Experiment with an Amen | The poetry of R.S Thomas

Talk Literacy

An introduction to R. S. Thomas, whose poetry explores modern faith, doubt, and resistance to the mechanised “Machine” worldview.

R.S.Thomas (1913-2000) was a priest and poet living in rural Wales and writing some of the finest religious poetry of the 20th century. The Dean will introduce Thomas's work and see how it both expresses and explores the contemporary life of faith and questioning, as well as the belief that living out faith is an alternative to the prevalent worldview of what Thomas called 'the Machine'.
 
The Very Reverend Dr Mark Oakley was ordained at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1993 and served his curacy at St John’s Wood Church. He was later appointed Chaplain to the Bishop of London and after four years was made Rector of the Actors’ church in Covent Garden. He has subsequently served as an archdeacon in the Diocese in Europe, Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral and Dean of St John’s College, Cambridge. Mark holds a PhD in English Literature and is an admired author of several books on poetry and spirituality. He is well known as a speaker and preacher and has been awarded both the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing and the Lanfranc award, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, for education and scholarship. Mark has a strong commitment to human rights and has served on the board of Liberty and the Civil Liberties Trust, as well as being awarded one of the first ‘Upstander’ awards for his work with hate crime victims. King’s College London awarded him a Fellowship in recognition of his work and ministry. Mark was installed as the Dean of Southwark in early December 2023.