William Faulkner said that an author writes a second book only because he didn’t get it right the first time, and then another for the same reason, and another. How have you found this to be true in your writing?

Marva Dawn: Faulkner’s comment is true only for my two books on worship. I was so tired of people bashing “traditional” worship without any due consideration of its merits that I tried in Reaching Out without Dumbing Down to demonstrate its beauty and validity and importance for our times. However, that led to reviewers charging me with “traditionalism” as if that were all I advocated. That, of course, has never been my “solution” to worship problems, so I wrote A Royal “Waste” of Time to demonstrate more clearly the kind of processes, discernment by the community, and sorting of old and new that I am urging congregations and worship committees to practice. My goal is for churches to use the music and worship forms of “the whole Church” for the sake of the whole world.

What experiences in your life have shaped your writing?

Marva Dawn: My writing is shaped by everything—friendships, speaking engagements, world crises, conflicts in churches, encounters on airplanes, daily readings, my physical handicaps, the Church year, my husband—but mostly by my lifelong relationship with God. Every book I write arises like fire in my bones; I see something amiss in the world or churches and believe the Scripture has counsel for us.

You write on a wide variety of subjects, from worship to raising children. How have you gained expertise in such a variety of areas?

Marva Dawn: I wouldn’t say that I have great “expertise”; I’m simply trying to be faithful with what I learn from being out in churches, at conferences, and with all kinds of people, and from extensive reading and training. My background is diverse (with graduate degrees in English, New Testament, First Testament, and ethics from public, evangelical, mainline, and Catholic institutions), and I work transdenominationally, internationally, and with people of all ages. The wide range of topics in my books merely reflects the opportunities God gives for me to observe, ponder, make connections, and teach.

What was the first book you read that had a major impact on your life?

Marva Dawn: The Bible. I loved memory work and religion classes at my Lutheran elementary school (of which my father was the principal). Besides the Bible I can’t name a specific book because we lived next door to the town library, and I tried to read everything in it!

What are you currently reading?

Marva Dawn: Daily I need Bible reading, and much of my lecture preparation involves more biblical study. This past week I was on vacation with my husband (who teaches 5^th grade), so I read a 5^th-grade book about a freed slave; John Grisham’s The Testament; and Sister Mary Jean Manninen’s Living the Christian Story. Now I’ve started Douglas Farrow’s Ascension and Ecclesia; Darrell Guder’s Continuing Conversion of the Church; and Jean Bethke Elshtain’s Who Are We?

Who are your biggest authorial influences? Why?

Marva Dawn: It is too bad that I can’t name specifics very well, but my first graduate work was in English literature, so I’ve learned from innumerable novelists, poets, dramatists, essayists. In theology I’m influenced by everyone I read--the profound wisdom of Eugene Peterson, the fresh narrative of Walter Wangerin, Jr., the subtle and the startling word choices of Barbara Brown Taylor, the precise nuancing of John Howard Yoder, the broad social landscape painting of Jacques Ellul. I’m especially grateful for the lucidity of early Christian saints and for the felicitous and memorable lines of hymn writers throughout the ages.

If you could meet one famous person from the past, who would it be and what would you like to discuss with that person?

Marva Dawn: Again my list is too long—the “beloved disciple” (for a dear friend’s look at Jesus), the apostle Paul (what did he mean by certain things he wrote?), Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Benedict, Martin Luther, Blaise Pascal, Eberhard Arnold, and Dorothy Day (concerning all the ways they brought reformation to the Church). Most of all, I’d like to talk face to face with Jesus (about everything!) and with his mother (about obedience and bearing sorrow).

Your lecture schedule involves a lot of travel throughout the world. Where is a favorite place that you’ve visited?

Marva Dawn: It seems that wherever I am at the moment is my favorite place because I usually enjoy immensely the people I am with and whatever I am teaching. I want very much to return to Poland because of special friends and the needs of the churches there. As far as a land to visit, I would love to see more of Australia.

You’re a very busy person. How do you find time to write?

Marva Dawn: I do lots of research/reading while traveling on airplanes, and I’m writing constantly in my head. I struggle for time to sit at my computer and put things down and polish them. Especially this year I’m VERY much behind in my plans because of problems with wounds inside my leg brace. I’ve spent far too much time traveling to, and in, doctors’ and brace makers’ offices. Being on crutches for months has really slowed me down. (That’s one reason why I’d like to talk with Jesus face to face. I’m feeling quite overwhelmed with not being able to walk.)

What book do you think is crying out to be written, and who would you like to write it?

Marva Dawn: The definitive book on how to cope with suffering and how to be willing to die to self. I hope anyone who has good answers will write it.

Which of the books that you’ve written is your favorite? Why?

Marva Dawn: When people ask me which of my books is my favorite, I have no answer but to ask, “What are your needs?” If you are lonely, read my book on Psalms. If you want something for your daily devotions, try To Walk and Not Faint. If you seek a more healthy congregation, read A Royal “Waste” of Time. If you are suffering, try Joy in our Weakness. Teenagers and their parents and youth counselors should read Sexual Character. Parents and pastors and church leaders need Is It a Lost Cause?—and so forth. All of my books are my favorite because each one is my best response to a different need I encountered. I pray that each one is faithful to God and God’s truths on that topic.

What do you see as the path of your writing career so far, and what would you like to be remembered for as an author?

Marva Dawn: I’m simply trying to relay what I learn from God. I pray that in my books people encounter God and grow in wisdom for living a genuine Christian life.