Spirited Words: Grief, Protest, Hope: CANCELLED

CANCELLED OWING TO COVID-19 DEVELOPMENTS

Join acclaimed poets Pádraig Ó Tuama and John Dennison for readings and kōrero about the pleasures and perils of crafting religious poetry today. This unmissable event will grapple with the challenge of speaking with and through the richly-layered languages of faith. The conversation will be facilitated by celebrated poet, editor and painter Gregory O’Brien. Seating is limited and we recommend you come early.

Pádraig Ó Tuama is an Irish poet, theologian, and conflict mediator. He is the former leader of Corrymeela, Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation organisation. His publications include two volumes of poetry ("Readings from the Book of Exile", 2012; "Sorry for Your Troubles", 2013), a daily prayer book, and a memoir "In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World" (2015). He presents the #1 Apple Arts Chart podcast Poetry Unbound, from the On Being project.

John Dennison is supervising chaplain at Victoria University of Wellington’s Anglican Chaplaincy. Otherwise, his first collection of poems, was published in 2015. He is the author of Seamus Heaney and the Adequacy of Poetry (2015). John is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington and received his PhD in English Literature from the University of St Andrews.

Poet, editor and painter Gregory O’Brien is one of New Zealand’s most prolific contributors to both arts and literature. He has published several acclaimed volumes of poetry and his poems have been widely anthologised. O’Brien’s works of non-fiction are highly regarded and have received major awards. His most recent book is Always Song in the Water (2019), a meditation on place and the imagination inspired by recent travels in Northland and the South Pacific.