By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

As winter begins to fade and spring is on the horizon, the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is sharing the local experience of that transition with a Minnesota author who is currently spending two weeks as an artist in residence in NY Mills.

Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, and professor based out of Minneapolis and is currently working on his next book, ‘Nothing in Particular,’ a nonfiction work exploring the growth in those who identify as “nothing in particular” when it comes to religion. This is an area of study that Stedman has researched for a number of years in order to understand the population’s source of community and meaning.

While Stedman did not grow up religious, he took an interest in the subject as a teen after wrestling with subjects such as slavery, war, and the Holocaust which he read about and wondered about the suffering, injustice and meaning of these themes.

“My own journey with religion has taken me in different directions over the years, but the one thing that has remained constant is my interest in how people living in different times, places, and circumstances have tried to make sense of the world around them and worked to build a better one,” said Stedman. “I think we could all benefit from more open, honest, and curious conversations across lines of religious difference.”

Stedman became acquainted with working in higher education when he took a position at Harvard University in 2010 and has also worked at Yale University. After his stint in New England, he decided to return to his roots in Minnesota and has worked at Augsburg University (his alma mater) in Minneapolis since 2017 when he became a fellow and has since become an instructor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy.

“I feel very fortunate to get to teach in a community like Augsburg, where students bring so much insight from so many different backgrounds,” Stedman said. “Getting to learn with and from students is definitely a huge part of the appeal of teaching.”

Writing came to Stedman at a young age when he was in first grade in Coon Rapids, Minn. There, he was assigned a poetry unit in which he was tasked with penning a few original poems. He enjoyed the assignment so much that he filled his notebook with poetry, which came as a surprise to his teacher.

“My teacher, who was really encouraging and hands on in general, called me up to his desk,” said Stedman. “He expressed his surprise, and asked if I would like his help self-publishing a poetry collection. We worked on it together, and when we were finished he made sure copies went to each elementary school library in the district. He event submitted one of my poems to a magazine.

“Though I don’t write much poetry anymore, he was the first person to tell me I was a writer,” he continued. “I definitely credit his support, along with the support of many others since, with playing a major role in my deciding to pursue a career in writing.”

While poetry began Stedman’s interest in writing, he has since chosen nonfiction writing  as his main area of work. Exploring complex ideas and fleshing out subjects that he himself struggles to understand at times, Stedman writes to understand. He said that sometimes that writing is for his own sake and at other times, he shares his writing in the hopes that someone else might be enlightened by his projects, those which helped him work though a complex issue.

“If I think what I’m writing could be useful in some way to others, then I’ll consider publishing it,” he said. “I’ve been extremely fortunate that a number of my writing projects, especially my two books and my first podcast series, have reached people who have said they found them helpful in some way. While I of course also hope my writing is artful in some way—I love reading beautifully constructed sentences—I mostly just hope it can be useful to someone who is trying to make sense of the world around them, too.”

Along with Stedman’s books “IRL” and “Fathiest,” he has also worked on a number of essays featured in the Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, the Washington Post and other major media outlets. He recently founded Good Judy Productions, where he is also working on a podcast with ties to his upcoming book. He looks forward to to working towards these goals while in NY Mills.

“I live in the heart of Minneapolis, which I love, but it can sometimes be a bit loud and busy, two qualities that aren’t always conducive to writing,” he said. “In general, if I’m to get into the necessary headspace to write, I need solitude, quiet, and plenty of unstructured time. Everything has to slow down.”

In general our modern world is full of noise and distraction, and life can feel like it’s going so fast, which can make writing immensely difficult in ‘everyday’ life,” he continued. “So, I’m excited to step out of my regular routines and contexts and find the time and space I need to write in Ne York Mills.”