The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness: John the Baptist, an Imaginative Exploration

"[T]he life and work of the Forerunner, especially as presented in the gospel of John, greatly illuminates the poetic character of Christian life—indeed of all life"

- Dwight Lindley, "The Poetics of John the Baptist"

 

Risking Enchantment is back for 2025 and for our first episode of the year we’re taking a look at St. John the Baptist. We discuss a fictionalised depiction of his imprisonment by Henriette Brey, a 20th-century Catholic writer, as well at looking at how this foremost of saints is represented in art and how his very life and divine mission gives us a lens to understand art from a Christian perspective.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson

Important Links:

• The new Risking Enchantment Substack account: https://riskingenchantment.substack.com/

  Sign up as a paid subscriber in order to receive our monthly newsletter of recommendations.

   

• The video of the conference panel featuring my talk: “The Ends of the Affairs: Medieval Ideals, Modern Trysts, and the Offering of Redemption in the Works of Graham Greene and T. H. White”

  FC24: A Hint of an Explanation – Graham Greene

• The chapter discussed in this episode: “Out of the Depths” When The Soul Is In Darkness: A Book For Those That Labor And Are Burdened by Henriette Brey

 

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Works Mentioned

 

“Out of the Depths” When The Soul Is In Darkness: A Book For Those That Labor And Are Burdened by Henriette Brey

 

“The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot

 

“The Poetics of John the Baptist”, by Dwight Lindley - Dappled Things

 

L’Apparition by Gustave Moreau

 

Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grunewald

 

John the Baptist by Donatello (V&A Hall of Casts)

 

Saint John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci

 

Bacchus by Leonardo da Vinci

 

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

 

Phoebe: Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

  12 Angry Men

 

Rachel: When Harry Met Sally

  Word on Fire Bible Series