Revealing Reality: A Vertical Reading of Dante with Dr Mark Vernon

5th, 12th, 19th March 2024
18.00 – 19.15 (London time)

What does the Divine Comedy unfold about the nature of time, of divine light, of human suffering, of language?

Part of the genius of Dante’s masterpiece is that it can be read “vertically”. This approach examines corresponding sections in the three canticles of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, to see how Dante and those he encounters along the way experience reality in different ways. Dante, thereby, explores perceptions of different aspects of existence visually, relationally and symbolically.

In these three evenings, we will use this vertical approach to ask how Dante’s journey might transform our vision. It is aimed at new and seasoned readers of Dante alike.

Dr Mark Vernon is a writer and psychotherapist. He contributes to and presents programmes on the radio, as well as writing for the national and religious press, and online publications. He also podcasts, in particular, ‘The Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues’ with Rupert Sheldrake. He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and degrees in physics and in theology, having studied at Durham, Oxford and Warwick universities.

He is the author of several books, including A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness, which in part explores the work of Owen Barfield, and Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey. Mark used to be an Anglican priest and lives in London, UK. His latest book is Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps.

For more information see www.markvernon.com.

This is a 3-session weekly online course (on Zoom)