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Roger Lundin, longtime professor of English at Wheaton College, died on Thursday night. In his memory, we’re

Wheaton College Website Photos/ English Literature Department Faculty (Roger Lundin), August 31, 2010
Wheaton College Website Photos/ English Literature Department Faculty (Roger Lundin), August 31, 2010

rebroadcasting my interview with him from September 2014.

This was a strange interview for me. For the most part, our interviews are conducted over Skype or on the phone, which means that I’m usually looking at my bookcase or my office door while the guest is talking. Roger, however, insisted on conducting a video interview, because he thought (quite rightly, I suppose) that things would go better if we could look each other in the eye. So we conducted the interview via FaceTime, and I downloaded a new program to record it. I will always remember the look on Roger’s face when he quoted the poems you’ll hear him quote in this episode–he seemed to enter some sort of trance state, brought to ecstasy by the literature he loved so much.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to use the new program, and when I went back to edit the episode, I discovered to my horror that only Roger’s half of the conversation had been recorded. I would have to go back in and re-record my questions and comments by memory. I’m not sure how evident that is from the finished product, but if it sounds weird, now you know why. I emailed Roger to apologize and to tell him what was up, and he responded like the consummate gentleman that he was:

Michial,

Oh, that’s a shame! Your questions – and ease and manner of presentation and transition – were terrific.

It was a pleasure to have that conversation, and I thank you for your interest in my work.

I hope our paths will cross again soon.

Best and blessings,

Roger

Unfortunately, our paths did not cross again; I had planned to go to a Christianity and Literature Conference in Charleston at which Roger was the keynote speaker, but the cost of flying there from Minneapolis was astronomical, and I didn’t make it. But I hope that our paths will cross again on another plane. Rest in peace, Roger–memory eternal.

One thought on “Rebroadcast: Roger Lundin (1949-2015) on Christian Humanist Profiles”
  1. A lovely story, and a terrific interview Michial — well done. You probably already know, but just in case you don’t: CBC Ideas did a profile of Mr. Lundin. You can stream it here (scroll down, episode 5): http://www.cbc.ca/books/2012/05/after-atheism-ideas-explores-new-perspectives-on-god-and-religion.html

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