The Christian Imagination and English Literature

...was the title of a talk at THE KEYS, London branch of the Catholic Writers Guild of England and Wales, this week. Speaker was Prof Michael Alexander, who was appointed Professor of English at St Andrews University in 1985. An excellent evening, which got us discussing all sorts of things from Caedmon to Chaucer and on to Walter Scott via George Herbert, Milton, and Dryden and more...he also circulated some things on which to ponder and we looked at "I sing of a maiden..." and "Love bade me welcome..." and "God doth not need/Either man's work or his own gifts..."

It was our AGM, and, following email contact from the catholicwritersguild.org - an American-based group which had contacted me via this Blog - I passed on greetings from them to our Guild and then it was formally resolved, and carried by acclamation, that we pass our greetings back to them...we hope to have a regular exchange of news, helpful ideas and information etc. Sean O'Connor formally retired as Master of THE KEYS and was presented with a bottle of champagne, amid very heartfelt applause as he really has been excellent, especially in seeing the Guild safely into our new home at St Mary Moorfields after many very happy years at St Etheldreda's, Ely Place (where a plaque in the crypt now marks our link there).

All this, and a good dinner with rare roast beef followed by a proper hot pudding with apples and spicy dried fruit and generous ice cream...oh, an excellent evening.

Papa Benedict has been speaking, with wisdom and largeness of mind, about the media, to mark the feast of St Francis de Sales...