Debra Rienstra, Associate Professor, English
616-526-8526
drienstr@calvin.edu
Office: LN 164 (directions)
Weekly Schedule
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Educational Background
Professor Rienstra began her higher education at Calvin College before transferring to the University of Michigan, where she received her bachelor of arts in English literature with highest honor and highest distinction in 1987. She began graduate studies at Rutgers University, receiving an MA in English literature in 1991 and a PhD in literatures in English in 1995. She joined the Calvin College English department in 1996.
Academic Interests/Areas of Specialization
Early modern British literature, creative writing (poetry and non-fiction), Shakespeare, Mary Sidney and early modern women poets, religious lyric, language in worship
Recent Activities
Professor Rienstra was the 2008 Calvin faculty lecturer at the The January Series at Calvin College, with a talk titled, "Words Wear Out: How Writers Help Us Renew Religious Language." She and her husband, Ron Rienstra, recently collaborated on a book, Worship Words: Discipling Language for Faithful Worship, soon to be released by Baker Academic. Other recent books include So Much More: An Invititation to Christian Spirituality (2005), which won an Award of Merit from Christianity Today in the apologetics category, and Great With Child (2002), which was named a Best Book of 2002 by Publisher's Weekly. Professor Rienstra frequently speaks on topics related to worship. She also regularly publishes poetry.
Additional Information
Worship Words Too Important to Neglect, Vital Worship Stories, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Words Wear Out: How Writers Help Us Renew Religious Language, the January Series at Calvin College
Finding Thin Places, The Banner
Get Thee Behind Me, Fat, Perspectives
Going Out, a poem in The Other Journal
Poetic Language and the Calling of Motherhood: An interview with featured poet Debra Rienstra, The Other Journal
Download a curriculum vitae
