The regular Wiersma lecture at Calvin College will take on a slightly different format for 2007 as several of Wiersma's former friends and collegues present an evening of readings from his best work.

Wiersma was a former Calvin College English professor and prolific author who penned often autobiographical writings under the nom de plume Sietze Buning.

Thus on April 13, at 7:30 pm in the Chapel at Calvin Theological Seminary there will be "An Evening with Sietze Buning," what is being billed as a free evening of entertainment and enlightenment.

A colorful cast of dramatic readers will present the best of Buning's "Purpaleanie" and "Style and Class." The event will be followed by a social hour with refreshments and it is sponsored by the Wiersma Literary Endowment.

Wiersma, who was known for his poetry, and for his encouragement of young Christian authors, died suddenly in 1986 while on sabbatical in the Netherlands. The Wiersma Literary Endowment was established by Wiersma family and friends in 1988 to encourage Christians in the reading, writing and publication of excellent literature.

Friends of Wiersma say the endowment was set up not only to honor him, but also to perpetuate the kind of conversations he would have enjoyed.