Spencer Reece visit: Poetry, talks, and a Quiet Day

Fr Spencer Reece, Rector of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wickford, Rhode Island, and an internationally acclaimed poet, is visiting the Parish of Wickford and Runwell. His dream, prayer, and ultimate goal for his time with St. Paul’s Church is to continue the ongoing work of the parish in spreading Jesus’ radical love. “Let kindness be our legacy,” he has said.

To date, in his vist, Spencer has attended the Midweek Eucharist at St Andrew’s Wickford (see https://www.facebook.com/WickfordandRunwellCofE/videos/1515721926738775), spoken in the Bread for the World Service at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London where he shared a reflection on the Road to Emmaus (see https://www.facebook.com/stmartininthefields/videos/1493930282252761), and giving a talk, 'The Broken Altar’, on George Herbert at St Andrew’s Lower Bemerton. This talk was given at the invitation of the George Herbert in Bemerton group (https://www.georgeherbert.org.uk/about/ghb_group.html).

Upcoming events include:

10 April – Unveiled: Poetry Reading, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Wickford. Hear this internationally acclaimed poet read poems from his future collection Farewell Symphony.

11 April – Quiet Day: Poetry & Prayer, 10.30 am - 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell (Fr Spencer will share poems and reflections on George Herbert)

12 April – Eucharist, 9.30 am, St Mary’s Runwell and Eucharist, 11.00 am, St Catherine’s Wickford (Fr Spencer will preach at both of these services); 4.00 pm, Showing of Voices Beyond the Wall, St Andrew’s Wickford (Specer's project teaching poetry to abandoned girls at the Our Little Roses orphanage in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was made into an award-winning film, Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World). 

SPENCER REECE, 36th rector of St. Paul's Wickford, Rhode Island, is a Guggenheim Fellow and Whiting Fellow. Reece’s first book, The Clerk’s Tale, was selected for the Bakeless Prize by Nobel Laureate Louise Glück. Reece was ordained in Madrid, Spain, in 2011. Awarded a Fulbright, he taught poetry at Our Little Roses in San Pedro, Honduras, where he lived with the rescued girls at the home. The work was made into an award-winning film, Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World. The poems by the girls were made into an anthology edited by Reece, entitled Counting Time Like People Count Stars. In 2014 he published The Road to Emmaus which was a longlist nominee for the National Book Award and short-listed for the Griffin Prize. He moved to Madrid and assisted the Episcopal Bishop of Spain for a decade. During this time, he created The Unamuno Author Series, culminating in the first-ever anglophone literary festival in Madrid in 2019. In 2022, he published The Secret Gospel of Mark: A Poet’s Memoir and All The Beauty Still Left: A Poets’ Painted Book of Hours. Acts, a third book of poems, appeared in 2024. At St. Paul’s, he created the 14 Gold Street Author Series. In 2025, he was awarded the John Updike Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters for the “elegant standards” of his contribution to the literary arts. Farewell Symphony his fourth collection of poems will be published in 2028. In 2034, Love IV: Collected Poems is scheduled to appear.

http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/

https://www.stpaulswickford.org/

https://www.spencerreece.org/

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Joseph Archer - There But For The Grace Of God.

Unveiled, Exhibition, Quiet Day and other events

Unveiled is a regular Friday night arts and performance event
at St Andrew’s Church, 7.00 – 9.00 pm
11 London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 0AN

See below and above for our Summer programme
and http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html
for more information

Exhibitions, open mic nights, performances, talks and more!

Unveiled – a wide range of artist and performers from Essex and wider, including Open Mic nights (come and have a go!).

Unveiled – view our hidden painting by acclaimed artist David Folley, plus a range of other exhibitions.

Summer Programme 2026

11 April (7.00 pm) – Poetry reading. Spencer Reece is Rector of St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wickford, Rhode Island. Hear this internationally acclaimed poet read poems from his future collection Farewell Symphony.

24 April (7.00 pm) – Exhibition viewing evening. View our new exhibition ‘Light in the Darkness’ and hear artist Tracey Walker speak about her work.

8 May (7.30 pm) – An Evening with the Brandy Hole Sea Shantymen. An evening of sea shanties. All welcome! Includes an auction of art and music items.

22 May (7.00 pm) – Showing of ‘Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World’. An award-winning film on Fr Spencer Reece’s project teaching poetry to abandoned girls at the Our Little Roses orphanage in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

5 June (7.30 pm) – Open Mic Night organised with John Rogers. Everybody is welcome to come along and play, read, sing or just spectate. See you there for a great evening of live performance!

