Lecture / Craft Talk: “Wonder and Transformation in Poetry”

“[I]f you do not believe the event, you will not marvel at it. You can marvel only at something that is, at least in some sense, there. Marveling responds to the there-ness of the event, to its concreteness and specificity.” – Caroline Walker-Bynum, Metamorphosis and Identity How can our writing unfold in a way that retains the wonder that fueled it? What role does wonder play in the work of poetry? In addition to Aristotle’s famous dictum that philosophy begins with wonder, medieval philosophers and theologians emphasized wonder as a first step toward knowledge. Rilke’s “Archaic Torso of Apollo” begins with a statement of what we can’t know—then dwells in wonderment—and then leads to a very famous (and very surprising) turn. In this lecture we will examine poetry and fiction that dwells in the “real” as a means to transcendent revelation. This program will be hosted using the On24 meeting software, and you can register for this program directly with On24. A Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants before the program, via the email you registered with, providing instructions on how to access the On24 meeting. You do not need to download any software or create an account.