Poetic Imagination and the Rediscovery of Meaning

Sunday 9 November 2.30pm – 6pm

A Symposium Celebrating Owen Barfield

Meaning and imagination are two intertwined themes throughout the writing career of philosopher and poet Owen Barfield, whose ideas inspired the likes of C. S Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and T. S. Eliot. This symposium will explore these two central themes of Barfield’s work, his debt to philosophical and spiritual movements from Neoplatonism to Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposophy, and his relevance to contemporary issues such as the meaning crisis and the secular age. 

Join authors Mark Vernon and Jeffrey Hipolito together with poets Sir Ben Okri and Hilary Davies for a lively mix of talks, poetry readings and conversations exploring Barfield’s lasting influence, the nature of the imagination and man’s eternal quest for meaning.

CONTRIBUTORS:

MARK VERNON is a psychotherapist, podcaster and author. His books include A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness and most recently Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination. He used to be a priest in the Church of England.

JEFFREY HIPOLITOis the chairperson of the Owen Barfield Society.  He is the author of Owen Barfield’s Poetic Philosophy: Meaning and Imagination (Bloomsbury 2024) and forthcoming Owen Barfield’s Poetry, Drama and Owen Barfield: Philosopher, Poet, Anthroposophist. He lives in America.

SIR BEN OKRI is a poet and novelist. His poetry books include: A Fire in My Head: Poems for the Dawn, Mental Fight: An Epic Poem and Wild. His latest novel is Madame Sosostris & the Festival for the Broken-Hearted (2025).

HILARY DAVIES is a poet, essayist and translator. Her fifth collection, Compass Light, will be published in September 2025. She is a former Chairman of the Poetry Society and is a Fellow of the English Association and the Temenos Academy.

ADMISSION:

£25 – General admission

£15 – Anthroposophical Society and Temenos Academy members

          + Full-time students with student ID card

ONLINE BOOKING: https://buytickets.at/thetemenosacademy/1810249 

ENQUIRIES: Daniel Samuel, E: temenosacademy@myfastmail.com T: 07513 883 335 or Ilona Pimbert, E ilona.pimbert.rsh@anth.org.uk T 020 7723 4400https://rsh.anth.org.uk/event/poetic-imagination-and-the-rediscovery-of-meaning/