19 June (7.00 pm) – An evening with the Ladygate Scribblers. Hear poetry and prose from a long-established Wickford-based writers’ group.

3 July (7.30 pm) – Tim Almond in concert. Around the World in 60 minutes... a musical journey meeting people from Ecuador to the Philippines, inspired by three decades work and travel in Africa, Asia and South America.

17 July (7.00 pm) – Art talk: Churches and cultural programming. Jonathan Evens speaks about a range of ways in which churches can engage with culture.

These events do not require tickets (just turn up on the night). There will be a retiring collection to cover artist and church costs. See http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/whats-on.html for fuller information.


Also find above details of the next art exhibition to be held at St Andrew's Church in Wickford. ‘Light in the Darkness’ is an exhibition by Tracey Walker from 8 April – 17 July 2026.

Tracey Walker

From a traditional art background, through a long career in commercial art, Tracey now finds freedom in her artistic practice, allowing her to express her joyful, spiritual creativity.

She loves to explore themes of light, faith and hope in her paintings, using colour, form and texture to evoke emotions and create atmospheres, drawing the onlookers into a bright and beautiful world.

She is passionate about encouraging people to explore their own creativity through a variety of art groups and workshops.

A member of Chelsea Arts Club and Artists at the Meadows, she exhibits and sells her work throughout the UK and internationally.

www.tawalker.com
IG: tawalker_art
FB: Tracey Walker Art

We are also fortunate to have a visit in this period from internationally known and prize-winning poet Spencer Reece. Fr Spencer is Rector of St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wickford, Rhode Island, and an internationally acclaimed poet. His project teaching poetry to abandoned girls at the Our Little Roses orphanage in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was made into an award-winning film, Voices Beyond the Wall: 12 Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World. His dream, prayer, and ultimate goal for his time with St. Paul’s Church is to continue the ongoing work of the parish in spreading Jesus’ radical love. “Let kindness be our legacy,” he has said.

http://wickfordandrunwellparish.org.uk/
https://www.stpaulswickford.org/
https://www.spencerreece.org/

Meet Fr Spencer at:

8 April – Midweek Eucharist, 10.30 am, St Andrew’s Wickford

8 April – Bread for the World Service, 6.30 pm, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London (Fr Spencer will share a reflection on the road to Emmaus)

9 April – ‘The Broken Altar’, a talk on George Herbert, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Lower Bemerton (Fr Spencer is giving this talk at the invitation of the George Herbert in Bemerton group - https://www.georgeherbert.org.uk/about/ghb_group.html)

10 April – Unveiled: Poetry Reading, 7.00 pm, St Andrew’s Wickford

11 April – Quiet Day: Poetry & Prayer, 10.30 am - 3.30 pm, St Mary’s Runwell (Fr Spencer will share poems and reflections on George Herbert)

12 April – Eucharist, 9.30 am, St Mary’s Runwell and Eucharist, 11.00 am, St Catherine’s Wickford (Fr Spencer will preach at both of these services); 4.00 pm, Showing of Voices Beyond the Wall, St Andrew’s Wickford

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Poetry Holds Us Together with Spencer Reece.

Southwark Cathedral - ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon

‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon is being displayed beside the High Altar of Southwark Cathedral for the duration of Lent as both an aid to worship, and to overlap with Women’s History Month in March, in which there will be talks and reflections on the Magdalene.

The painting is on loan from a private collection; but originally formed part of Gollon’s national touring exhibition to English cathedrals ‘Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible’ (2014 – 2016), which travelled to the cathedrals of Guildford, Chichester, Durham, Norwich and Hereford, focusing only on women from the Bible.

Tonight there was the screening of ‘CHRIS GOLLON:Life in Paint’ featuring Thurston Moore, Maggi Hambling, Sara Maitland, Eleanor McEvoy and more. Before the screening Canon Kathryn Fleming and Rev’d Dr Julie Gittoes gave short talks on Gollon’s depiction of women from the Bible as part of Women’s History Month. After the screening Tamsin Pickeral, Mark Calderbank and Wilfred Wright spoke about Gollon and his work.

The documentary ‘CHRIS GOLLON: Life in Paint’, recently premiered at the Barbican Centre and in New York. The film explores the artist’s sensitive portrayal of women, his innovative techniques and his pioneering artistic boundary crossing with leading musicians, beginning with his collaboration with Thurston Moore in ‘ROOT’ at the Chisenhale Gallery, alongside Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Gavin Turk.

