John Leax

Among the writers he admires, John Leax counts those two “Sons of Thoreau,” John of the Mountains and his tamer Eastern brother John Burroughs.  Like Burroughs he has written of Birds and Poets, and like Muir (though dining on more than bread crusts and water), he has wandered the ridges of the Genesee Valley for forty years pondering the art of poetry, the craft of nonfiction, and the interrelationship of nature and culture.  

He is the author of four books of poetry, four books of nonfiction, and one poor, lonely novel.  The subjects he has explored include vocation, family heritage, community, environmental stewardship and civil disobedience, gardening, writing, and the integration of faith and learning.  He has written a newspaper column and he currently writes for the website The High Call (www.to be included).  Currently he is exploring Emily Dickenson’s advice to tell the truth but tell it slant in a series of sonnets written in the voices of minor New Testament characters narrating their encounters with Jesus.  A selection of writings from all of his books, tentatively titled Walking the Ridge Home is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2009.

Asked why one should study literature or give one’s life to writing he answered: “Through literature we reach for the inexpressible, the ineffable, the mystery of the transcendent making itself known in the flesh.  In this reaching we must fail—that is the price of being creatures, of being finite.  But it is the only thing worth doing.  It is the reaching that counts, the activity, the joy of the failure that always points toward another engagement.  It is not the accomplishment of any given work.  The works are ashes, signs we leave behind showing we have moved on to a different place.  That we cannot succeed is our joy.  What we seek draws us on to a coherence and unity that is our hope.”

For the next two years he will be teaching two classes, Workshop in Literary Publishing, a small class that produces Stonework: the Houghton College on Line Journal, and Writing of Poetry.  From 2001 through 2007 he coordinated the college writing festival and has brought to the community conversation prize winning writers such as Jeanne Murray Walker, Robert Siegel, Susanna Childress, Julia Kasdorf, and Thom Satterlee.

Books by John Leax

  • Reaching into Silence (poetry) Harold Shaw, 1974
  • In Season and Out (prose) Zondervan, 1985
  • The Task of Adam (poetry) Zondervan, 1985
  • Nightwatch (fiction) Zondervan, 1989
  • Standing Ground (prose) Zondervan, 1991
  • Country Labors (poetry) Zondervan, 1991
  • Grace is Where I Live (prose) Baker Books, 1994
  • Out Walking (prose) Baker Books, 2000
  • Grace is Where I Live (expanded edition) WordFarm, 2004
  • The Tabloid News (poetry) WordFarm (2005)

Lectures/readings   

King's College, Messiah College, Asbury Seminary, Calvin College Gordon College, The Stony Brook School, Roberts Wesleyan College, Olean Public Library, Central Cath�olic High School (Pitts�burgh), Concordia Col�lege, Hillsdale Col�lege, Gene�va College, Indiana Wes�leyan Universi�ty, Seattle Pacific University, Southern Wesleyan Univer�sity (Staley Lecturer), Westmont College, Nyack College