The Climacus Conference 2013

Poetry as Antidote to Banality: Finding Relief from the Mundane in the Art of Words

Molly Sabourin Listen Now Saturday 9:45am

How reading and reflecting upon poetry can lift us from the mundane and activate our life and faith.

Freelance writer focusing on issues of family, faith, and community. Molly has a regular podcast on Ancient Faith Radio and is the author of Close to Home: One Orthodox Mother's Quest for Patience, Peace, and Perseverance.

Poetic Knowledge and Education

James S. Taylor Listen Now Saturday 2:45pm

What kind of knowledge is said to be poetic? In the Western philosophical tradition from Aristotle to Aquinas, the term receives barely a footnote and is overshadowed by the emphasis on logic and metaphysics, the separation of heart and mind, and is centered on the rational intellect as the superior and systematic method of investigation of reality. Plato, more inclined to speculative philosophy and intuitive knowledge (which is helpful in defining poetic knowledge) — is never certain how we know anything, leaving room for acknowledging that we know spiritual truths in ways mysterious compared to mechanical models of cognition. Poetic knowledge of things arises from the integrated material and spiritual experience of reality. For example, when we experience a beautiful day we also sense and know, without any rational or scientific process, that the day is also good. Yet we are certain that this experience is whole and true. It may be later, perhaps it may come as a surprise of discovery, when we recall the highest form of certitude—that when God created the Day and the Light and the Sun, He found it “good,” indeed, “very good.” The Fathers of the Church do not treat anything called poetic knowledge. However, they assume in their writings and commentaries that within each human person is the presence and reliability of a unique “way” of knowing the spiritual quality of reality. The same appeal to our “poetic knowledge” resides in the parables of Our Lord and in the figurative language of St. Paul's Letters. It is also the “greatness” found in the pre-Christian poets such as Homer and in the moral philosophy of Socrates. An Orthodox school would understand poetic knowledge at work by cultivating natural wonder that is experienced in literature, poetry, science, and all the subjects of the curriculum.

Dr. Taylor received his doctorate in philosophy of education from the University of Kansas; there he also studied for many years with Dr. John Senior and Dr. Dennis Quinn, founders of the Integrated Humanities Program. His dissertation, directed in part by these professors, he later reworked into the book Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education (SUNY Press, 1998). This manuscript is now being reworked as an introduction to Orthodox education. Dr. Taylor received his M.A. in English and BA in Humanities from Southern Illinois University. He taught at St. Mary's College in Kansas, and in the English and Education departments at the University of Kansas. He was also chairman of the Teacher Education Department at Hillsdale College in Michigan, and assistant professor of education at the University of Tulsa. For the past twelve years Dr. T. (as his students call him) has taught online courses for middle and high school students—such as the Good and Great Books, a Writer's Workshop, Poetry, the Short Story, the Novel, and Introduction to Genesis and the Fathers.

Government of the Tongue in Byzantine Education

Bryan Smith Listen Now Friday 4:00pm

Aspects of Byzantine schooling called for the avoidance not only of certain topics of conversation, but also of casual and loose habits of speech. Students were encouraged to adopt both formulas and styles as their own, both in speech and writing, using the imitation of great exemplars as their teachers and guides. Literary practice—both rhetorical and poetic—became analogous to ascetic practice, cultivating humility, insight, and veneration in the student.

Bryan Smith has been in education for over twenty-five years as a teacher and administrator in liberal arts schools. He has served on the board of the Society for Classical Learning, is the founding director of the Orthodox Christian School Association, and is currently the headmaster at Anthem Prep, one of the Great Hearts Academies in Arizona.

Poetic Illumination: Genesis and the Nature of Reality

Joshua Alan Sturgill Listen Now Saturday 3:45pm

Not infrequently, the Creation story in Genesis is dismissed by the statement it's only poetry. Christians as well as atheists are guilty of failing to see that precisely in the poetry of Genesis is its universal application. Scientific approaches (whether Evolution or Intelligent Design) read in Genesis 1 merely the description of an “event” at a fixed point in time. In contrast, the Fathers of the Church read Genesis as a disclosure of the very nature of the Cosmos. Only the iconic humility of poetry, able to both obscure and reveal, can make such a disclosure possible. All later Scriptures and all human history are suffused with echoes of the poetry of Genesis.

Joshua Alan Sturgill is a 2001 graduate of Sangre de Cristo Seminary whose interest in literature, art, and history led him to the embrace of Orthodoxy. Joshua's 10-year association with Eighth Day Books provided frequent opportunities for lectures on Literacy, Iconography, and Orthodox theology at universities, conferences, and churches. He especially enjoys communicating with non-Orthodox groups who might be hearing of Orthodoxy for the first time. He currently resides in Santa Fe, NM, where he spends as much time as possible reading and hiking in the Rio Grande valley.

Liturgical Poetry: How the Church Uses Poetry in Scripture and Hymnology

Fr. Alexis Kouri Listen Now Friday 3:15pm

B.S. from Boston College in 1984; M.Div from Holy Cross School of Theology in 1990; Candidate for the Doctor of Theology in Pastoral Counseling from Emory University; Certified Pastoral Counselor through the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (2010).

Poetic Imagination: Coleridge and the Energy of Contrast

Opening Remarks Listen Now

The opening remarks by the conference director will consider how Coleridge's "This Lime-Tree Bower, My Prison" reveals that crisis and contrast—both literal, rhetorical, and poetic—fire the imagination and transport the individual into oneness with nature, others, and God. The poetic imagination, then, can be seen as a conduit for truth, can allow the poet and the reader to be in many places at once, both in this world and in the next, and can foster an elevated connection to reality.

Registration Information

Just $45
Families $65 — kids are free, complimentary childcare included;
Students $35, or $55 for student's family.
Further need-based discounts and scholarships available on Registration Form

Conference Registration includes coffee, wine, and snacks all weekend; dinner Friday; lunch Saturday; and complementary drink at After-Party Saturday evening!

CONTACT INFORMATION

David Wright, Conference Founder & Director
(502) 296-2095 /

Ricky Irvine, Design & Associate Director