In the film, Sara Maitland remarks: “I’m an old-style feminist […] trying to bring that sort of feminism into some sort of relationship with the Gospels, and Chris just does it”. Gollon biographer art historian Tamsin Pickeral notes: “ ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ has an increasing earthiness, seen in her muscly, knotted arms and her workmanlike hands. Clearly this is a woman who has toiled, and yet she is also incredibly beautiful.”

Chris Gollon (1953 -2017) was a London-born artist who exhibited widely in the UK. His work is held in major public collections including the British Museum. Gollon exhibited with Yoko Ono, David Bowie and Gavin Turk in ROOT, an exhibition of contemporary music and art created by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth (Chisenhale Gallery, 1998). Other boundary crossing collaborations included working with Grammy-nominated classical virtuoso, Yi Yao (2014) and with singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy (2015 – 2017). In 2004, Gollon exhibited in St Paul’s Cathedral, with Bill Viola, Maggi Hambling and Tracey Emin in ‘Presence: Images of Christ for the Third Millennium’.

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Eleanor McEvoy - Heaven Help Us.

International Times: 'A Deep Dive' - 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'

My latest review for International Times is on Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere:

'The synopsis of ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’ is essentially to be found in lines from an early Bruce Springsteen song, ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’:

Well, everybody’s got a secret, Sonny
Something that they just can’t face
Some folks spend their whole lives trying to keep it
They carry it with them every step that they take

‘Til someday they just cut it loose
Cut it loose or let it drag ’em down
Where no one asks any questions
Or looks too long in your face
In the darkness on the edge of town
In the darkness on the edge of town

What Springsteen initially can’t face is his troubled relationship with his troubled father. In the film he is told this to his face by his girlfriend Faye (a composite character, rather than an actual person). Eventually, he leaves New Jersey – his hometown, which triggers memories for him all the time he remains there – and through talking therapies gains necessary understanding of his mental health challenges, including greater understanding of and an improved relationship with his father.'

My earlier pieces for IT are: an interview with the artist Alexander de Cadenet; an interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of: 'Great Art Explained' by James Payne; 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend; 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins; 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku; 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley; Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel; T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone; Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition, 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller; 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt, the first Pissabed Prophet album; and 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City.

The most dynamic gift to the church

Here's the sermon I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:

Mike Leigh is the well-known director of films such Secrets and Lies, Mr Turner, Topsy Turvey and Life Is Sweet. Improvisation is a significant part of his directorial methods. He begins a film with an initiating idea, which conjures up a number of possible actors he can cast. With improvisation, casting is obviously critical. Since he doesn’t work with formal scripts, the auditions take the form of an exercise where the actor delivers a caricature of a person they know. This demonstrates their ability to observe real people and convert this knowledge to a performance. Once the cast is established, a list of potential characters is devised, out of which a base character who lies at the core of the drama is established. After this, the actor researches the character and does solo improvisations with the director. This process of solo improvisation and research goes on for weeks and even months before the actor is introduced to another actor who has been cast, and they begin duo impros, discovering who each other is and exploring the dramatic potential of the situation. He shoots two thirds of his film without revealing the ending. Then the crew pauses for a week or so while he does improvs of the final scenes. After that, the end scenes are shot. (http://www.markpoole.com.au/articles/improvisation-the-mike-leigh-method.html)

Improvisation is also what Jesus is talking about in this farewell discourse to his disciples (John 16.5-15). He is going to leave them (as happened at the Ascension) and then he will send the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, the comforter and advocate, to them (as happened on the Day of Pentecost). The Spirit will speak to the disciples whatever he hears from Jesus; both the many things he wanted to say to them but which they could not bear at that time and also the things that are to come. Earlier in his discourse, he also said that the Spirit will teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them. The result will be that they will do greater things than him.

Jesus said many amazing things that people still repeat regardless of whether they follow him or not. But his farewell discourse to his disciples must be among the most amazing because in it Jesus says that those who follow him will do greater things than him and will be led into all truth. When you think how amazing Jesus’ own actions were, it is hard to imagine how people like us could do greater things than that, and, when you think how profound his teaching was, how could we be led into deeper or greater truth than that?

But Jesus was articulating something that all good teachers think and feel; the sense that all the time he had spent with them and invested in them was not so they would be clones of him, simply repeating the things he did and said, but instead that he had equipped, empowered and enabled his followers to follow him by using their own gifts and abilities and initiative which would inevitably mean that they would do and say different things from him but still with his Spirit and based on all they had learnt from him. He was saying that each one of us is a unique combination of personality, abilities and potential and, therefore, each of us can make a unique mark on the world. His followers can do greater things than Jesus because they will do different things from him in his name and Spirit – things that only they can do for him because they are that unique package of personality, ability and potential.

