I (Jessica Hooten Wilson) visited the physical Cowan Archives this past week when I was in Dallas. I was astounded at the treasure stored there! Bainard Cowan brought out a couple of boxes of Louise’s lectures and notes on her Russian literature course for me to peruse; I would need a year to read all the material on that subject alone. The walls were lined with such boxes for her epics course, Faulkner course, and so on. In the 1970s, Louise Cowan brought Caroline Gordon to the University of Dallas to found the creative writing department. She held events featuring Robert Penn Warren and Allen Tate. In 1979, Jo Brans published “The Prime of Louise Cowan” in Dallas Magazine. Louise Cowan embodied the Catholic imagination. It’s fitting the Catholic Imagination Conference be held at her university this year.
Although most of the schedule has been set, we do have an update to the interview with National Book Award nominee Christopher Beha: Image Journal will be sponsoring this session, and their editor-in-chief James K.A. Smith will be conducting the interview with Beha. We are so excited to have Smith attend and be the interlocutor. This is going to be a rich conversation!
In addition to Image Journal, America Magazine, Dappled Things, Presence Journal, Catholic Culture Podcast and other outlets will be in attendance. Ignatius Press, Baker Publishing, Angelico Press, Wiseblood Books, Slant Books, and other publishing houses will be showcasing their books and have representatives available to talk with authors. Additionally, my favorite bookstore in the country, Eighth Day Books, will be bringing a selection from their storehouse of books. I have never visited Eighth Day Books and not purchased books that I now love.
We do have updates to the conference webpage, including information on traveling to the conference, recommended hotels, and a campus map. As we draw closer to the event, please let us know if there are questions and concerns. We are eager to welcome you to Dallas and celebrate not only the tradition of the Catholic imagination but also its future.