In-person
For Alumni
For Clergy
For Lay Leaders
For Students
General Audience
Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts will host an evening for writers with Dr. Natalie Carnes and Charlotte Donlon, spiritual director and author of Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life. Through conversation, guided reflection, and gentle practices, Donlon will invite us to consider how a regular retreat practice can nurture our academic writing, sermon preparation, and creative expression.
The evening will weave together theology, art, and craft: a visio divina–style “behold art” exercise, a structured writing time framed by Donlon's "Begin, Belong, Become, Behold, Bestow, Begin Again" framework, and space for conversation and questions. Throughout the retreat, participants will be encouraged to notice how their creative lives intersect with their spiritual lives, and to imagine nourishing rhythms and rituals they can carry back into their ordinary days. The evening will be co-led by Dr. Natalie Carnes, professor of theology at Duke Divinity School.
This is an intimate event, and space is limited. All registrants will receive an informational email prior to the event with location information and additional details. Registration is required.
Spiritual Direction for Writers
Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life
Drawing on her experience as a spiritual director working primarily with writers, Charlotte Donlon offers something rare: a book that honors both the craft of writing and the care of the soul. Through contemplative practices, personal stories, and wisdom from writers like Toni Morrison, Margaret Walker, and Kaveh Akbar, she invites you to discover how rest, doubt, grief, and joy all become sacred ground for creative flourishing.
Charlotte Donlon
Author of Spiritual Direction for Writers
Charlotte Donlon is a writer, spiritual director, and gatherer whose work centers on helping people explore themes of belonging, artful encounters, and spiritual growth--even when life is full, busy, or chaotic. Her work has woven together themes of belonging, art, and soul exploration for more than 25 years. With a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing (2015-2018) and a certificate in spiritual direction (2018-2020), Charlotte guides writers and other creative souls in developing sanctuaries of acceptance and connection.
In 2020, Broadleaf Books published Charlotte's first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life is slated for release by Here Below Books in September 2026. Her essays have been featured in The Washington Post, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, and The Millions, among others. A new essay about art conservation, Joan Mitchell, and mystery is forthcoming with Image journal.
Dr. Natalie Carnes
Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School
Natalie Carnes is a constructive theologian invested in questions that cross the fields of aesthetics, feminism, and systematics. She has published several books, including Beauty: A Theological Engagement with Gregory of Nyssa (Cascade 2014), Image and Presence: A Christological Reflection on Iconoclasm and Iconophilia (Stanford 2017), Motherhood: A Confession (Stanford 2017), and most recently Attunement: The Art and Politics of Feminist Theology (OUP 2024). She is currently at work on a co-authored volume with Matthew Whelan on art and poverty, beginning a project on creativity that draws from psychological literature, and guest editing a special edition of Modern Theology. A graduate of Duke’s Ph.D. program (’11), she was previously professor of theology, affiliate faculty member in women’s and gender studies, and the director of the Baylor Initiative in Christianity and the Arts at Baylor University.