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Joseph Bentz, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of English		 Phone: (626) 815-6000, Ext. 3485
Email: jbentz@apu.edu
Fax: (626) 812-3024
Joseph Bentz, Ph.D., teaches courses in American literature and writing. He is the author of four novels and three non-fiction books. His most recent books include God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith (Beacon Hill Press, 2010), and Silent God: Finding Him When You Can’t Hear His Voice (Beacon Hill Press, 2007). His novel A Son Comes Home (Randall House, 2007) won the Silver Angel Award, was selected for Guideposts Book Club, and was chosen as one of the Top Ten Christian Novels of the Year by Booklist magazine. Bentz's scholarly interests include the American novelist Thomas Wolfe. Bentz serves as the articles editor for The Thomas Wolfe Review. In 2003 Bentz received the Undergraduate Faculty Outstanding Scholarship Award from Azusa Pacific University. More information about his writing and speaking can be found at his website, www.josephbentz.com.

God in Pursuit: The Tipping Points from Doubt to Faith. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2010.

A Son Comes Home. Nashville: Randall House, 2007.

Silent God: Finding Him When You Can’t Hear His Voice. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2007.

"The Influence of Modernist Structure in the Short Fiction of Thomas Wolfe." Studies in Short Fiction 31.2 (Spring 1994).

"Wolfe and the Wastelanders: T. S. Eliot’s Influence on The Hound of Darkness." The Thomas Wolfe Review 18.2 (Fall 1994). 1-5.

Education

Ph.D. - 20th-century American literature, Purdue University, 1991
M.A. - British and American literature, Purdue University, 1985
B.A. - English Education, Olivet Nazarene University, Kankakee, Illinois, 1983
Journalism Major, Vincennes University, Indiana, 1979–80

Departments

  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
    • English
  • School of Adult and Professional Studies

Expertise

  • American literature
  • Fiction
  • Freelance nonfiction
  • Thomas Wolfe

Courses Taught

ENGL 110 – Freshman Writing Seminar
ENGL 111 – Introduction to Literature
ENGL 354 – American Literature Since 1865
ENGL 361 – Freelance Magazine Article Writing
ENGL 407 – Composition: Theory and Practice (CAPS only)
ENGL 410 – American Novel
ENGL 488 – Significant Authors

Professional/Scholarly Presentations

Publications
At Close of Day. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2003.

Cradle of Dreams. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2001.

"The Influence of Modernist Structure in the Short Fiction of Thomas Wolfe." Studies in Short Fiction 31.2 (Spring 1994).

"Wolfe and the Wastelanders: T. S. Eliot’s Influence on The Hound of Darkness." The Thomas Wolfe Review 18.2 (Fall 1994). 1-5.

Professional Involvement and Accomplishments

Undergraduate Faculty Outstanding Scholarship Award, Azusa Pacific University, 2003.

2000 Silver Angel Award for the novel, A Son Comes Home

A Son Comes Home named one of the Top Ten Christian Novels of 1999 by Booklist magazine.

Provost Award, Azusa Pacific University, 1998

Zelda Gitlin Literary Prize, 1995

Special Interests and Activities

American literature
Freelance nonfiction
Fiction

Office Location

Faculty Quad, Room #31, East Campus

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