Malcolm Guite
King University’s Institute for Faith & Culture welcomes poet, priest and author Malcolm Guite as the 2021-22 speaker series, “Listen to Your Life,” continues Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8.
A Supernumerary Fellow and former chaplain at Girton College in Cambridge, England, Guite has taught at the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, and lectures widely on theology and literature throughout England and North America. He has authored several books of poetry and theology, including “Faith, Hope and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination.” In addition, he records his own music and performs in the band Mystery Train.
Guite presents “Songs and Sonnets: An Evening of Poetry, Song, and Story,” at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 7, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Bristol, Virginia.
On Friday, April 8, at 9:15 a.m., Guite presents “An Unexpected Music: Poetry and Renewal” in the Memorial Chapel on King’s main campus in Bristol. Both events are free and open to the public.
“Malcolm Guite’s poetry and song draw from the richness of ancient roots, and blossom in vivid, accessible verse,” said Martin Dotterweich, Ph.D., director of the IFC. “His words are grounded in the liturgical year, the language of scripture and the Book of Common Prayer, and poetry ranging from Dante to Coleridge to Heaney, but without the slightest pretense or affectation. We look forward to a Thursday evening of poetry and song, followed by his theological reflections on art and imagination in a Friday morning lecture. Malcolm comes to Bristol from Middle Earth, by way of Cambridge, England, and he embodies a dynamic union of creativity and faith.”
Guite is a 1980 graduate of the University of Cambridge, where he received a master’s degree in English Literature. He was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1991 and went on to obtain his Doctor of Philosophy from Durham University in Durham, England, in 1993.He has published works of poetry, theology and literary criticism and has worked as a librettist. His most recent books include “Love, Remember,” “Mariner,” a spiritual biography of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Parable and Paradox” and “The Singing Bowl.” His poetic response to the psalms, “David’s Crown,” was released in January 2021, and anthologies of his Poet’s Corner writings, “In Every Corner Sing” and “Heaven in Ordinary,” were published in 2019 and 2020.
For more information about the Institute, including the full schedule for the 2021-22 speaker series, visit king.edu/faithandculture.
