresh Air: The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life. The book takes a more personal approach than other works Levison has published, written in a narrative style that incorporates aspects of himself as scholar, father, and Christian. The call number for this book is BT121.3 .L48 2012.

We’re two fantastic weeks in already, but there are three more weeks of TFFT to come. Today, October 25^th, we’ll hear from Daniel Castelo and other School of Theology faculty members who contributed to the book Holiness as a Liberal Art. Pack a meal, join us, and prepare yourself for stimulating lunchtime discussion at the library!