Grace College Welcomes Award-Winning Christian Poet and Scholar Dr. James Matthew Wilson

The Grace College Department of Humanities and Office of Faith, Learning, & Scholarship welcome award-winning Christian poet and scholar Dr. James Matthew Wilson to campus for a mini-residency next week.

On Wednesday, March 22, at 4 p.m. the school will host a poetry reading and book signing for Wilson at Morgan Library, 921 Connection Circle, Winona Lake. The next day, Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m., Wilson will speak as part of Grace’s  Lyceum Lecture series. His lecture on prayer and poetry, titled “Verse and the Ascent of the Soul,” will take place at Westminster Hall, 105 9th St, Winona Lake. Both events are free and open to the public.

“James’s poetry is so attentive to language and to literary tradition; his poems invite contemplation not only of the world around us but also of the worlds we inherit through centuries of English poetry,” said Dr. Lauren Rich, chair of the Department of Humanities. “One of the best parts of my job is getting to bring exciting writers, speakers and performers to campus, and it is a great honor to have James here. Grace College’s Lyceum Series is all about exploring the ways that faith, art, and scholarship intersect, and that is also the focus of so much of James’s poetry and other writing; I can’t think of a better person to deliver this year’s lecture.”

Wilson is the Founding Director of the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas, Houston. His work appears regularly in The Wall Street Journal, The New Criterion and National Review. Wilson has published twelve books and is a two-time recipient of the Lionel Basney Award from the Conference for Christianity and Literature.

While he is at Grace, Wilson will also conduct a variety of poetry workshops for Grace College students. Micaela Eberly, a third-year student currently writing a book of poetry for the Creative Writing Portfolio Practicum, is thrilled for the opportunity to connect with Wilson over their shared love for poetry.

“I’m so excited to meet James Matthew Wilson,” said Eberly. “The opportunity to get one-on-one feedback on some of my own poems is invaluable, and I can’t wait to hear more about his work and his passion for poetry.”

Copies of Wilson’s latest book, “The Strangeness of the Good,” as well as a limited-print broadside, designed by Sam Richter and commissioned specially for this event, will be available for purchase and signing at both events. To learn more about Wilson’s work and read his full biography, go to www.jamesmatthewwilson.com/.

For more information about the Grace College Lyceum Lecture series, visit www.grace.edu/about/grace-college/faith-learning-scholarship/lyceum-series-on-faith-scholarship/.