Author, professor, and spiritual director Doug Thorpe will make a two-day visit to Gustavus Adolphus College Sept. 18-19. Thorpe will make a public presentation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 in the Heritage Banquet Room, located in the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center. Thorpe will also give the homily during the daily worship service at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19 in Christ Chapel.
Thorpe is known for exploring the intersections of literature and the arts, the environment, and spirituality. His visit will foster discussion about how our encounters with wilderness and “the wild” can tap into human yearnings for depth and truth. Weaving together stories of mountain hikes and wilderness camping trips with his family, the noisy ups and downs of a remodeling project in his Seattle home, rich conversations with students, and reflections on painting and classic literature, Thorpe explores how care for the earth can be a matter of spirituality and authenticity.
He is professor of English at Seattle Pacific University and the author of the award-winning book Rapture of the Deep: Reflections on the Wild in Art, Wilderness, and the Sacred. The book won the David Family Environmental Book Award, sponsored by Larry David, creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Laurie David, co-producer of An Inconvenient Truth.
In addition to being a literary scholar of William Blake, the Romantics, and European classics, Thorpe is currently head of the Faith Formation team at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Wash.
Thorpe’s visit, which also includes visits to classes and meals with students and faculty, is being co-sponsored by the Center for Vocational Reflection and the Johnson Center for Environmental Innovation.
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