Overview:
This series will be faciliated by Mary Jo Leddy, author, academic, activist, and by Susie Whelehan, poet, facilitator and artist.
The political realities of our time summon us to poetry and prayer. These, in turn, summon us to more. Poetry can awaken us to beauty and suffering, hope and action. Over the course of four weeks we will let poems do what they do best: awaken us to what is and become aware of our place in it, be it our neighbourhood, city, country or planet.
Using the ancient practice of Lectio Divina, we shall devote time to poems by Margaret Atwood, Wendell Berry, Julia Esquival and others who have engaged with their own time, in their own place, and see where they take us.
This course is invitational. Participants will have opportunities for oral and written responses to the poems. You do not need to be a poet or writer to participate in the series. You need only to have a pen, a notebook and a willingness to risk being touched by both poetry and prayer.
The themes of the series will reflect the signs of the times:
- War and Peace (2 sessions)
- The Climate Crisis
- Who Is My Neighbour?
Format
This series is comprised of weekly 2 hour sessions over 4 weeks. We will read and contemplate poems chosen in light of a particular contempoary issue. There will then be time for written reflection on / responses to the poems at this moment in history and in our own lives.
Scheduling
The series is scheduled for early fall on Thursday evenings from 4-6pm. The course will begin on Thursday September 12, and will conclude on Thursday October 3. The location will be the Mary Ward Centre, located inside Loretto College Residence, 70 St. Mary St.
Cost
The cost for the full 10 hour series is $226 and will include coffee and refreshments.
