The very first time I met award-winning author Margarita Engle, I felt an instant connection with her. Although every such inter-personal connection is far too deep to understand rationally, there were similarities between us. Not only is she an author, like me, but also, like me, she was trained as a scientist.
Whenever I heard her speak (and of course whenever I read her books), I sensed that she is deeply spiritual. So, when I had the chance to interview her, I asked her the question below, to which she provided a thoughtful, concise and clear response (an unpublished excerpt from the interview I conducted):
Padma Venkatraman:
You are a scientist. You are also deeply religious. How do the scientific and religious world views
come together in your approach to the writing life?
Margarita Engle:
Science and God are compatible, because both seek a harmonious relationship with nature.
Sometimes I wish for an outdoor church, instead of the modern kind with no windows and too
much technology. There was a time when I would have simply called myself Christian, but now I
need to clarify that I am only comfortable at peacemaking churches such as Mennonite and
Quaker meetings. If I walk into an otherwise friendly community church and see right wing
extremist political pamphlets, or pictures of fighter jets and other images of war, or if a pastor
insults other religions, or if there is no racial diversity, I walk out.