Sam Wells, the Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields has described this in terms of improvisation. He says that we constantly “face new circumstances in each generation that the Bible doesn’t give us a script for.” Instead, the Christian story is like “a five-act play -- creation, Israel, Jesus, church and eschaton. We find ourselves in Act 4, and the most important events have already happened. Our role is to be faithful in Act 4, because God will do the rest in Act 5.” “The most dynamic gift to the church is the Holy Spirit working amongst people who learn to trust one another and see the abundant things that God can do with limited materials. That’s analogous to what happens in theatrical improvisation.”

“Improvisation isn’t about being original, clever, witty or spontaneous. Improvisation is about allowing yourself to be obvious.” It’s about being so soaked in a tradition that you learn to take the right things for granted or as Jesus put it the Spirit will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus said so that we intuitively do those things on an improvisational basis. People who train in improvisation train in a tradition. The Spirit comes to remind Christians of the Christian tradition by reminding us of all that Jesus did and said, so we embody it in our lives. In this way we can do greater things than Jesus because we will do different things from him, but in his name and Spirit.

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Martin Joseph - This Light Of Ours.

Seen and Unseen: Heading Home: a pilgrimage that breaks out beauty along the way

My latest article for Seen and Unseen is entitled 'Heading Home: a pilgrimage that breaks out beauty along the way'. The article focuses on a film called 'Heading Home' which explores how we can learn a new language together as we travel:

'The aim of all these initiatives is, as Ahmanson explains, what has always been the aim; “to serve this world to make it more like the heavenly home” where our ultimate citizenship lies, and to do so by “creating beauty in buildings and art and music and serving the suffering and those in all kinds of need”. The aim of all these initiatives is, as Ahmanson explains, what has always been the aim; “to serve this world to make it more like the heavenly home” where our ultimate citizenship lies, and to do so by “creating beauty in buildings and art and music and serving the suffering and those in all kinds of need”.'

For more on 'Heading Home', see my interview for ArtWay with Roberta Ahmanson, Siobhán Jolley and Ben Quash.

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

My 14th article was entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explored why society, and churches, need the Arts.

My 15th article was entitled 'The collective effervescence of sport's congregation' and explored some of the ways in which sport and religion have been intimately entwined throughout history

My 16th article was entitled 'Paradise cottage: Milton reimagin’d' and reviewed the ways in which artist Richard Kenton Webb is conversing with the blind poet in his former home (Milton's Cottage, Chalfont St Giles).

My 17th article was entitled 'Controversial art: how can the critic love their neighbour?'. It makes suggestions of what to do when confronted with contentious culture.

My 18th article was an interview entitled 'Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions'. In the interview the digital artist talks about the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

My 19th article was entitled 'Dark, sweet and subtle: recovered music orientates us'. In the article I highlight alt-folk music seeking inspiration from forgotten hymns.

My 20th article was entitled 'Revisiting Amazing Grace inspires new songs'. In the article I highlight folk musicians capturing both the barbaric and the beautiful in the hymn Amazing Grace and Christianity's entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade more generally.

My 21st article was entitled 'James MacMillan’s music of tranquility and discord'. In the article I noted that the composer’s music contends both the secular and sacred.

My 22nd article was a book review on Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch. 'Nobody's Empire: A Novel is the fictionalised account of how ... Murdoch, lead singer of indie band Belle and Sebastian, transfigured his experience of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) through faith and music.'

My 23rd article was entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion'. The article explores how popular music conjures sacred space.

My 24th article was an interview with Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention which explores why the overlooked and everyday capture the creative gaze.

My 25th article was about Stanley Spencer’s seen and unseen world and the artist’s child-like sense of wonder as he saw heaven everywhere.

My 26th article was entitled 'The biblical undercurrent that the Bob Dylan biopics missed' and in it I argue that the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey.

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Josh Garells - Farther Along.

Seen and Unseen: The journey Bob Dylan biopics fail to capture

My latest article for Seen and Unseen is entitled 'The journey Bob Dylan biopics fail to capture'. In it I argue that the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey:

"Throughout Dylan’s career, he writes songs about people travelling through life in the face of apocalyptic storms seeking some form of relief or salvation or entry to heaven. So, what we have in the best of Dylan’s work is a contemporary Pilgrim, Dante or Rimbaud on a compassionate journey, undertaken in the eye of the Apocalypse, to stand with the damned at the heart of the darkness that is twentieth century (and then twenty-first century) culture.”

