Joel Westerholm
Book lover
You taught at universities on the East Coast before joining Northwestern’s faculty. What enticed you to move to Iowa?
I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into, having graduated from a Midwestern Christian college—though nothing prepared me for the two weeks in December that first year when the temperature didn’t get above zero. We stayed because we found people we enjoyed living among in a place where God was doing his work in which we could find a role.
Both of your children are students at Northwestern. Did you ever imagine they would be attending the same college at which you teach?
I raised them to cheer for the Raiders as loudly as possible. As they grew older, I could imagine them sitting in classes answering questions, or writing articles for the Beacon and stories for Spectrum. I just hoped their rather sharp senses of humor (which they got from their mother) wouldn’t create too many problems for my colleagues.
What are some challenges involved with teaching college-level English?
The biggest challenge is trying to develop students’ attention spans and imaginations. In a culture of instant gratification, in which people expect entertainment to be shallow and immediate, I want my students to discover the greater joys of more complete involvement in a work of art.
When did you realize you wanted to teach English as a career?
I needed to find a job in which someone would pay me to read. To my mind, what could be better than a job in which I read books I enjoy and get to talk about them with intelligent people?
What do you like to read?
Besides box scores when the Cubs have won, I read novels and poetry from the rest of the world. I am curious about the lives of people who live in other places. And I read quite a bit of journalism about the environment, the plight of the poor around the world, and issues of war and peace.
What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to books?
I am a sucker for a good murder mystery.
What do you wish you were an expert at?
In heaven, I want to have [acclaimed jazz guitarist] Martin Taylor’s fingers. I’m a pretty good guitarist; he’s amazing.
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