MEET THE SPEAKER: Gregory Wolfe

Writer, teacher, publisher, and editor, Gregory Wolfe has been called “one of the most incisive and persuasive voices of our generation” (Ron Hansen). Both as a thinker and institution-builder, Wolfe has been a pioneer in the resurgence of interest in the relationship between art and religion—a resurgence that has had widespread impact both on religious communities and the public square. As an advocate for and exemplar of the tradition of Christian Humanism, Wolfe has established a reputation as an independent, non-ideological thinker—part gadfly, part peacemaker.

In 1989, Wolfe founded Image, which Annie Dillard has called “one of the best journals on the planet.” Now one of America’s top literary quarterlies, Image is a unique forum for the best writing and artwork that is informed by—or grapples with—religious faith. Material first published in Image has appeared in Harper’s, Utne Reader, and the Wilson Quarterly as well as the Pushcart Prize anthology, Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, Best American Spiritual Writing, O. Henry Prize Stories, The Art of the Essay, New Stories from the South, and Best American Movie Writing. Image has also been nominated by Utne Reader for an Alternative Press Award for Spiritual Coverage. Recent, Image’s Glen Workshop was featured on the public television program Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

Since 2000, Wolfe has served as Writer in Residence at Seattle Pacific University, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. He is also the founder and director of the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at SPU, the first program of its kind to integrate a studio writing degree with intensive reflection upon the literary and aesthetic riches of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Wolfe has published over 200 essays, reviews, and articles in numerous journals, including Commonweal and First Things. His essays have been anthologized in collections such as The Best Christian Writing and The Best Catholic Writing.

Among his books are Intruding Upon the Timeless: Meditations on Art, Faith, and Mystery (Square Halo, 2003), Malcolm Muggeridge: A Biography (Eerdmans, 1997) and Sacred Passion: The Art of William Schickel (University of Notre Dame Press, 1998). Wolfe is also the editor of The New Religious Humanists: A Reader (Free Press, 1997) and the co-author of Books That Build Character (Touchstone, 1994), Climb High, Climb Far (Fireside, 1996), The Family New Media Guide (Touchstone, 1997), Circle of Grace: Praying with—and for—Your Children (Ballantine, 2000), and Bless This House: Prayer for Families and Children (Jossey-Bass, 2004). A collection of Wolfe’s essays, tentatively titled Beauty Will Save the World, will be published by ISI Books in fall 2010 or early 2011. Wolfe is currently writing a book about the Renaissance Christian Humanists who gathered around the great scholar and writer, Desiderius Erasmus.

The working title of that book is The Company of Good Letters: How Erasmus and His Circle of Renaissance Christian Humanists Shaped the Modern World.

Wolfe was born in 1959 and grew up in New York City, Long Island, and the south shore of Boston. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Hillsdale College in Michigan and his M.A. in English literature from Oxford University.

A convert to the Roman Catholic Church, Wolfe is a member of the international lay movement Communion and Liberation. He and his family attend St. James Cathedral in Seattle.

His wife, Suzanne, also teaches English literature at Seattle Pacific University. In 2004 her first novel, Unveiling was published to great acclaim by Paraclete Press. The Wolfes have four children—Magdalen, Helena, Charles, and Benedict—and live in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

Mr. Wolfe will be speaking about Christian Humanism at the CiRCE Conference. He will also be taking part in the Poetic Knowledge Panel.

This bio was taken from Mr. Wolfe’s personal website at which you can learn more about his books, passions, and past lectures.

You can learn about Image Journal here.