For more on Bob Dylan see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. See also my co-authored book The Secret Chord which has been described as an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. For more of my writings on music click here.

My first article for Seen and Unseen was 'Life is more important than art' which reviews the themes of recent art exhibitions that tackle life’s big questions and the roles creators take.

My second article 'Corinne Bailey Rae’s energised and anguished creative journey' explores inspirations in Detroit, Leeds and Ethiopia for Corinne Bailey Rae’s latest album, Black Rainbows, which is an atlas of capacious faith.

My third article was an interview with musician and priest Rev Simpkins in which we discussed how music is an expression of humanity and his faith.

My fourth article was a guide to the Christmas season’s art, past and present. Traditionally at this time of year “great art comes tumbling through your letterbox” so, in this article, I explore the historic and contemporary art of Christmas.

My fifth article was 'Finding the human amid the wreckage of migration'. In this article I interviewed Shezad Dawood about his multimedia Leviathan exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral where personal objects recovered from ocean depths tell a story of modern and ancient migrations.

My sixth article was 'The visionary artists finding heaven down here' in which I explored a tradition of visionary artists whose works shed light on the material and spiritual worlds.

My seventh article was 'How the incomer’s eye sees identity' in which I explain how curating an exhibition for Ben Uri Online gave me the chance to highlight synergies between ancient texts and current issues.

My eighth article was 'Infernal rebellion and the questions it asks' in which I interview the author Nicholas Papadopulos about his book The Infernal Word: Notes from a Rebel Angel.

My ninth article was 'A day, night and dawn with Nick Cave’s lyrics' in which I review Adam Steiner’s Darker With The Dawn — Nick Cave’s Songs Of Love And Death and explore whether Steiner's rappel into Cave’s art helps us understand its purpose.

My 10th article was 'Theresa Lola's poetical hope' about the death-haunted yet lyrical, joyful and moving poet for a new generation.

My 11th article was 'How to look at our world: Aaron Rosen interview', exploring themes from Rosen's book 'What Would Jesus See: Ways of Looking at a Disorienting World'.

My 12th article was 'Blake, imagination and the insight of God', exploring a new exhibition - 'William Blake's Universe at the Fitzwilliam Museum - which focuses on seekers of spiritual regeneration and national revival.

My 13th article 'Matthew Krishanu: painting childhood' was an interview with Matthew Krishanu on his exhibition 'The Bough Breaks' at Camden Art Centre.

My 14th article was entitled 'Art makes life worth living' and explored why society, and churches, need the Arts.

My 15th article was entitled 'The collective effervescence of sport's congregation' and explored some of the ways in which sport and religion have been intimately entwined throughout history

My 16th article was entitled 'Paradise cottage: Milton reimagin’d' and reviewed the ways in which artist Richard Kenton Webb is conversing with the blind poet in his former home (Milton's Cottage, Chalfont St Giles).

My 17th article was entitled 'Controversial art: how can the critic love their neighbour?'. It makes suggestions of what to do when confronted with contentious culture.

My 18th article was an interview entitled 'Art, AI and apocalypse: Michael Takeo Magruder addresses our fears and questions'. In the interview the digital artist talks about the possibilities and challenges of artificial intelligence.

My 19th article was entitled 'Dark, sweet and subtle: recovered music orientates us'. In the article I highlight alt-folk music seeking inspiration from forgotten hymns.

My 20th article was entitled 'Revisiting Amazing Grace inspires new songs'. In the article I highlight folk musicians capturing both the barbaric and the beautiful in the hymn Amazing Grace and Christianity's entanglement with the transatlantic slave trade more generally.

My 21st article was entitled 'James MacMillan’s music of tranquility and discord'. In the article I noted that the composer’s music contends both the secular and sacred.

My 22nd article was a book review on Nobody's Empire by Stuart Murdoch. 'Nobody's Empire: A Novel is the fictionalised account of how ... Murdoch, lead singer of indie band Belle and Sebastian, transfigured his experience of Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) through faith and music.'

My 23rd article was entitled 'Rock ‘n’ roll’s long dance with religion'. The article explores how popular music conjures sacred space.

My 24th article was an interview with Alastair Gordon on the artist’s attention which explores why the overlooked and everyday capture the creative gaze.

My 25th article was about Stanley Spencer’s seen and unseen world and the artist’s child-like sense of wonder as he saw heaven everywhere

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Bob Dylan - Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall.