Minstrel examines broken aspects of community

The Minstrel, a creative outlet for students gifted in writing fiction or creating visual art, made its winter appearance Wednesday, March 3.  This entertaining and thought provoking magazine, managed by Peter Frieswick, provides students with a chance to develop their writing, have it reviewed by an experienced editor, and potentially receive cash prizes that indebted Redeemerites can hardly afford to pass up.  Peter explains “the Minstrel provides opportunities for Christian writers and artists to explore their craft and share their work in a supportive environment.”

This winter’s collection of works responds to the topic of ‘community’.  In opposition to the expected warm, loving portrayal of community, Peter explains that this issue depicts our need “to think about the broken aspects of our community” and that “instead of fleeing from each other’s messy lives, we need to embrace them; we cannot know how to best love our neighbour until we know how they suffer.”  The creative works examine the disparaging aspects of community, its misdirected structure, and our need to find some sort of solution that builds and reconstructs community.  Peter believes this approach is both “realistic and hopeful.

All articles prove to be quite entertaining and worthy of a read, but some notable contributors are Chris Keefer, Joel Faber, and Tyler Vanholst. Chris Keefer took first place in the Short Fiction component with his story “IRC” describing an Internet community that looks after a member who experiences dramatic emotional problems and attempts suicide.  The poem “Gideon’s Winepress” by Joel Faber was awarded first place in the poetry section.  Joel explains that this poem is intended to “capture one possible side of being a community of Christian scholars in an unfriendly academic context.”  Tyler Vanholst took first place for his artistic painting entitled “Danger” dealing with fear, danger, and death.

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