The World in Miniature: Pattern and the Medieval Lyric Self

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

What does it mean to write a medieval poem today? Is such a thing even thinkable? Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Carl Phillips presents an illuminating exploration of medieval poetic traditions and their enduring influence on contemporary verse. Known for his masterful examination of classical forms and timeless themes, Phillips will reflect on the connections between medieval literary techniques and modern poetic expression.

This distinguished lecture offers a rare opportunity to hear one of America’s most celebrated poets discuss how medieval approaches to prosody, imagery and form continue to shape and enrich poetry today. Join us for an evening of insight into the craft of poetry across centuries.

This lecture is supported by the Medieval Academy of America’s Centennial Grants Program, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the University of Houston’s Center for Public History, Department of African American Studies, Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies Program, and Department of English.

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About the Speaker

Carl Phillips is the author of 17 books of poetry, most recently Scattered Snows, to the North (2024) and Then the War: And Selected Poems 2007-2020, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. His other honors include the 2021 Jackson Prize, the Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry, the Kingsley Tufts Award, a Lambda Literary Award, the PEN/USA Award for Poetry, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Library of Congress, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Academy of American Poets.

Phillips has also written three prose books, most recently My Trade is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing (Yale University Press, 2022); and he has translated the Philoctetes of Sophocles (Oxford University Press, 2004).

He lives on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts.