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Poetry, Philosophy, and Religion A 2017–2026 program In working to advance its mission to “promote the study of the world’s religions in their classical and contemporary forms,” the Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) has focused on the...

Embodied Practices and Poetry

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On March 8 th, Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) resident and MDiv candidate at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), Melissa Lago, gave a presentation entitled, “Embodied Practices and Poetry.” She began by sharing what led her to her interest in...

Video: Poetry Series: A Reading by Jane Hirshfield

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On January 29, 2026, the Center for the Study of World Religions welcomed acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield for a memorable evening of poetry and reflection. One of the most esteemed poets writing today, Hirshfield is known for work that brings together...

Poetry, Philosophy, and Religion at the CSWR: Peripheries Launch 2023

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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...

An Evening of Poetry, Music, Art: Celebrating Peripheries No. 6

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by Tristan Angieri, MDiv Student and CSWR Student Research Assistant On the evening of November 30, 2023, the much-anticipated event celebrating the launch of Peripheries, the Center for the Study of World Religions’s (CSWR) annual literary and arts...

Sherah Bloor: Poetry, Philosophy, Religion, and Community

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Residents at the CSWR are scholars deeply committed to the study of religion. Below, we spoke with Sherah Bloor, a PhD student in the Study of Religion, on her work in poetry, philosophy, religion, and community. CSWR: How has being a resident at the...

Video: Shangyang Fang Poetry Reading: Study of Sorrow

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On October 8, 2025, in the CSWR Common Room, the CSWR and Sherah Bloor, Editor-in-Chief of Peripheries, hosted a celebration of the publication of Study of Sorrow: Translations (Copper Canyon Press, October 2025). Shangyang Fang read his translations of...

Video: The Invisible Sun: Poetry, Translation, and the Mystical Imagination

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CSWR Poetry Series: With Sholeh Wolpé The Invisible Sun is the first comprehensive English collection of poetry by the twelfth-century Persian mystic Attar, revered by Rumi as his master. Translated by award-winning poet Sholeh Wolpé, this luminous...

Announcing the Winners of CSWR'S Inaugural Peripheries Poetry Competition

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In the fall of 2024, the CSWR’s Poetry and Creative Writing program, led by Sherah Bloor, Editor-in-Chief of Peripheries, launched its inaugural poetry competition. Over a few weeks, we received more than 750 submissions from 250 talented poets...

A Disappearing Lecture (and Poetry Reading) by Josh Bell

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As Nietzsche described the death of God, so philosopher and sociologist Jean Baudrillard described the death of the real. He forwards a sense of a reality crushed by cloning chamber and the "saming" Babel of the internet, Disneyland, reality television...

Rooms Within Rooms: Peripheries 7 Explores the Architecture of Poetry and Art

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Peripheries is a journal of word, image, and sound that crosses thresholds between genres, senses, languages, and traditions. This seventh edition explores poetry—and art—as a habitable space, a room of sorts. After all, “stanza” comes from the Italian...

Pulitzer Prize-Winner Tracy K. Smith Hosts Poetry Workshop at HDS

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“If this were the only poem that you had ever seen, what would you suspect poems are for?” On a recent sunny afternoon, Harvard Divinity School students and community members made their way to the Center for the Study of World Religion (CSWR) for a...