Preface

There is a long-standing tradition of disputation concerning the nature and significance of literary art (as well as of the other fine arts). Perhaps because our daily lives are suffused with language used for practical purposes we find it necessary to remind ourselves of the power inherent in language to bring us into contact with qualities that transcend the world of practical affairs. And perhaps because we know that language can be used to deceive we find it prudent to exercise caution when invited to submit ourselves to the rapture of aesthetic experience. Plato in The Republic found it necessary to build upon what he has Socrates call the ancient quarrel between poetry and philosophy in order to open up space within a culture dominated by epic and tragic poetry for the dialectical use of language in philosophy, although Socrates includes a plea or challenge for the defense of poetry while conducting a critique of the limitations and dangers of poetic language. Aristotle in his Poetics clearly seems to be responding to this challenge, arguing (among other things) that poetry is "more universal" than history. The Greek word used by Aristotle when making this claim is the very word from which the English term "catholic" in the sense of "universal" is derived. The Catholic intellectual tradition retains this respect for the power of language to convey a larger universe of meaning within which our lives unfold, and then vastly expands this understanding of the power of the word by contemplating as well the incarnational mystery of language: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Readers will recognize that the name of this journal points to the complex interaction of faith and reason to be found in such a view of human language.

An eloquent reaffirmation of this Catholic trust in the power of language and the power of art is provided by John Paul II in the 1999 "Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists." The letter, in spite of its brevity, sketches both a theoretical defense of the power of art to serve the Church as well as a historical overview of the varying relationship between art and faith in different periods of history from ancient to contemporary. Although the work of Hans Urs von Balthasar in The Glory of the Lord is not directly cited in the letter, the letter's claim that "[t]he theme of beauty is decisive for a discourse on art" and the letter's condensed reflections on "[t]he link between good and beautiful" bring to mind the deep explorations of such concepts provided by von Balthasar. The letter moves stirringly toward both a meaningful reaffirmation--"the Church needs art"--and a question anticipated by the letter to be viewed by some as a "provocation"--"But can it also be said that art needs the Church?" This letter is yet another contribution by John Paul II to a contemporary reengagement between faith and culture.

Readers might also recall in this context the arguments of Dietrich von Hildebrand in his article "Beauty in the Light of the Redemption" reprinted in the previous issue of this journal (Volume 4:2). Von Hildebrand in that article explores the lines of connection that enable a person of faith "to seek and find in all the sublime beauty of the visible and audible world the Countenance and the Voice of the God-Man, Christ." Surely for a Christian no stronger reaffirmation of the significance of art can be imagined.

The dispute concerning the value and significance of art provides a paradigm for the broader questions concerning the relationship between faith and culture, and this is the territory explored in a variety of ways by the articles in this issue of Logos. What is the relationship between poetry and transcendence, as explored in the poetry and reflections of poet and Catholic convert Denise Levertov? In what ways...