I (Jessica Hooten Wilson) received a copy of W.C. Hackett’s novel Outside the Gates (Angelico Press 2021); then someone shared with me his defense for why he wrote the story. In opposition to the “rule of death” that reigns in our culture, Hackett writes a Catholic novel, one that echoes the Christian promise of resurrection.
He summarizes the twofold problem of Catholic novel in this way:
The best story has already been told—or, more precisely, is being told. It is found in the Gospel.
The artist must tell the truth, but the truth is difficult to tell. Sometimes it is beyond words, whether horrifying or glorious, ugly or beautiful, enchanting, rapturous, or repugnant to morality and public decency.
For Hackett, following in the footsteps of Tolkien and Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, Catholic novels pay homage to the best story while not ignoring the mess of our particular embodied narratives.
Hackett’s apologia for fiction reminded me of Joshua Hren’s manifesto Contemplative Realism (Benedict XVI Institute), which I merely want to read aloud to students and have that count as a creative writing class at the University of St. Thomas. You can support the manifesto with your signature, as have a number of the speakers for the Catholic Imagination Conference, including Glenn Arbery (Pres. of Wyoming Catholic College) and Sally Thomas (Author of Motherland).
The tradition of the Catholic Imagination goes back centuries, but more recently has been celebrated in American authors, such as Walker Percy (discussed on the Catholic Culture Podcast here) and Flannery O’Connor (see speaker Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s book), whose works will be discussed at the 2022 conference. If you’re wanting to brush up on your knowledge of the Catholic imagination in America, The Angelus has dedicated their summer issue to this topic.
If you have missed some of the recent updates to the conference, we have half a dozen lunch options now available. In addition to the regular schedule, we will be providing brown bag lunches. You will pick them up outside one of the main three rooms in which sessions are being held and enjoy special programming by conference sponsors, including Well-Read Moms, Word on Fire, Catholic Literary Arts, a tour of Our Lady of Dallas Cistercian Abbey, Joe Hoover of America Magazine, and a reading from novelist Jonathan Geltner hosted by Slant Books.
We welcome your input, comments, and questions as we prepare for this event. We are especially grateful for your prayers. Thank you for all your support!