After one semester of studying Mennonite Literature, what I took from the course was not necessarily what I was expecting. After reading works from Canadian authors, poets, essayists, and the like, I am feeling encouraged.
The stories that we read were not always the most beautiful, the most modern, or the easiest to read, but they sure were stories that needed to be told. Reading Miriam Toews' A Complicated Kindness and reading works from Di Brandt helped me to realize that I, too, have a story to tell. Just because the culture that I grew up in doesn't necessarily celebrate or encourage the sharing of the tough stuff does not mean that I need to keep quiet. Those two women played a huge role in my recognition of that.
I learned more about myself than I was ever expecting from this course.For my final project, I let myself be vulnerable. I shared some things that were difficult for me for a number of reasons. There are moments when I crave the community of my home congregation, however, I have strong issues with the theology. I greatly value my Mennonite heritage but think that the Mennonite church has a long ways to go yet, regarding a number of things--race and sexuality being the two that stick out to me.
Now that the course is over, I am interested in reading more from other communities of Mennonites. In fact, I'm curious to see what the next generation of Mennonite writers will offer for us.
Dominique, you made a breakthrough in this course as a writer, and it seems that reading the literature has helped you imagine new possibilities for your own work. This post is missing some required elements for the final post--see the full description on my blog. (You need to refer to five works by writers from both the US and Canada, to one work of criticism, and to offer your own definition of Mennonite literature.) Clearly, though, your appreciation for the class and its importance to you as a writer is evident here. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.
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