The 2011 meeting of the Owen Barfield Society will take place on Thursday, the 6th of October, from noon to 1:00 p.m. at the Chaparral Suites Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In this meeting Karen Bailey will present some of Owen Barfield’s poems in eurythmy and will give a brief introduction to this art form, inaugurated one hundred years ago by Rudolf Steiner. The presentation will provide significant insight into Barfield’s concept of “poetic diction” and also into his artistry, as he composed most of his poems with eurythmy in mind.
The meeting also will include discussion of Barfield’s This Ever Diverse Pair. Praised by Walter de la Mare for “its novelty and richness, its humour (sweet and ‘dry’), its imaginativeness, the poise of its gravity,” This Ever Diverse Pair is a brilliant exploration of the modern soul’s experience of the mystery of polarity. It also is a profound meditation on the personal meaning of justice, an aspect which Frederick Dennehy brings out in his thoughtful introduction to the 2010 edition of the book.
All members of the Owen Barfield Society are warmly invited to attend this meeting. Further information concerning its location is given on the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association’s Web site, http://rmmla.wsu.edu. Copies of This Ever Diverse Pair can be purchased from Barnes&Noble, Amazon, Abe Books, and other online vendors. For Barfield’s poems, see A Barfield Sampler, edited by Jeanne Hunter and Thomas Kranidas (SUNY Press, 1993).
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The Owen Barfield Award for Excellence. The Owen Barfield Literary Estate has selected the distinguished poet and essayist William C. Johnson as the 2011 recipient of the Owen Barfield Award for Excellence. Past Poet Laureate of the State of Idaho, Mr. Johnson has published three volumes of poetry as well as numerous poems in poetry journals, and he also is the author of the critical study What Thoreau Said: Walden and the Unsayable (1991) and many essays and reviews. His most recent book is A River Without Banks: Place and Belonging in the Inland Northwest, published in 2010 by Oregon University Press. Like Mr. Johnson’s previous writings, A River Without Banks is beautifully written and thoroughly informed by his in-depth study of Owen Barfield’s thought. He is Professor Emeritus of English at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho and a founding member of the Owen Barfield Society.
The Owen Barfield Award for Excellence was established in 2010 by the Owen Barfield Literary Estate as an annual recognition of outstanding contributions to furthering the understanding of Owen Barfield’s work. The 2010 recipient was Professor Fanfan Chen of the Department of English at National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan.
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Recent publications by the Owen Barfield Literary Estate. The Barfield Press UK of Oxford, England, publishing arm of the Owen Barfield Literary Estate, continues to bring out new editions of Owen Barfield’s books at an impressive rate. So far in 2011 Barfield Press UK has issued three books: Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis, Saving the Appearances, and Speaker’s Meaning.
These three books bring the total publications by Barfield Press UK to 11: Eager Spring, Night Operation, and The Rose on the Ash-Heap (all issued in 2009), and five books issued in 2010 – Poetic Diction, This Ever Diverse Pair, Unancestral Voice, Worlds Apart, and The Case for Anthroposophy by Rudolf Steiner, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Owen Barfield.
Each of the books published by Barfield Press UK is carefully edited, with the result that errors which had crept into previous editions are corrected. In this significant respect, the Barfield Press UK editions can be considered definitive. In addition, several volumes contain new material, such as editorial notes and introductions specially written for these editions. Each has eminently readable new typography, and new cover art designed to be both attractive and congruent with that book’s content and tone.
All of the Barfield Press UK’s publications can be purchased from Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com, AbeBooks.com, and other online vendors.
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Of special interest: the 2010 issue of Seven. The 2010 issue of the journal Seven contains pieces of special interest to students of Owen Barfield’s life and work.
The first of these is “In Search of Lucy: The Life of Lucy Barfield”, an article by Owen A. and Adelene Barfield. Their loving reminiscence is accompanied by some of Lucy’s own writings and a family photo taken when she was a child.
The issue also includes two poems by Barfield, “Rust” and “She”, together with a thoughtful introductory essay by Brett Foster, a faculty member at Wheaton College, Illinois. “She” has never before been published. This is the second publication of “Rust”, which previously appeared in A Barfield Sampler, edited by Jeanne Hunter and Thomas Kranidas (SUNY Press, 1993).
Recent reprints of eight books by Owen Barfield are appreciatively reviewed by Philip Christensen of SUNY at Suffolk Community College, New York.
Copies of the 2010 issue of Seven can be obtained by writing to the journal’s publisher, the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 60187-5593.
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First-time ever publication of “Death” by Owen Barfield. The 2008 issue of Seven, the literary review published by Wheaton College’s Marion E. Wade Center, includes Owen Barfield’s essay “Death”, expertly annotated by Amy Vail and with two thoughtful introductions, one by Christopher Mitchell and the other by Jane Hipolito. Written in 1930, “Death” has never until now been published. Its publication is a major event, not only for students of Owen Barfield’s life and work but indeed for all those who are interested in the Inklings circle and the questions that the members of that circle explored. The questions which Barfield’s essay centers on are “life and death” in the profoundest sense: What is the nature of death? What is the nature of immortality? What does “dying into life” involve? The 2008 issue of Seven can be purchased from The Marion E. Wade Center.
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C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections: Laurence Harwood announces the December, 2007 publication of his book, C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections Mr. Harwood writes, “I have written a book of memories of C. S. Lewis, who was my godfather; it is based on regular correspondence he wrote to me and my parents and others. Owen Barfield features a great deal in the book; he was a lifelong friend of my father (Cecil Harwood) and I knew him well myself; he was my older brother’s godfather.” C. S. Lewis, My Godfather has been published by InterVarsity Press of Downers Grove, Illinois, and is available for purchase directly from the publisher as well as from online book sellers.
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In Geardagum: Peter J. Fields, the editor of the journal In Geardagum: Essays on Old and Middle English, invites contributions that employ a Barfieldian approach to medieval subjects. Articles should be jargon-free and keyed to a discussion of a specific passage or passages in a medieval document (i.e., a document in Old English, Middle English, Old French, and so forth), or related analogue in another language (e.g., Latin, Icelandic, etc.). In Geardagum was founded in the 1970s under the auspices of the Society for New Language Study, an organization formed by the late Raymond L. Tripp, with William Johnson; Tripp and Johnson also have contributed substantially to Barfield studies. Over the years, the leadership of the organization has continued to include Barfieldians, and indeed Peter Fields now serves as its secretary. In Geardagum is fully represented in the MLA database. Send submissions by attachment to peter.fields@mwsu.edu.
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Documentary film about Owen Barfield now available online. David Lavery announces that the award-winning documentary film Owen Barfield: Man and Meaning can now be streamed online. For information see http://thelaverytory.blogspot.com.
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