October 18: Celebrated Poet Christian Wiman Talks Art and Faith at Old First

On October 18, we eagerly welcome poet Christian Wiman, who will discuss his new book He Held Radical Light: The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art. The work meditates on memory, oblivion, and eternity, setting the stage for a conversation on the interplay of faith and the arts.

Also included will be a stimulating Q&A between Wiman and editor Paul Elie (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, the book’s publisher). Elie is the author of The Life You Save May Be Your Own, among many others.

An audience Q&A and book signing will follow.

Christian Wiman is a winner of the Ambassador Book Award in poetry; his work Once in the West (FSG, 2014) was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist in poetry. He teaches religion and literature at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Yale Divinity School.

Wiman’s current work, He Held Radical Light, is a love letter to poetry; it’s a sharp sequel to his earlier memoir, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer (FSG, 2013). The book is filled with moving, surprising, and sometimes funny encounters with poets Wiman has known throughout his life: Seamus Heaney opens a suddenly intimate conversation about faith; Mary Oliver puts half of a dead pigeon in her pocket; A. R. Ammons stands up in front of an audience and refuses to read. Wiman explores the relationships between art and faith, death and fame, and heaven and oblivion. 

The event is sponsored by Arts at Old First, which offers hospitality to creative and art-minded community groups. This includes the annual Brooklyn Bluegrass Bash, the annual Park Slope Messiah Sing-along, and various other events supporting the visual, literary, and musical arts. Arts at Old First events benefit the Old First Restoration Fund.

Here’s what Publisher’s Weekly had to say about Wiman’s new book in its starred review:  “Wiman . . . weaves together philosophy and lush prose in an elliptical memoir about his long flirtation with the belief that he could gain immortality by writing a perfect poem. He explains this drive for the ideal through delicately theological questions, . . . close readings of poems[,] and a vast reservoir of personal anecdotes . . . Readers who allow themselves to be swept along by Wiman’s beautiful style and oblique considerations will come away with fresh strategies for unpacking faith in the contemporary world.”

The New York Times Book Review joined in the praises:  “[My Bright Abyss] is a daring and urgent book . . . [It] is, above all, . . . about experience, and about seeking a language that is adequate for both the fiery moments of inspiration and the ‘fireless life’ in which we spend most of our days. It is a testament to the human ability to respond to grace, even at times of great suffering, and to resolve to live and love more fully even as death draws near.”

“Christian Wiiman is such an exciting poet, author, and thinker,” says Arts at Old First event organizer Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, “and I expect his conversation with Paul Elie — who also writes on art and faith — to be rich and fascinating. My hope is that this event — I hope the first of a series — brings great value to the Old First community, and to our wider community in Brooklyn.”

Seating is limited; RSVP via Brown Paper Tickets (required). Reservation options include: 

• Free RSVP (includes one seat at the event)
• $30 book bundles (includes one copy of He Held Radical Light and one priority seat at the event)

A wine reception follows the event.

You can also buy the book directly from Community Bookstore.

A portion of all book and ticket sales benefits the Old First Restoration Fund.