BPA | The Poetic Mind Seminar - “After Such Knowledge The Poetry of T.S. Eliot”

The Poetic Mind Seminar

Saturday 27th June 10am - 12pm

"After Such Knowledge The Poetry of T.S. Eliot”

Stephen Taylor
Louise Hayman- Chair

Hybrid - In-person and online
89 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3NT & Online via Zoom

We know what is happening. We have known for decades. And yet we do not act. Why? This paper takes Eliot’s anguished question from Gerontion as its starting point “After such knowledge, what forgiveness?” and turns it
on the defining crisis of our time.
Drawing on the poetry of T.S. Eliot as both diagnostic instrument and moral compass, Stephen Taylor argues that the failure to respond to climate breakdown and social collapse is not primarily a failure of information or political will. It is a failure of narrative specifically, the absence of any credible path to redemption within prevailing environmentalist discourse.
Working at the intersection of epiphenomenalism and evolutionary psychology, Taylor asks what it would take to move from paralysis to action, from knowledge to transformation. Eliot prophet of the waste land, poet of spiritual desolation and tentative renewal turns out to be an unexpectedly illuminating guide.

Stephen Taylor holds degrees in philosophy and psychology and trained as a psychotherapist. He works as a  software developer and community organiser in North London, and is a Zen Buddhist and performing poet.

Louise Hayman is a psychoanalyst with the BPA and co-chair of Poetic Mind.

The Poetic Mind Seminar

A series centered on the intersection of poetry and psychoanalysis can explore how both disciplines utilise language to navigate the complexities of human experience.

Future topics

Metaphor and Meaning: Examining how metaphors function in both poetry and therapeutic dialogue to reveal unconscious content.

The Poetics of Therapy: Investigating the role of narrative and in psychoanalytic practice.

Language and Healing: Exploring how the expressive qualities of language in poetry can inform therapeutic techniques aimed at emotional processing and integration.

By delving into these areas, we could illuminate the rich, symbiotic relationship between poetic expression and psychoanalytic exploration, offering deeper insights into the human condition through the lens of language.

Image: The cupola above the stage in the Wigmore Hall, incorporating the painting 'The Soul of Music' by Gerald Moira.  Reproduced thanks to Historic England.
The opinions and views expressed are entirely those of the speaker in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the BPA.
Refunds available up to 10 days before the event start date.