Thursday, November 19, 2026
8-9 pm ET / 5-6 pm PT
Free registration required
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What does poetry offer the Catholic imagination, and what does the Catholic imagination offer poetry? Join the Jesuit Media Lab for a curated conversation celebrating the publication of Billy Critchley Menor SJ’s debut poetry collection, “As It Is: Poems.”
Hosted by Marissa Papula and featuring Billy Critchley Menor SJ, along with Andrew Calis, editor-in-chief of Dappled Things, and Zach Czaia, publisher of One Subject Press, we’ll explore how faith informs the attention, expression and creative act of poetry, enjoy selections from “As It Is,” and consider how the Holy Spirit speaks to and through us when we pause at the crossroads of poetry and the Catholic imagination.
Poets, poetry-appreciators and those curious about the creative pulse of the sacramental imagination are welcome.
This conversation will be accompanied by a poetry contest. Winners will receive a copy of “As It Is,” along with other poetry books from Jesuit Media Lab contributors, and enjoy the publication of their prize poems on the Jesuit Media Lab site. Learn more here.
In addition to being publisher and editor of One Subject Press, Zach Czaia is a poet and high school English teacher living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He has published two full-length collections of poetry, “Saint Paul Lives Here (In Minnesota)” and “Knucklehead,” as well as a collection of essays, “Good Teaching: A Provocation.”
Billy Critchley-Menor, SJ, is a Jesuit currently studying at Boston College. He writes on Substack at fromeveryside.substack.com and is originally from Duluth, Minnesota.
Marissa Papula is a writer, spiritual director, and retreat facilitator whose work has appeared in America, The Christian Century, the Jesuit Media Lab, Bearings Online, and more. After more than a decade accompanying students and advancing mission in Jesuit higher education, she serves as the Director of Development for Discerning Deacons.
Andrew Calis is a Palestinian-American poet and essayist. He has published in the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, The Atlantic, America, Dappled Things and elsewhere. He is a teacher and lives with his family near Baltimore.
