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THE
SPOTLIGHT IS ON . . . |
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SYLVIA ENGEN ESPE |
 Cherished memories of growing up with her five siblings
in a Christian home on a southern Saskatchewan farm are still vivid in
Sylvia Engen’s mind, a member of InScribe for more than thirteen years.
The setting was perfect for a budding young writer; buttercups lining
the pathways to school, song birds serenading on warm summer days, and
homemade chokecherry syrup on bread. With such stirring surrounds and
yet it was the school library that captivated young Sylvia. During her first year of school Sylvia lived with her teacher in the teacherage (a small room in the back of the school house). The evenings were lonely and frightening for her. Floor boards creaked and foreboding shadows danced strangely in the light of the oil lamp. Young Sylvia found comfort by deviling into classic childhood books and soon began writing her own stories. On her walks to fetch the cows in the evenings, Sylvia carried a pad and pencil, and sometimes would rest on top of a haystack composing poetry in the soft light of the full moon. By the time Sylvia was twelve she saw her first published work on the Young Co-operators pages of Western Producer. Throughout the late 1940’s and into the 1950’s, she contributed often to the farm newspaper. |
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writing has been and is still a form of enjoyment for Sylvia, it always
gives her a sense of
fulfillment each time she sits down at her
computer to create. With an active life style and numerous interests,
such as photography and travel, she finds it difficult to set a regular
writing schedule. But deadlines spur her on and she is always able to
complete assignments on time. Drawing from her nursing knowledge, life
experiences, and interests Sylvia writes her preferred genre–nonfiction.
Evenings are her best creative times and mornings are reserved for
editing the previous night’s work. Sylvia’s ancestors’ history intrigue her. After visiting Norway, the land of her grandparent’s birth, she wrote and published a book (A Celebration of a Century) that traces the beginning of her grandparent’s homestead which has been the Pederson Place for over a hundred years. During the early 1950’s, Sylvia had numerous poems published in My Friend, Minneapolis, and Minnesota. A sample of her touching poetry (“My Supplication”) can be found on page 93 of InScribe Companion 2000. As a nurse during the 1980’s and 1990’s her health related articles were published in AB Association of Registered Nurses Newsletter, Journal of Gerontology Nursing, Health Care Advocate, Canadian Nursing Home, and Contemporary Long Term Care. Since her retirement in 1995, Sylvia has continued to periodically contribute to these health magazines. She has over a hundred articles published in various periodicals such as; Esprit, ELW Voice, Edmonton Journal, Canada Lutheran, Alberta Council of Aging, Lutheran Woman Today, Country Woman, Edmonton Sun, and FellowScript to list just a few. She has also set her pen to devotionals. One of her latest, “Unlimited and Unbounded” was published August 25th on-line at PCCWeb Daily Devotional. It can be viewed on Daily under the archives. |
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Sylvia’s writings have won awards and prizes over the
years which have brought her encouragement. The first contest offered by
the Young Co-operators of the Western Producer, in the late 1940’s was
won by Sylvia. The winning prize was a book which to this day Sylvia
treasures. Readers have been encouraged by Sylvia especially through her writings of the trials she has come through. She married a pastor and they were blessed with four children. But when their youngest child was only fifteen months old, her husband suffered a severe heart attack which left him hovering between life and death for seven years. They were married nineteen years when he passed away. Sylvia’s most difficult trial came when her only son died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of thirty-three while playing hockey – a game he loved. Her accounts of theses tragedies have strengthened those who have suffered similar loses. |
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There never seems to be enough hours in the day for Sylvia who is constantly multitasking and burning the midnight oil. She became accustomed to working late into the night after her husband’s death. With four children to raise, a full-time nursing career, community involvement, and writing projects Sylvia always had a reason to postpone bedtime. Today she still stays up late determined to complete whatever project is on the go whether writing or stitching a quilt. To be able to squeeze a few more hours or even minutes out of the day to hone her writing skills is Sylvia’s wish. Her shelves are lined with many excellent writing books, the majority of which have been purchased at InScribe Fall Conferences. These are the books she longs to read but time does not permit the luxury. Living by a rigid schedule is not Sylvia’s style; instead she rides the flow of events trying to pack as much as possible into each day. “It (the day) is a gift from God.” Sylvia says. | |
~ @ Shirley S. Tye (more about this author at "Aunt Shirley") |
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© InScribe Christian Writer's Fellowship |
Set 02/22/2008
