Bicentenary celebrations

By Kerry Magruder

2024 was the 200th anniversary of George MacDonald’s birth (1824-1905). Some of the celebrations were:

1. May 29-31, 2024: Wheaton College. “George MacDonald and the Prophetic Imagination.” Sponsored by the George MacDonald Society and the Marion E. Wade Center. Program (PDF).
2. Concert program
3. October 10-12, 2024: Covenant College. “Growing Younger: Literature and Childlike Faith.”
4. November 8-9, 2024: St. Andrews University. “Borderlands: George MacDonald Between Worlds.”
5. December 13-14, 2024: Yale University. “Genius of George MacDonald.” (Schedule; Live-stream). Sponsored by Drexel University and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Concert at Yale University, “The Genius of George MacDonald,” December 2024.

As with the centenary celebration in 1924, these bicentennial events explored MacDonald’s imaginative vision through formal papers and presentations integrated with music, drama, art, and conversation over mealtimes, and even hands-on sessions in archives and historical sites. With eschatological hope and ecumenical hospitality arising from the love of the Father, they were community-forming gatherings more than merely academic conferences. Their ramifications will ripple out over years to come.

Malcolm Guite, then Society President, recorded the following “Spell in the Library” short video capturing some of the remarkable documents from the Beinecke MacDonald Collection at Yale that we all got to examine:

Here’s Malcom’s evening keynote from the second day of the Wheaton gathering:

And just for fun, here’s one of Malcolm’s “Spell in the Library” episodes where he reads from the first chapter of Phantastes. It makes a great companion to his keynote (above).