Poetry & Theology: 1800–Present

In-person General Audience

Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts and Duke Divinity School partner with the Duke English Department to present a collaborative symposium on poetry and theology. The symposium will take place over three days in Duke Divinity School's Alumni Memorial Common Room and will include panel discussions, public readings, and paper presentations from top scholars, artists, and poets in the fields of theology, literature, and the arts—such as Judith Wolfe, Anne Carpenter, and Kevin Hart, among others.

The symposium will kick off with an evening of poetry and conversation, featuring such noted poets as Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Lisa Russ Spaar, and Dante Micheaux. Symposium papers will discuss such poets as T. S. Eliot, Czesław Miłosz, Paul Claudel, and Gerard Manley Hopkins. Visit the symposium site for a full roster of speakers, paper presentations, and additional event information.

All events are free and open to the public.

All events will take place in the Alumni Memorial Common Room.

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m: Poetry Reading & Discussion with Toby Martinez de las Rivas, Dante Micheaux, & Lisa Russ Spaar. The discussion will be moderated by DITA and Duke University doctoral student Will Brewbaker.

All events will take place in the Alumni Memorial Common Room.

8:00 – 8:45 a.m. – Breakfast

8:45 – 9:00 a.m. – Welcome by the Organizers

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. – Session 1: Luke Fischer (Australia), “Hölderlin’s Mythopoetry of History: The Eschatological Reconciliation of Nature and Spirit” with respondent Ian Cooper (Univ. of Kent)

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. – Break

10:30 – 11:45 a.m. – Session 2: Bernadette W. Ward (Univ. of Dallas), “Gerard Manley Hopkins and the Theology of Grace” with respondent Judith Wolfe (Univ. of St. Andrews)

11:45 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Session 3: Anne M. Carpenter (SLU), “Time and Tapestry: Charles Péguy and Place Beyond Memory” with respondent Kevin Hart (UVA)

2:15-2:15 p.m. – Break

2:30 – 3:45 p.m. – Session 4: Thomas Pfau (Duke), “Indéchirable, inépuisable, fermée: Paul Claudel and the Éclat of the Real” with respondent Anne M. Carpenter (SLU)

All events will take place in the Alumni Memorial Common Room.

8:00 – 8:45 a.m. Breakfast

8:45 – 10:00 a.m. – Session 5: Judith Wolfe (Univ. of St. Andrews), “R.M. Rilke and the permanency of impermanence” with respondent Luke Fischer (Sydney)

10:00 – 10:15 a.m. – Break

10:15 – 11:30 a.m. – Session 6: Anthony Domestico (SUNY, Purchase) “T. S. Eliot’s Grammar of Unknowing” with respondent Bernadette W. Ward

11:30 – 12:45 p.m. – Lunch

12:45 – 2:00 p.m. – Session 7: Kevin Hart (UVA), “‘We have our inheritance’: Eliot’s “Ash-Wednesday” with respondent Ian Cooper (Univ. of Kent)

2:00 – 2:15 p.m. – Break

2:15 – 3:30 p.m. – Session 8: Ian Cooper (Univ. of Kent), “Poetry, Sacrament, and the Rhythm of Modernity” with respondent Kevin Hart

3:30 – 3:45 p.m. – Break

3:45 – 5:45 p.m. – Session 9: Łukasz Tischner (Jagiellonian Univ.), “Religion and Compassion. The Poetry of Józef Wittlin and Czesław Miłosz” with respondent Thomas Pfau

The nearest parking to Duke Divinity School is found at the the Bryan Center Lot & Garage (125 Science Dr) for an hourly rate. Overflow parking can be found at the Science Drive Garage & Visitor Lot (302 Science Dr). Parking availability can vary depending on demand.

Visit the symposium site for a full roster of speakers, paper presentations, and additional event information.

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Poetry & Theology: 1800–Present

Thursday, 2/22

Friday, 2/23

Saturday, 2/24

Parking

Event Site