Dr. Jessica Ann Hughes
Writer / Speaker / Professor of English
Welcome…
There’s an old story that begins, “One day, when Jesus was teaching, a lawyer stood up to test him.
“Teacher,” the lawyer asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What does the Law say?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
As an English Professor, that might be my favorite question in the entire Bible.
When Jesus asks the lawyer about his reading of the Law, he is talking about the Torah, the first 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. But most of those books aren’t “laws”… they’re stories. They’re the stories of complicated, broken people and a mysterious God’s unceasing love.
When Jesus asks, “What does the law say” and “How do you read it,” he’s asking questions fit for a literary classroom. He’s suggesting that creative reading is the foundation for living well in the world that God has made. He might even be suggesting that reading well is part of the secret to eternal life.
In this vein, my work centers on how stories shape our imaginations to form lives of justice, grace, and peace. I’m particularly interested in how fiction makes old stories new, be that in the novel’s characterization habits that work to re-enliven Jesus for Victorian readers…or in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan that helps the lawyer re-imagine the law he knows so well.
Interested? Explore the site to learn more about my writing, speaking, and teaching.
grace & peace,
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Writer / Speaker / Professor of English Literature
Writer
& the American environmental tradition
Speaker
Jessica makes sense of complexity in ways that are engaging and accessible for all audiences, challenging them to find renewed faith, joy, and wonder in their own experiences.
Professor
With teaching experience in high schools & colleges around the globe, Jessica fosters intellectual engagement & practical understanding through her teaching & course design.
Topics, Issues, Questions & News
Learning from the Lives of My African Brothers
A previous post of mine was a confession that I fear chaos, I fear the brokenness of this world that seems to threaten at every term. Coupled with this is the repeated biblical cry, “How long, O Lord!” How long will you forget me? How long will the wicked prosper? How...
Making Old Truths New: Jesus and the Transgressive New Story
I recently got to be the keynote speaker for Saints and Scholars on the importance of literature for the church. As part of that, I found myself contemplating the story of the Good Samaritan…or rather what comes just before the Good Samaritan. The brief exchange...
Rewriting the Story—Literature and the New Creation (Saints & Scholars Keynote Address)
On July 28th, I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at Saints & Scholars. This Lilly Endowed program brings high school students together from around the country to “think deeply about how…faith relates to big questions facing our world.” I was...