Edward Knippers

Violent Grace Edward Knippers

Publisher Marketing: The title, Violent Grace, suggests a paradox. This pairing has become an unexpected gateway into the astonishingly varied and prolific artistic career of Edward Knippers. Violence conjures images of aggression while grace has long been associated with beauty, poise, or an unmerited gift, perhaps even a kind of salvation. Within the ambiguity of this fertile paradox, the art of Edward Knippers--which can initially shock and disturb--opens up into something rich and rewarding. Our lives are reflected in the lives of his biblical characters; we understand their message in our own flesh and blood. Edward Knippers grapples with the perennial human questions embedded in the Bible--a strenuous effort never satisfied until it has extracted a blessing. This is the image of violent grace. Drawn into the wrestling match, we come away wounded--and blessed--by a passionate, unreasonable, overwhelming beauty.

Contributor Bio:  Dyrness, William Paul Heintzman (PhD, University of Waterloo) is associate professor of leisure studies at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, and has extensive experience as a recreation practitioner throughout Canada. He previously taught at Brock University and at Acadia University. Heintzman is coeditor of "Christianity and Leisure: Issues in a Pluralistic Society" and is the author of numerous journal papers and book chapters on the topics of leisure and spirituality, recreation and the environment, and the philosophy and ethics of leisure. Contributor Bio:  Wolfe, Gregory Gregory Wolfe is publisher and editor of Image journal, writer-in-residence and Director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Seattle Pacific University.