Pixel Dance

Writing is an art. It is a craft, and an art. You learn the rules – but to tell the story, to evoke the emotion, to change the heart – that’s an art. One of my favorite writers is also one of my dear friends. Matt Kaufman writes for Citizen magazine, and Boundless Webzine, and we’ve worked together for almost 10 years. What I really like about his style is that I feel smart, instead of thinking that he’s smart, after reading his work. He’s drawn me into his process, as a co-laborer, rather than telling me things. It’s not easy to do, but he is eloquent and compassionate toward his reader. Here’s what he says about his process:

I’ve been writing professionally for a couple of decades now. I’ve been writing unprofessionally a lot longer. (Those who know me, insert your jokes here.)

I started with letters to the editor of my local paper when I was 16, and quickly found the 250-word limit too confining for a guy who had as much to say as I did. (Being 16, I knew so much I had to share with the world!) A few years later I was co-founding a conservative campus paper, championing what we then called The Reagan Revolution. Ah, those heady days of youth….

To make a long story short, before it’s too late: I wove my way through a few conservative writing outlets as opportunities arose, and started working for Focus on the Family in 1997, first working with Citizen magazine, then adding work for Boundless Webzine when it was launched the following year. I’ve been at it for those same outlets ever since, though I went freelance in 2003 and returned the next year to my hometown of Urbana, Illinois. (Go Illini!)

My specialty: At present, I write in several formats, from doing commentary for Boundless to book reviews and “Whee the People” for Citizen.

My Boundless work is the area where I get to express myself on the widest variety of topics, and to use a personal, sometimes first-person voice. But I enjoy working in all these formats, and I want to say something about “Whee” in particular.

“Whee,” for those who don’t know, is the brief, punchy-commentary section of the magazine, often with a light touch, and including illustrations by Dave Clegg and Travis Foster. Here I get one of my great treats every month: Working with Sherri to brainstorm art ideas, then watching Dave and Travis execute it with their own creative touch and flair. This is a joy all around, sparking creativity working with Sherri, who really is one of the dearest people I’ve ever known. And I’m not just saying that to flatter Sherri ‘cause she’s the absolute ruler of this Blog universe. Together we come up with concepts neither one of us would have gotten separately. Creatively, we really bring out the best in each other.

You can find my Boundless columns at www.boundless.org.

Philosophy of art and life? Strangely for a writer, I never thought to put it in words. Let’s try this: Speak the truths that need to be spoken. The challenge is in discerning what those truths are, and how to speak them. But don’t shrink from the challenge: Ask God for the fortitude and the wisdom to take it on.

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I wonder if all of us should be doing what we did in those early years, like writing letters to the editor – those things we gravitated to before we knew what we were supposed to want for our lives. What was it for you? For me, I was writing songs like “Sunshiny Days” in the 3rd grade. Not so sure there’s a market for it, but, hey. Thank you, Matt. I appreciate your contributions to the mag and the blog. And your friendship is gold to me. You’re a better friend than you are a writer.