Poetry, Philosophy, and Religion at the CSWR: Peripheries Launch 2023
by Gosia Sklodowska
Peripheries, our annual literary and arts journal, occupies a special place at the CSWR. The journal publishes poetry, prose, visual art, and music that is, broadly understood, "peripheral"; work that, in form, explores the interstices between discourses, traditions, languages, art forms, and genres; and, in topic, explores the marginal, the incidental, the tangential, and boundary- and limit-experiences, such a mystical experiences on the margins of religious traditions. In this, the journal is consistent with the Center’s focus on the religious and the spiritual within, at the intersection of, but also on the margin or beyond the so-called ‘world religions’.
The journal is also an integral part of the ‘Spirituality and the Arts’ program at the CSWR, which recognizes that spiritual experiences are often elicited by exposure to and immersion in art forms—be it dance or music, or visual stimuli, in concert or alone. Arts may also express spiritual experiences, moving them from the peripheries of our consciousness into greater focus.
In addition, the journal has been a highly successful platform for student engagement looking to cultivate their craft. Interest in the arts and in particular poetry runs deep through the HDS student community, and over the last several years, Peripheries has grown to provide a creative outlet for HDS’s talented students. Many HDS students actively participate in CSWR’s Poetry talks and workshops. Out of the 26 Peripheries editors, readers and staff, in the past 5 years, 7 were MDiv and MTS students, and 10 were PhDs in Religion.
In addition to close to 20 HDS students, Peripheries has also published students from across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Design school, the College, the Law school, and Radcliffe Institute. This creates connections and visibility for HDS students across the University and beyond. Peripheries has also been a launching pad for several careers. Many of the HDS student contributors have pursued successful careers in creative writing following their graduation, including Peripheries’ first designer, Alejandra Oliva, and contributors and editors, including Rebecca Doverspike, Danniel Kraft, and Walter Smelt III, to name just a few. Alejandra and her memoir Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration were featured in a Vogue story earlier this year; Danny is a published poet, who teaches Yiddish poetry a https://danieljkraft.com/teaching/; Walter is teaching creative writing and spiritual writing practices at Berkeley School of Music. Danny will be returning to HDS on March 6, 2024 as part of the CSWR Poetry series, to read and run a poetry translation workshop!
Prof. Charles M. Stang, CSWR Director, reflects: “Of all the efforts the CSWR has supported over these past five years, the launch of the series on “Poetry, Philosophy, and Religion,” and the publication of the journal Peripheries, were our earliest successes, and are perhaps what I am most proud of as I look back on my tenure so far. Both efforts have been led with exquisite care and discernment by Sherah Bloor, a brilliant poet, philosopher, and scholar of religion in her own right, and to whom I am and always will be very grateful.”
On November 30, 6-8pm, we will be celebrating the newest, 6th issue of Peripheries, with an evening of poetry, art, and music. We cordially invite you to join us for this special celebration. The event will start with jazz improvisations by Sam Weinberg, one of this year’s Peripheries contributors, and will feature poetry readings from Victoria Chang, Jorie Graham, and Alice Oswald. A reception will follow with a guitar performance by Jamie Balmer, and a digital art display, showcasing poetry, art, and dance entries from the most recent issue of the Peripheries.