All one has to do is turn on the television or go to the movies, and one is immediately bombarded with the culture of death. Entertainment is one of the easily discernable ways the secular society promotes its ideology. Just by being exposed to current entertainment, one might think traditional family values are remnants from a bygone era that will eventually fade away altogether. Someone should write or better yet tweet a message to the big proponents of secular society telling them that a storm is brewing. Their trendy ideologies should not get too comfortable, because the truth has not faded away. Rather, it is remerging and gaining momentum.
Supporters of secular values may say there is no evidence of any real threat of such a storm; and that if there were, it is only noise. They would be wrong though, missing the steadily growing evidence in music, television, and in film. However, this article is about evidence from another conduit of the truth—contemporary literature.
At the end of February there was a conference held by the Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California called “The Future of the Catholic Imagination.” The conference was the first of its kind bringing together poets, writers, publishers, editors, and critics of the 21st century who were all there for the same reason: to explore faith and its relationship to literature and culture. They came from all over the country leaving their busy lives to come together to share in provocative conversation.
On the first night there was a poetry reading by the author Julia Alvera, followed by a Q&A. Her poems were imaginative and brought vivid pictures to the mind. One came away feeling they had gleamed a small insight into her soul. When asked about the influence of being formed from Catholic schools and family, she said, “it seeps into who you are.” There were other writers who expressed similar ideas. They admitted that their faith, whether intending to or not influenced their literary pursuits because it is a part of them.
At this conference there were so many panels and talks to attend at any given time, one felt spoiled by all the choices. One choice ended up being an unforgettable treat; it was The Art of Poetry Class with Paul Mariani, a teacher at Boston College. Although, calling him a poet would be a more accurate title. He recalled to us (Yes I was there!) a moment where he prayed to God, “If you give me the gift of poetry I will use it for you.” After that he wrote his first volume of published poems in a month and has in total published seven volumes. His honest journey of faith was reflected in his taste of favorite poets such as Gerard Hopkins who was also searching for understanding in life. When talking about the process of writing he expressed it as “How do you sing the pain and turn it into music?” He let us glimpse into the world of a Catholic poet and the view was one full of spirituality and gratitude.
Also, there were talks given by Catholic publishing representatives and editors, and there were panels on topics such as Spirituality and Literature, Catholic Literari: The New Generation, A Poet in the 21st Century, and many others of equal interest. There was also some time set aside, where distinguished writers such as Ron Hansen, Dana Gioia, Tobias Wolf, and others read some of their poetry and short stories.
The whole conference was a literary whirlwind of insight into the relationship between faith and literature that is occurring right now in writers of the 21st century. Literature with themes based on faith, are not ancient works of the past. There are many today that are creating new literary works as I write this, who are influenced by their faith and are writing from that perspective. Once scattered within the culture at large, the conference brought together modern Catholic writers in one place.
The conference is evidence that there are people who are trying to rebuild a Catholic Culture by way of the arts, by way of literature. They are answering a call of the new evangelization. In affirmation of the conference, Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles wrote a letter to the conference attendees expressing the power of Catholic art, including literature.
“The new evangelization needs new art and new artists. It needs stories and songs, poems and novels and plays, sculptures and architecture, paintings and symphonies.
The people of our times are not satisfied by the temporary consolations and diversions of our consumer, secular society. Their hearts are troubled. They are restless to know that their life has value and meaning. They want to know love and wholeness and community—that there is something that lies beyond here, something more than this life.
Catholic art has a unique power to speak to their search for transcendence. So we need to summon a new generation of Catholics who are inspired to make great art that draws from their faith and religious experience. Art that expresses the depths of their souls and explores human existence in all its comedy and drama, joy, and pain. Art that can awaken the conscience and compel us to empathy and compassion. Art that knows the reality of evil and weakness, but also the longings for holiness and heroism that are born in every human heart…In many ways, our society’s future depends on the future of Catholic arts, the revival of a Catholic culture and the new evangelization.”
When a society needs to be changed there are many ways to effect this change. One is through the arts, a powerful medium to convey truth through beauty. The Archbishop obviously agrees.
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