St. Augustine and the Roots of Narrative Art with Garth Greenwell and James K.A. Smith
Augustineās ConfessionsĀ are often looked to as the beginning of a tradition of introspective writing that continues to influence contemporary narrative practice in fiction and nonfiction.
Writers like Rousseau and Montaigne, Camus and Merton, have written in the wake of the ancient African, as do contemporary writers like W. G. Sebald, Teju Cole, Sheila Heti, and Marilynne Robinson.Ā Garth Greenwell talks to James K. A. Smith about what writersāboth the skeptics and believers among themācan learn from this spiritual guide and pioneer of narrative art.
Both Greenwell and Smith will sign books after the conversation.Ā
Presented in partnership with Image Journal. This event is free and open to the public.
About the Readers
Garth GreenwellĀ is the author of the novelĀ What Belongs to You, which won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was a finalist for several other awards, including the PEN/Faulkner. A new book of fiction,Ā Cleanness, is forthcoming from FSG in early 2020. His fiction has appeared in theĀ New Yorker,Ā Paris Review,Ā andĀ Vice, and he has written criticism for theĀ New Yorker, theĀ London Review of Books, and theĀ New York Times Book Review, among others. He lives in Iowa City.
James K. A. SmithĀ is editor in chief forĀ ImageĀ and author of the new bookĀ On the Road with Augustine. Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith holds the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair at Calvin College and is an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. Smith regularly writes for publications including theĀ New York Times,Ā Slate,Ā Christianity Today, andĀ The Hedgehog Review. His many books includeĀ You Are What You LoveĀ andĀ The Devil Reads Derrida. He lives in Grand Rapids.