Dr. Michael Van Dyke is interested in the intersections of literature, political life and faith in American culture. He explores them in his essays, poetry and short fiction. He teaches courses on literature and expository writing and serves as the faculty advisor of the Hope Debate Club.

Dr. Van Dyke began teaching at Hope in 2023. For the previous 20 years he taught English (and some history and philosophy courses) at Cornerstone University, where he also led overseas study trips to Paris, Italy and Great Britain. Earlier, he taught rhetoric, writing and American culture courses at Michigan State University.

His current writing projects include a book in progress about poet Kenneth Rexroth, who was a prominent twentieth century American poet and cultural critic.

Areas of Expertise

• Twentieth century American poetry
• Novelist Paul Auster
• American intellectual and religious history
• Faith and the arts

Education

• Ph.D., American studies, Michigan State University, 1999
• M.A., American studies, Michigan State University, 1993
• B.A., history, Michigan State University, 1990

Honors, Grants and Awards

• Racial Equity & Interfaith Cooperation Award, Interfaith Youth Core, 2020
• Invited participant, Nuclear Weapons and Our Globalizing Century Seminar, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 2013
• Thayer Research Fellowship, UCLA, 2012

Selected Publications

• “They Said He Was Grouchy at the End,” poem, Better Than Starbucks Poetry and Fiction Journal, 2021
• “Misprision,” “Valetudinarianism” and “It’s the Later Grief,” poetry, The Avatar Review, 2021
• “God and Wallace Stevens,” poem, Punt Volat, 2019
• “Kenneth Rexroth’s Integrative Vision: Anarchism, Poetry and the Religious Experience in Post-World War II San Francisco,” in Religious Anarchism: New Perspectives (ed. A. Christoyannopoulos), Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Radical Integrity (2nd ed.), Barbour Books, 2012 (published earlier as Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Opponent of the Nazi Regime, 2001)

Outside the College

Michael Van Dyke likes to paint, watch movies, lift weights, and cook. He is an avid Michigan State basketball fan who remembers listening to games from the Magic Johnson era on the radio when he was a kid.

His son Caleb is a brand designer who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and his daughter Emma is a nanny and student who lives in Grand Rapids. His wife Beth is a professional organizer and finance manager.