Poet and critic James Matthew Wilson will lecture on his work as a poet, critic, and professor this week as part of the Visiting Writers program, hosted by the English department and the Collegiate Scholars Program.

The idea to bring Wilson to campus began when Eric Hutchinson, professor of classics and chairman of CSP, ran into Dutton Kearney, associate professor of English and head of the Visiting Writers program, in the parking lot after commencement last May.

“I had been thinking of having James Wilson on campus for some time,” Hutchinson said. “Dr. Kearney mentioned during a discussion that he needed a visiting writer. During the conversation, one of us said our programs should combine.”

Wilson will give an introduction to the poet Richard Wilbur at 4 p.m. in the Heritage Room Oct. 10, followed by a lecture titled “On the Nature and Ends of Poetry: Making, Memory, Metaphor, and Meter” at 8 p.m. in the Hoynak Room.

Kearney said he is familiar with Wilson’s work and lectures on formal poetry.

“In the age of slam poetry and poor free verse, Wilson has been the main voice saying that we need to return to form,” Kearney said. “He really emphasizes working with the tradition rather than against it.”

Wilson is the author of several books of poetry and scholarship, including “The Fortunes of Poetry in an Age of Unmaking” and “Praying the Nicene Creed,” both of which gained national recognition. Wilson, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has also published countless scholarly articles that seek to furnish a holistic account of the influence of classical, scholastic, and neo-scholastic thought on modern Irish, British, and American literature, according to his website.

“As a critic, I get to spend a good deal of time showing up the failures of contemporary poets,” Wilson said. “It should be the case, and it is the case, that one can only really make a negative judgment in light of an understanding of what the actual good to be realized is.”

Wilson is also the the Cullen Foundation Chair in English Literature and the founding director of the MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas. He is also the editor of Colosseum books, a series of religious poetry, and poetry editor at Modern Age magazine.

Kearney and Hutchinson said they think many students would be interested in Wilson’s view on modern creative writing and its relationship to the classics and traditional Christianity.

“One of our goals this year is to involve more people,” Hutchinson said. “We know James’ message resonates with many students around campus. We want them to participate and be inspired.”