The arts

This month sees the start of St Mark's Literary Season, beginning on Friday 7th May 8pm at St Mark's Church with Jesus and The Eye-Witnesses. Winner of the prestigious Michael Ramsey Prize for 2009, this is a book that has created a lot of discussion among both scholars and general readers. Professor Bauckham will host an evening's discussion about this important work and will field questions at the end.

Richard Bauckham was until recently Professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor in the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and is now Professor Emeritus at St Andrews. He was born in London in 1946, and educated at Downhills and Merryhills primary schools and Enfield Grammar School. He then studied at Cambridge, where he read history at Clare College (gaining a B.A. Honours degree, first class, and a Ph.D.), and was a Fellow of St John's College for three years. After teaching theology for one year at the University of Leeds, he taught historical and contemporary theology for fifteen years at the University of Manchester, before moving to St Andrews in 1992. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He retired in 2007 in order to concentrate on research and writing, and is Senior Scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, where he does some teaching for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. He is also a Visiting Professor at St Mellitus College, London. From 1996 to 2002 he was General Editor of the Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series. He is an Anglican (but not ordained), and was a member of the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England for some years. In 2009 he was awarded the Michael Ramsey prize for his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, and in 2010 the Franz-Delitzsch-Award for a volume of collected essays, The Jewish World around the New Testament. He has travelled widely giving lectures and conference papers. Though his permanent home is now in Cambridge, he returns to St Andrews frequently. When he can find the time, he writes poetry, and has also written two children’s story books about the MacBears of Bearloch.

The first of our "Poetry Sundays" will be exploring the work of George Herbert and "the land of spices". Andrew Watts will be talking at the 10 am service on Sunday 9th May at St Mark's.
George Herbert was born on April 3, 1593, the fifth son of an eminent Welsh family. His mother, Magdalen Newport, held great patronage to distinguished literary figures such as John Donne, who dedicated his Holy Sonnets to her. Herbert's father died when he was three, leaving his mother with ten children, all of whom she was determined to educate and raise as loyal Anglicans. Herbert left for Westminster School at age ten, and went on to become one of three to win scholarships to Trinity College, Cambridge.
Herbert received two degrees (a B.A. in 1613 and an M.A. in 1616) and was elected a fellow of Trinity. As a young man George Herbert held high office in the University of Cambridge. He also became an MP and he looked set to enter the King's service. He lived in the exciting times when voyagers were exploring the 'new' world, but also those were the years leading to the English civil war. Yet Herbert gave up his chances of public recognition by becoming a country parson in a village near Salisbury, and he died tragically early. Now his legacy still lives with us in the words that he left behind and he is recognised as one of the greatest of English poets. George Herbert is the person who wrote about prayer, that it is the "heart in pilgrimage ... a kind of tune ... something understood". It's amazing to think that his words can still surprise us, though they were written over 350 years ago. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote of Herbert's diction that "Nothing can be more pure, manly, or unaffected," and he is ranked with Donne as one of the great Metaphysical poets. Herbert's poems have been characterised by a deep religious devotion, linguistic precision, metrical agility, and ingenious use of conceit. If we listen to his words, could we catch some of the spirit which burned in him? This is what we hope to explore in the morning service for the Poetry Sunday on May 9th.

Short Cuts and Fringe Benefits will run over two consecutive nights at St Mark's Church starting at 8pm on Friday 21st May and Saturday 22nd May. Cameo Theatre productions presents a comedy review of all those books, plays and poems you always meant to read but never got round to...This will be a whirlwind evening taking in a literary feast of diverging tastes from Shakespeare to Dickens to Dylan Thomas to Don Quiote and much, much more. Devised, adapted and directed by Rex Walford, it is an evening not to be missed.


Forthcoming events for June 2010

Poetry Sundays
6th June Debbie Pullinger presents the work of Charles Causley at the 10am Service at St Mark's

13th June Clare Coates explores the work of Alfred Lord Tennyson at the 10am Service at St Mark's

Songs and Sonnets with Dr Malcolm Guite. The Newnham based poet and singer-songwriter presents a selection of favourite songs and poems from Shakespeare to Seamus Heaney along with his own work at St Mark's Church on Friday June 18th 8pm.

Clare Coates