I write, speak, invest, network, and question to stimulate fruitful conversation. Let's talk about human flourishing! It begins with freedom. Holy leisure is the key to human being, freedom and generativity. Please join me in the adventure of realizing Christ!
Talks for Writers and Artists
Three-Dimensional Transcendentals
We need writers and artists who can translate Truth, Beauty and Goodness into form. We artists also need help seeing what our role is in the Body of Christ. This talk was created for the Symposium for Advancing the New Evangelization, and can be tailored to meet your group’s needs. Thoughts from this were incorporated into my talk for the Chesterton Conference, called Joy in Three Persons.
Overheard at the Salon
As a founding member of the Catholic Creatives Salon, and of the Living Poem Society, I have a wealth of great material for talks of interest to other creative types! I love to discuss the tremendous importance of the arts in spiritual formation and education; the place of creativity in the life of the human person (hint: it’s NOT just for ‘artists’); the finding of freedom within form; the process of owning and investing in one’s own creative work, etc… For me, teaching, writing, speaking, designing workshops – all are opportunities to create a work of art. Contact me to ‘commission’ a piece.
The Glory of Form
For the Contemporary Religious Artists Association, October, 2013: reflections about the Catholic understanding of form in music, poetry, architecture and personhood, and the experience of art as a spiritual practice. The arts can in-form our spiritual lives, and our faith is expressed in creative forms that draw radiance from the Liturgy.
Reflections of an Inside-Out, Upside-Down, Backwards Book Publisher
For the Topeka chapter of the National League of American Pen Women in 2012, the surprising story of my book, Souls at Rest – the inside scoop for fellow writers and artists.
Writing For the Cause
For pro-life college students: This talk is equally applicable to any group learning about influencing public opinion through letters to editors.
Chesterton on Art
For the Catholic Creatives Salon: Some of G.K. Chesterton’s thoughts on art (did you know he was trained as an artist?) – the whiteness of chalk, the value of doing things badly, the importance of framing, whether poetry should rhyme, etc…. Chesterton as artist contributed mightily to my talk for the Chesteron Conference, Joy in Three Persons.
A Prayer, A Poem, A Person, A Place
What does it mean that a person is God’s ‘poema’ – His workmanship? A poem has the capacity to be a place of encounter, and as such mirrors the human person in his fullness. Any artist will enjoy this talk!
Organization for Creative Minds
How an organizational system can help move your ideas from their ‘seed’ stage, through to reality and fruitfulness.
Man As Icon of the Prosopon
The four types of icon (per St. John Damascene) and the significance of the Icon of the Divine Mind for creative artists.
Mystery and Manners
Advice from Flannery O’Connor’s book by this title about the difference between art and propaganda, the limits of art, and the responsibility of the artist for Truth-telling.
The Mind of the Maker
A discussion of Dorothy Sayers’ insights, from her book by this title, into the creative mind of God, its correspondence to the human creator, and the significance of His creative nature to our understanding of the human person.
The Poetic Reader
Poetic Reading is not just reading poetry! Poetic Reading cultivates the wholeness of the reader, because it engages her whole being. It is, first of all, ordered to leisure, to freedom, to the context rather than the content of reading. Poetry, intellect, delight, sensory experience – I help readers develop an integrated approach to all different kinds of reading material.
Need a speaker for your next event? Contact me and we’ll get started:
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