Malcolm Guite

We are delighted to have celebrated poet Malcolm Guite here to enchant us with the legend of King Arthur, reimagined for a new generation. Blending myth and lyrical mastery, his four-volume series ‘Merlin’s Isle: An Arthuriad’ restores the mystery, depth and theological imagination of the Arthurian tradition. In this event, Guite will introduce the first volume, ‘Galahad and the Grail’ (Canterbury Press, 2026), a richly crafted ballad journey, beautifully illustrated with woodcuts by Stephen Crotts. The event will also offer a special preview of the forthcoming second volume, ‘The Coming of Arthur’ (Canterbury Press, 2026), which returns to Tintagel to explore young Arthur’s beginnings and his royal destiny.

Malcolm Guite is the former Chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge. A performance poet and singer/songwriter, he lectures widely on poetry and theology in Britain and the US and has a large following on his website. In 2023 he was awarded the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship, for his outstanding multifaceted promotion of the Gospels through poetry, public speaking and scholarship. He is the author of ‘Galahad and the Grail’ and ‘The Coming of Arthur’ (Canterbury Press, 2026), volumes I and II in his ‘Merlin's Isle’ series.

Professor Jolyon Mitchell, FRSA, is Principal of St John’s College, Durham and a Professor at Durham University specialising in Religion, Violence and Peacebuilding, with reference to the arts and media. He worked as a Producer and Journalist with BBC World Service and Radio 4 before moving to the University of Edinburgh, where he served as Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues and Academic Director for the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, as well as many chapters and articles, most recently in ‘Picturing Peace: Photography, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding’ (Bloomsbury, 2025).