Contemplative Practice Webinar with Professor Richard Chess: “By Heart: A Way of Knowing for This Time”

Richard Chess, UNC Asheville Roy Carroll Distinguished Professor of English, under the auspices of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, will present this webinar from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. This online event is free; a $10 donation to the center is suggested.

Click here to register.

Chess provides this description:

In his poem “By Heart,” John Hollander writes that the poems we know by heart “remain/Lodged with us, useful, sometimes, for the work/Of getting a grip on certain fragile things.” We are, at this very moment, in the heart of our vulnerability, our fragility. Can we lodge something within our hearts to steady us, strengthen us, maybe even bring us a little happiness, maybe even a moment of joy?

In this webinar, we’ll explore the practice of coming to know something “by heart”. Together, we’ll bring a poem into our hearts. In this time of necessary social distancing, we’ll see what happens when we experience the intimacy of getting close to a few words.

A confession: I have a terrible memory. So, for much of my life I’ve avoided the unpleasant feelings that arise at the thought of memorizing poems by not even attempting to memorize any! A terrible thing for a poet and English professor to admit! (To be honest, I actually do have a few poems by heart.) But in a class I’m teaching this semester, I offered a memorization practice that my students and I both participated in and the results were deep and illuminating. So, I invite you to join me for “By Heart: A Way of Knowing for This Time.”