Poetic Imagination and the Rediscovery of Meaning - A Symposium Inspired by Owen Barfield

Meaning and imagination are two intertwined themes throughout the 70-year writing career of Owen Barfield (1898-1997). This symposium, fortuitously scheduled on his birthday, will celebrate and explore his contemplation of them as philosopher and poet. Join authors Mark Vernon and Jeffrey Hipolito together with poets Ben Okri and Hilary Davies for a wide-ranging discussion of his relation to the Inklings, T. S. Eliot, and W. B. Yeats, his debt to esoteric traditions from Neoplatonism to Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy, and his relevance to such contemporary issues as the meaning crisis and the secular age.

Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist, podcaster and writer of journalistic articles as well as books. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and degrees in theology and physics. His books include A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, and most recently Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination. He used to be a priest in the Church of England and lives in south London. For more see www.markvernon.com

Jeffrey Hipolito is the chairperson of the Owen Barfield Society and the author of Owen Barfield’s Poetic Philosophy: Meaning and Imagination (Bloomsbury 2024) and Owen Barfield’s Poetry, Drama, and Fiction: Rider on Pegasus (Routledge 2024).

Sir Ben Okri is a poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, anthologist, aphorist, and playwright. He has also written film scripts. His works have won numerous national and international prizes, including the Booker Prize for Fiction. He has also received many honorary doctorates for his contribution to Literature.

Hilary Davies is a poet, essayist and translator. Her fifth collection, Compass Light, will be published from Renard Press in September 2025. She is a former Chairman of the Poetry Society, Eric Gregory award winner and Hawthornden Fellow. She has been an RLF Fellow at King’s College, London and the British Library, and is a Fellow of the English Association and the Temenos Academy. In 2023 she was shortlisted for the Michael Marks Environmental Poet of the Year award.