Joseph Pearce Public Lecture
Shakespeare & Tolkien: Literary Giants & Why The Great Books Matter
On Sunday 11th May we had the pleasure of co-hosting a public lecture with renowned Catholic author and international guest speaker Joseph Pearce. The English-born writer and academic travelled from his home in the US for his first Tour of Australia.
It was a full house with over 250 people in attendance at the Parish Hall in Annerley. Joseph spoke extensively on the rich literary history that accompanies movements of Catholic renewal. From exploring the Catholicity of Shakespeare to drawing unlikely connections between Saint John Henry Newman and The Lord of the Rings, it was a wonderfully engaging evening enjoyed by all. Did you know that our patron Saint John Henry Newman was founder of the Birmingham Oratory, where J.R.R. Tolkien grew up and received his own faith formation. So it would seem we can thank St John Henry Newman for Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings, a work Tolkien himself called "fundamentally religious and Catholic"!
A vote of thanks was given by Fr Conor Power of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation, our co-hosts of the evening. Fr Conor offered a profound reflection on the themes of Joseph’s talk, speaking of how important it is to not only read, but to read good books and to not let our fear of engaging with the great works overcome us.
Joseph wrote an article reflecting on his visit to Australia, writing "As for myself, I am buoyed up by my experience of the exciting initiatives in classical education which are welling up on the other side of the world." He further noted that Newman College's "imminent presence is causing much expectant excitement. More than 250 people attended my lecture... and the enthusiasm for classical education amongst those in attendance was palpable. I have no doubt that the soon-to-be-born school will be launched on a wave of fervent desire by local parents for its success." You can read his full article in The Imaginative Conservative here.
Our sincere thanks all who joined us on the night, to Joseph for making the trip across the world to visit us, and to Hartford College Sydney for facilitating Joseph’s first Australian Tour.
Who is Joseph Pearce?
An English-born writer, Joseph currently resides in the USA. He is one of the most acclaimed literary biographers of today, with best-selling works such as Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Quest for Shakespeare, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, and Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile. Amazingly, Joseph is one of only a handful of Western authors to have met and personally interviewed Solzhenitsyn, whose seminal work The Gulag Archipelago is arguably one of the most compelling and comprehensive accounts of the Soviet regime.
Joseph has an incredible conversion story, which he recently discussed with Matt Fradd on the Pints With Aquinas podcast. You can hear him talk about this, and so much more, on the podcast here.
“Joseph Pearce is an amazing, insightful, and entertaining speaker. You’ll want to arrange or rearrange your schedule to hear him”
– Mark Brumley, President/CEO, Ignatius Press
“Joseph Pearce offers the most accessible introduction to the Catholic literary tradition of anyone alive today”
- George A. Harne, Ph.D. President, Christendom College
