A 19th Century Gay Pagan: The Spirituality and Life of Edward Carpenter February 19, 2009

One tends to think of the pagan revival as a 20th-century phenomenon, but in fact the 19th century had a handful of dedicated seekers whose spirituality would speak clearly to pagans today. Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) was one of these, and tonight introduces him and his beliefs. He was not only pagan but a radical; a socialist, an anarchist, a vegetarian, and a homosexual who left his privileged background to live with his working-class male lover at the very time of Oscar Wilde's prosecution. He is a forefather to many: gay people, leftist visionaries, anarchists, and -- as Dr Alexander will show in this lecture -- pagans. She will illuminate Carpenter's vision: collective cosmic consciousness; sexual liberation; political commitment to the liberation of the human condition; and metaphysical commitment to seeking union with nature. Carpenter's ideas are relevant to pagans today, perhaps more than ever before. Come see if you agree.

Jenny Alexander is an engaging and provocative lecturer. She wrote her doctoral thesis on nineteenth-century anarchist autobiography, lectured in Gender and Media Studies at the University of Sussex until 2006, and present is an investigative researcher at the Advertising Standards Authority. She has been a practising pagan for ten years. This lecture is presented in honour of LesbianGayBiTrans History Month.

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