8 November, 2024: Between Mystical Thinking and Practical Experience

One-day symposium organised by Dr Nataliya Pratsovyta; and sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Study. 10:00-16:30 at the Institute of Advanced Study, Zeeman Building CO.02, University of Warwick.

Panel speakers include: Enaiê Marie Azambuja (University of Lancaster); Declan Gillespie (University of Warwick); Eileen John (University of Warwick); Alastair Lockhart (University of Cambridge); Elizabeth Ludlow (Anglia Ruskin University); Oleksandr Pronkevych (Ukrainian Catholic University); Yuliia Vintoniv (Ukrainian Catholic University); Ruth-Anne Walbank (University of Warwick)

Keynote: Hilary Davies

Hilary Davies is a poet, critic, and translator. She has published four collections of poetry with Enitharmon Press, and has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at King’s College, London (2012-6) and the British Library (2018-9). She is a former Chairman of the Poetry Society of Great Britain, a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and of the English Association. She was co-editor of Prophetic Witness: The Re-Imagining of the World (Routledge, 2020). In 2023 she was shortlisted for the Michael Marks Environmental Poet of the Year award for her pamphlet ‘Its Birds Can Never Be Counted’. Davies is a member of the Power of the Word Project Advisory BoardLink opens in a new window; and writes for The Tablet.

Keynote: Emma Mason

Emma Mason is Professor of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick. Recent publications include a new edition of William Barnes’ dialect poetry (Edinburgh University Press, 2025); and Christina Rossetti: Poetry, EcologLink opens in a new windowyLink opens in a new window, FaithLink opens in a new window (Oxford University Press, 2018). She co-edits the Bloomsbury monograph series New Directions in Religion and LiteratureLink opens in a new window and is a member of the Power of the Word Project, Scholars of Religion and Literature Network, and the Catholic Women Writers Network. Her current project explores poetry and Catholic mysticism in the Victorian and modern periods. 

April 21, 2023: Catholic women writers: one day symposium

A one-day symposium for scholars working on Catholic women writers. PhDs, post-docs and senior scholars are all welcome. Participants will share their research interests and explore possible future collaborations. No charge but food and travel at participants’ expense. To register please email: BCL24@CAM.AC.UK Link opens in a new window Possible areas of discussion: specific Catholic women poets and prose writers; Catholic literature by region; Catholicism, genre, genre; Theological uses of literature; Literature, Church and world; Women and the Church.

October 29, 2016: Elizabeth Jennings symposium

Elizabeth Jennings is one of the most significant poets of the twentieth century, and wrote widely on poetic tradition and the importance of reading poetry. Her work was informed by poets from George Herbert and Christina Rossetti to Rainer Maria Rilke and Hart Crane, and by a mystical tradition she sought to reconcile with her Roman Catholic faith. While her poetry and prose are still studied by scholars, read at weddings and funerals, and used in religious seminaries and by mental health workers, her status as a poet, like the details of her life, remain elusive. The symposium, organized by Professor Emma Mason (University of Warwick) and Dr Jane Dowson (DMU) gathered academics, students, and members of the public to talk about her poetry, biography, faith and influence. Speakers: Mason and Dowson, plus Professor Michael Schmidt (founder of Carcanet Press), Dr Dana Greene (Emory University), Dr Hester Jones (University of Bristol) and Dr Jean Ward (Gdańsk University).

May 16, 2014: Questioning Religion

'Questioning Religion' focuses on the current status of 'religion and literature' in our contemporary research culture. Speakers: Dr Devorah Baum (University of Southampton); Dr Scott Freer (University of Leicester); Professor Mark Knight (University of Toronto); Dr Emma Mason (University of Warwick); Professor John Schad (University of Lancaster); Dr Rebecca Tyler (University of Lincoln).

July 14-16, 2011: The Hospitable Text: New Approaches to Religion and Literature (London Notre Dame Centre)

Major international conference for which Emma Mason was on the organizing committee; several of the Theology Reading Group attended, including Máté Vince, Nazry Bahrawi and Paul Kim.

June 2-3, 2011: Religious Identities in Literature (University of Warwick)

Organized by: Nazry Bahrawi and Arina Cirstea; sponsored by the Roberts Fund for Researchers and the Institute of Advanced Study. Keynote speakers: Professor Elisabeth Jay (Oxford Brookes) Dr Emma Mason (Warwick) Dr. Mohamed Salah Omri (St John’s College, Oxford) Professor David Jasper (Glasgow) Dr Ziad Elmarsafy (York) Dr Arthur Bradley (Lancaster).