Introducing Alissa Wilkinson

Today, I’m pleased to introduce to you Alissa Wilkinson, who will be working with me as a writer and editor for this blog.

Many of you will already be acquainted with Alissa through her writing. I first became aware of her when I saw her name popping up here and there as the author of thoughtful, well-written pieces on literature, culture, film, technology, and, well, you name it. Then, a couple of years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Alissa at Laity Lodge. She was attending at retreat on technology, and I was pleased to get to know her in person.

When I thought of someone who might help me with my blog, Alissa was at the top of my list. Literally, she was the first person I asked. I was most pleased when she signed on. Not only will she help my blog be more active, but also she’ll add a valuable perspective on faith and culture.

In her “day job,” Alissa teaches writing, cultural anthropology, cultural criticism, and postmodern theory at The King’s College in New York City. She is also the chief film critic at Christianity Today. She earned her B.S. in Information Technology and Communications from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and her M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University, and will receive her M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from Seattle Pacific University this summer. Alissa says that her research interests are in “theology of contemporary literature and pop culture, art and cultural criticism, and U.S. intellectual history, especially as it intersects with evangelicalism and art.”

Alissa moved to New York after college to work as a business analyst for an investment bank. She worked as a tech writer and editor at NYU, then managed resources and programming at International Arts Movement, where she also founded and edited The Curator. In 2008 she became associate editor and later co-editor of Comment, a journal of public theology published by the Ontario-based think tank Cardus, and in September 2012 she launched Fieldnotes, published by the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Seminary. She edited Fieldnotes until March 2013. Since 2006, her essays and cultural criticism have regularly appeared in a wide range of publications, including Paste, Books & Culture, Christianity Today, WORLD, Relevant, Filmwell, The Other Journal, and The Gospel Coalition.

Alissa’s husband is a photographer, and they live in Brooklyn, where they are members at Resurrection Clinton Hill (EPC).

I am pleased to introduce you to Alissa, not only because she will be a helpful partner with me in this blog, but also because she is a fine writer and thinker, a Christian who takes seriously her faith in relationship to the world in which we live. She’s someone well worth knowing and reading. Welcome, Alissa!