The Measure of Mystery: Three Contemporary Catholic Poets

If it is true, as British poet Sally Read suggests, that “poetry is the language of Catholicism,” then it would follow that Catholicism cannot be understood without poetry. Further, neither God nor Man can be adequately comprehended without the penetrating light of poetry. But how can this be? What does it mean? And what do contemporary Catholic poets think about – and contribute through – their written work? Join us for an evening with three of today’s finest Catholic poets, each of whom speak on how they understand their work in our time and in the longer historical context of poetry in Christian tradition.

A reception will follow. Books will be sold and signed at the event.

James Matthew Wilson is the Cullen Foundation Chair in English Literature and the founding director of the MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas. The author of fourteen books, his most recent collection of poems is Saint Thomas and the Forbidden Birds (Word on Fire, 2024). The Strangeness of the Good (2020), won the poetry book of the year award from the Catholic Media Awards. The Dallas Institute of Humanities awarded him the Hiett Prize in 2017; Memoria College gave him the Parnassus Prize, in 2022; and the Conference on Christianity and Literature twice gave him the Lionel Basney Award. In addition to his role at the University of Saint Thomas, he serves as poet-in-residence of the Benedict XVI Institute, scholar-in-residence of Aquinas College, editor of Colosseum Books, and poetry editor of Modern Age magazine.

J.C. Scharl is a poet and critic. Her poetry has appeared internationally on the BBC and in some of the nation’s top poetry journals, including The New Ohio Review, The Hopkins Review, and The American Journal of Poetry. Her criticism has appeared in many magazines and journals, including Dappled Things, The Lamp, Fare Forward, Religion & Liberty, and others. She is the author of the poetry collection Ponds (Poiema Poetry Series 2024), and the verse play Sonnez Les Matines (Wiseblood, 2023). 

Katie Hartsock is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Oakland University. Her second poetry collection, Wolf Trees, was listed as one of Kirkus Review's Best Indie Books of 2023. Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, Tupelo Quarterly, Image, Oxford Poetry, Presence, Plume, The New Criterion, Dappled Things, Birmingham Poetry Review, and elsewhere. Her first poetry collection, Bed of Impatiens, was a finalist for the Able Muse Book Award. She has taught as a visiting assistant professor in the Helen Zell Writers Program at the University of Michigan, where she earned her MFA and won the graduate Hopwood Award, and at Northwestern University, where she earned her PhD in Comparative Literature. She lives in Ann Arbor with her family.