Journeys of Choice Lecture Reflects Travel

The next Westmont Downtown Conversation, “Journeys of Choice—Pilgrims, Tourists and Mountaineers,” by Paul Willis and Lisa DeBoer begins at 5:30 p.m. March 10, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St. The two Westmont humanities professors will lead a series of reflections on the meaning of travel through the lens of literature and art. The event is free and open to the public.
Questions raised during the discussion will include: Do travelers today have anything to learn from those who have gone before? What traditions of travel shape our journeys?

Willis has taught English at Westmont for 16 years and his areas of expertise are environmental studies, literature and writing. An avid backpacker, he features the outdoors in much of his work. Willis has published more than 300 poems in journals and anthologies such as “Ascent,” “Wilderness,” “Christian Century” and “Best American Poetry 1996.” His most recent books are “Poison Oak” and “The Deep and Secret Color of Ice.” Willis’ essays, reviews and short stories have appeared in such places as “Image,” “River Teeth,” “Books and Culture” and “Best Spiritual Writing 1999.” He has published two eco-fantasy novels, “No Clock in the Forest” and “The Stolen River.”

An expert in late medieval and Renaissance art, Lisa De Boer joined the Westmont art faculty in 1999. She received a doctorate in the history of art from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and served as a Lilly Fellow at Valparaiso University from 1996-1998. She has received several fellowships, including a Fulbright Fellowship and a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship.

The Westmont Foundation sponsors the Downtown Conversations.

For more information, contact the Westmont public affairs office at (805) 565-7057 or e-mail pubaffairs@westmont.edu.