Welcome to the Power of the Word Project
Welcome to the website of the Power of the Word Project. The idea of the Power of the Word Project took shape in late 2010 as an initiative to stimulate genuinely interdisciplinary work on 'the Word' in various fields: in the arts, scripture, philosophy and traditions of religious faith and practice. The aim has always been to foster conversations between creative writers, scholars, students and other interested readers in literature, philosophy, theology, biblical studies, ethics and related areas.
Browse through our website to learn about our many conferences, presentations and publications. If you like what you find here please consider joining us - there is no charge to be added to our mailing list, and you'll become part of a wide ranging group of over 500 scholars, writers and artists who all acknowledge the immense power of the word and who wish to explore its many and varied aspects.
Like a Thorn in the Heart: Literature, Theology and Education
“Literature is like a thorn in the heart; it moves us to contemplation and sets us on a journey.”
(Pope Francis, "The Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination").
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Our next Power of the Word Project event will be on Saturday 12th April 2025, in collaboration with the Heythrop Institute at the London Jesuit Centre.
The Power of the Word: bringing together scholars in literature, philosophy, theology, ethics and religion in conversation with each other and with creative writers and their works.
“If by means of words the secrets of the heart are brought to light, pain of soul is relieved, hidden grief is carried off, sympathy conveyed, counsel imparted, experience recorded, and wisdom perpetuated,—if by great authors the many are drawn up into unity, national character is fixed, a people speaks, the past and the future, the East and the West are brought into communication with each other,—if such men are, in a word, the spokesmen and prophets of the human family,—it will not answer to make light of Literature or to neglect its study.”
John Henry Newman