A Center for the Retrieval of Christian Wisdom

Spring 2022 Carolinas Regional Convivium on Literature

The Poetic Lens:
Seeing With Wisdom’s Adornment and Virtue’s Delight

March 11-12th, 2022

The Davenant Institute invites you to our spring rendition of our now bi-annual Carolinas Regional Convivium Irenicum! Please join us for a Friday night and Saturday of fellowship, friendship, and conversation renewing Christian wisdom for the church. 

See details below about our Keynote Speaker and the line up of presentations.

Cost: 

$15 Friday night only ($10 student rate)

$25 Saturday only ($15 student rate)

$40 Friday & Saturday commuter ($25 student rate)

$100 overnight stay ($60 student rate)

Deadline for paper submissions extended to Friday February 11th!

Our Keynote Speaker:

Charles Carman, “Back to the Sources: The Revival of Classical Poetry in the Protestant Reformation” 

Charles Carman is a Ph.D candidate at Catholic University of America in the Church History Program, focusing on Syriac, Latin, and Greek. Charles has been a long-time partner with The Davenant Institute in a teaching capacity as director of our language programs.

2022 Carolinas Regional Convivium

The Poetic Lens: Seeing With Wisdom’s Adornment and Virtue’s Delight

One of the key motivations for us at The Davenant Institute is a belief that can be summed up in a catchphrase, Wisdom will save the world, literally. You may recognize this as a variation of a popular quote from Dostoyevsky: “I believe the world will be saved by beauty” (Prince Lev Nikolyaevich Myshkin, The Idiot). What is beauty? Is not beauty simply wisdom on display?  During his Nobel Prize lecture Alexander Solzhenitsyn made a comment which hinted at a connection between beauty and wisdom. He said, “Dostoevsky’s remark, ‘Beauty will save the world,’ was not a careless phrase but a prophecy. After all he was granted to see much, a man of fantastic illumination. And in that case art, literature might really be able to help the world today.” The Book of Proverbs most certainly portrays true beauty and true wisdom as one embodiment. Whether spoken or written there is much beautiful wisdom to be gleaned from the great literature of the world. If it be so, then it is no wonder so many of us have a heart for literature. Literature is a vital tool to beautifully convey wisdom.

In recent years, the Spring convivium at Davenant House has focused on an aspect of literature. The last literature event in 2021 focused on the power of biography. This time our emphasis will be on poetry, but not just the genre of poetry. We will look also into how the use of poetic imagery and figurative speech draws us in to delight in the beauties of wisdom and to act on its virtues. If the idea that wisdom will save the world is literally true, then we can find plenty of examples across the ages. Thus, the theme, The Poetic Lens: Seeing with Wisdom’s Adornment and Virtue’s Delight.

We are very glad to announce that Charles Carman will be our keynote speaker for the 2022 Carolinas Regional Convivium. Charles is a Ph.D candidate in Classics at Catholic University of America in the Church History Program, focusing on Syriac, Latin, and Greek, and has been a long-time partner with The Davenant Institute in a teaching capacity as director of our language programs. He will be delivering his keynote address on “Back to the Sources: The Revival of Classical Poetry in the Protestant Reformation.” 

What: The Carolinas Regional Convivia held in the Spring is an annual conference on literature. Our gathering centers on literature as one vehicle, among others, for encouraging the growth of classical Protestantism and retrieval of wisdom for the church. 

Date and Location: March 11-12, 2022 at Davenant House, Landrum, SC

Who: We welcome anyone interested in the work of The Davenant Institute, literature in general or the conference theme. One of the unique features of the Davenant way is that we mingle together as peers regardless of level of education or other status markers. We look forward to see you at this exciting event. If you have questions, please use the contact page or get in touch with Michael Hughes, director of Davenant House.

Schedule:

Event runs 5:30 PM Friday March 11th to 4:30 PM Saturday March 12th

Lineup of Presentations:

Friday Evening:
Mark Olivero, “Poetic Eyes: Light in George Herbert’s imagination
and his vision of reality”

Donald Williams, “Making of a Poet”

Saturday:
Keynote Address:
Charles Carman, “Back to the Sources: The Revival of Classical Poetry in the Protestant Reformation”

Adam Walker, “Drinking from the Jordan: English Reformed Poetry and the Plain Style”

Hannah Hubin, “Votaries: The Tradition of the Blue Flower Traced through the Writings of Novalis, MacDonald, Lewis and Robinson”

Jeremy Larson, “C.S. Lewis on Wisdom in Milton’s Works”

Cost:

$15 Friday night only ($10 student rate)

$25 Saturday only ($15 student rate)

$40 Friday and Saturday Commuter ($25 student rate)

$100 overnight stay ($60 student rate)

If you have any questions, email Michael Hughes at m.hughes@davenanttrust.org. In order to keep costs at a reasonable rate and to encourage the atmosphere of fellowship for which our Convivia are most fondly remembered we ask for your help with meal preparation and clean-up. A sign-up sheet will be passed around at the event.  The information packet (to be sent nearer the event) will include a detailed schedule, directions to Davenant House, etc.

In addition to our keynote speaker, the Spring 2022 Carolinas Regional Convivium Irenicum schedule will include the presentation of papers, Q&A, and worship, as well as meals on site.