Catholic institute at USC to host conference on “The Future of the Catholic Literary Imagination”

by Carl E. Olson | CWR blog

An interview with Dana Gioia, acclaimed poet/critic and current Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at USC

Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning poet, and the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts who is now the Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at the University of Southern California. He has published several full-length collections of poetry (and several shorter collections), and the collection Interrogations at Noon won the 2002 American Book Award. His poetry has also appeared in numerous anthologies. His 1991 book, Can Poetry Matter?, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. His poems, translations, essays, and reviews have appeared in many magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post Book World, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, and The Hudson Review. He is also a member of the College of Fellows at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (Berkeley).

In October 2013, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dana and his brother, Ted, about their respective careers as authors, artists, and businessmen. Dana recently corresponded with me about the upcoming three-day conference, “The Future of the Catholic Literary Imagination”, hosted by the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC, which is headed by Fr. James Heft, that will take place February 19-21 on the USC campus. The conference features presentations by Gioia, Julia Alvarez, Ron Hansen, Alice McDermott, Kevin Starr, and Tobias Wolff, with panelists including many more leading writers, critics, scholars, editors, and journalists.

CWR: How did the USC conference on Catholic literature come about?

Gioia: As a writer and a Catholic, I’ve been deeply concerned by the retreat of Catholic writers and artists from the cultural mainstream. I’ve also been disappointed by the Church’s lack of concern about the role of the arts, especially in Catholic worship and education. I felt it was the right time to gather our best writers and teacher—both new and established—to discuss the issues.

USC’s Institute of Advanced Catholic Studies was the perfect sponsor for the conference. Father James Heft was immediately enthusiastic about the idea. We decided to create a national conference involving our leading writers.

CWR: What topics will be addressed and what formats?

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