Commonweal Conversations

“Literature Is Not About You”

Pope Leo connects the practice of serious reading to the “culture of encounter.” Jonathan Haidt, calls Instagram an “experience blocker,” and has identified the loss of immersive reading as a problem as severe as teen depression. Calvert posits that novels make us more empathetic or “democratic.” But, practical commitments to reading novels are increasingly uncommon in our age of streaming and short-form content. Why do you read? Why do you read? Join the conversation!

Commonweal Conversations is a program promoting thoughtful, expansive, intelligent dialogue on issues that matter – whether political, theological, cultural, or artistic.  We encourage all participants to offer their opinions respectfully while also generously considering opinions that do not match their own.

This program will be presented via Zoom only.  Click here to register online to receive the Zoom information and pre-reading articles necessary to participate.