Poetry Matters
“The Incarnation requires an ode, not an email.”
—Dana Gioia
In 1991 Dana Gioia asked, “Can Poetry Matter?” and this July 2022 in First Things, he answers in the affirmative (not that the answer was ever in question!) in his piece “Christianity and Poetry.” While the earlier piece lamented the ways that poetry in America had vanished as a cultural power, this recent one lauds the millenia-old tradition of poetry in the Judeo-Christian faith.
The Catholic Imagination Conference this fall will be honoring poetry not only in our schedule, but also by offering registrants a gratis copy of the new Christian Poetry in America Since 1940: An Anthology (Paraclete Press). Edited by Micah Mattix and Sally Thomas (writer-in-residence at WiseBlood Books, who is presenting at the conference), this anthology includes Catholic poets such as Paul Mariani, Marilyn Nelson, A.M. Juster (who is teaching in the new MFA at St. Thomas-Houston), James Matthew Wilson, and others.
Wilson (also speaking at CIC 2022) presented recently a talk based on his essay by the same title “Catholic Imagination in Modern American Poetry.” Through this essay, Wilson illuminates how the sacramental or anagogical vision of Catholic poets bodies forth in their creations.
In addition to featuring American poets, such as Frederick Turner and Sarah Cortez (President of Catholic Literary Arts), this year’s CIC will also showcase Czeslaw Milosz, one of my favorite poets, who Artur Rosman (editor of Church Life Journal) calls one of the church’s most neglected poets. One of Milosz’s biographers Cynthia Haven will be highlighting his work for attendees.
The first day of the conference will begin with the poet Shann Ray leading us in prayer and conclude in open mic night, so please bring your own poetry to recite. Who are your favorite poets? Come and share them with us at this year’s Catholic Imagination Conference.