Guest Profile
Kristin Swenson
Raised a garden-variety Lutheran in northern Minnesota, Kristin Swenson studied biology and religion in college before earning a Ph.D. in the history and literature of ancient Israel. For over fifteen years, she has shared her passion for learning about the Bible, its history and literature, with seminary and university students. She is associate professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of World Studies and fellow at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Particular interests include the Bible and ecology, theology, science and religion, mysticism, and food and religion.
Kristin Swenson is the author most recently of Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time. She also wrote Living through Pain: Psalms and the Search for Wholeness and is co-author of What is Religious Studies? A Journey of Inquiry. She is presently working on a book concerning supernatural beings such as angels and demons in the Bible.
Dr. Swenson has written for both popular and academic audiences. She composed creative translations for the Ecclesia Bible Society of the biblical books of Numbers, Isaiah, and Lamentations to The Voice: Old Testament Thomas Nelson, forthcoming and has published scholarly articles in journals such as the Journal of Biblical Literature and Interpretation. She has contributed to edited volumes including a collection of prayers, and a collection of essays about the Bible and ecology. Dr. Swenson's writing has appeared in The Christian Century, Publishers Weekly, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post's On Faith, Good Morning America's Spirituality webpage, Beliefnet, and various news outlets.
Kristin is available for speaking engagements and interviews. She has visited book clubs, church groups, given readings at book stores, and participated in writing conferences such as the James River Writers and book festivals including the Virginia Festival of the Book and the Decatur Book Festival. She lives in Virginia, dividing her time between Richmond and Charlottesville.
