MATTHEW JOEL VANDERKWAAK

FYP Night Event

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Tiny Churches

Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Stargazing Concert with hot chocolate

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Saturday morning at the coffee shop.

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This guy!

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Also this guy!

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Another day, another ten cents.

Rhyme & Reasons: Humanities for Young People, 2026

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A week-long humanities camp for teens at University of King's College on the theme of Philosophy and Poetry.

Halifax House Show

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Victoria Concert

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

POEM: Skin of the Evening

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A poem published in the underground poetry publication, Open Heart Forgery.

Abbotsford Concert

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Langley House Show

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Winnipeg Concert

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I just tried watching the David Lynch movie, Eraserhead, for the first time, and during the scene when their “baby” is crying, my actual baby woke up and started crying, and it was all a little bit too much.

Sun, 17 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This new version of the website is actually coming together! I’m so pleased! Next steps: 1) fix/readjust the projects grid, 2) fill this thing full of new materials.

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Is there anything you do with music today that approximates the experience of discovery/joy that was buying CDs in actual CD stores back in the 00s?

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s so wonderful to hear Where-Love-Goes in my brother’s latest film! (Wait for it at the 12:18 mark.)

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Don’t recede. Re-seed.

PERFORMANCE: The Lost Books of Augustine's Confessions

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The world's first musical interpretation of the last four books of Augustine's Confessions.

ESSAY: Hope without Optimism: The Atlantic Canadian Realists

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An essay on the spiritual methods of artists Alex Coville, Mary Pratt, and Tom Forrestall. This piece was included in the anthology of local writing *Each Life a Poem* which celebrates 20 years of Halifax Humanities.

ESSAY: Music That Belongs Where You Are

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An essay on the art of listening to local music published on the newsletter, New Bands for Old Heads.

SINGLE: Where Love Goes

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A song that came about after Amy and I celebrated the 10th anniversary of our wedding.

Release Party

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Nocturne Art at Night

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

FYP Night Event

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

LECTURE: Christian Origins

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A recording of a lecture I gave in Foundation Year Program about the emergence of the Christian faith in the Roman Empire.

The Way of Wisdom: Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A weekend lecture retreat on Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy at Manitoba Pioneer Camp.

POEM: Gus (2013–2020)

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A poem published in the underground poetry publication, *Open Heart Forgery*.

ARTICLE: On the Chance Encounters That Form Our Musical Tastes

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A reflection on Foxwarren's 2025 album, *2*.

ESSAY: The Apostle Paul and the Apocalyptic Hope of the Cosmic Christ

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An essay on the cosmic dimensions of the Gospel in the Pauline epistles presented at the Atlantic Theological Conference.

Father's Day BBQ

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

SINGLE: It's So Easy to Love You

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A song about being a dad.

City Kid Song Circle Showcase

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

ESSAY: The Death and Resurrection of the Biopic: Bob Dylan, Robbie Williams, and Divine Inspiration

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I almost walked out of the Bob Dylan biopic. The depiction of Dylan in the film felt so alien to my own experiences making art and music. I found it a puzzling and disturbing experience. Then a week or so later I went and saw the Robbie Williams chimp movie and it supplied everything I was left wanting.

This essay tells the story of the experience while meditating on divine inspiration in the arts.

POEMS: Three Poems

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Some poems published in the Nova Scotian online lit journal, *The South Shore Review*.

BOUND: The Live Book Making Performance

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We made hand-bound books of original poetry live for 6 hours as part of the art festival, Nocturne

LECTURE: Plotinus and the Neoplatonic Tradition

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A recording of a lecture for Foundation Year Program on one of my favourite philosophers.

SINGLE: Water in my Mind / The Grey Line

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Two bits of Canadiana. A song about the Bay of Fundy and another about Canada’s long-lost Greyhound bus lines.

City Kid Songwriter's Showcase

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

POEM: Leendert Vanderkwaak (1931–2020)

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A poem about my late grandfather, published in the underground poetry publication, *Open Heart Forgery*.

DISSERTATION: Noble Soul and the Metaphysics of Celestial Life

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

My PhD dissertation on the concept of celestial animation in 13th-century Latin commentaries on the *Book of Causes*.

POEM: The Well

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A poem published in the online lit journal, *Ekstasis*.

POEM: A Dried Up Worm

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A poem published in the underground poetry publication, *Open Heart Forgery*.

BOOK REVIEW: World Soul: A History

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

My review of a really dynamic and diverse collection of essays on the concept of World Soul.

ARTICLE: The Necessity of Platonism for (Insert Here)

Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A reflection on a talk by Andrew Louth for FYP News

BOOK REVIEW: World Soul – Anima Mundi

Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

My review of the first edited volume of essays dedicated to the concept of World Soul.

ESSAY: A Shrine for the Everlasting Gods: Matter and the Gods in Proclus

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A meditation on the theology of matter in the thought of Proclus.

MASTER'S THESIS: Matter and the One in Proclus

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A Master's thesis on the metaphysics of matter in the thought of the late-ancient Greek philosopher, Proclus.

LECTURE: Sacred Geometry: St. George’s Round Church, 1800–1827

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

On the theology of the circular architecture of the oldest wooden round church in North America.

ESSAY: Dike, Daughter of Zeus: Divine Civics in Hesiod’s Works and Days

Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

An essay on the theology of Justice in the poetry of Hesiod.

ALBUM: On Seeing

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A seven-song album released in 2011.

EP: The Rocky Mountains EP

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

A six-track EP of post-rock (mostly) instrumental music.

SINGLE: Calgary, Please

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Two songs recorded with the 2009-10 Matthew Joel Band lineup. What a special time.

ALBUM: The Axe and the Evergreen (in the Key of Grey)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

My first album. I was 19 years old, the summer between my first two years of college. It is very "bedroom."

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This website is an archive of my work and process.

I’m looking for the threads that bind ordinary life to its larger mysteries. I want to know about local traditions, the spirit of human-made art, and the structure of divine inspiration.

For a more immediate connection to my work, be sure to get on the email list here.

I spend my time

making music and performing under the name Matthew Joel,
writing and publishing poetry and essays on the internet and in print,
lecturing and researching in the history of philosophy (mostly the Platonic tradition),
and teaching in Foundation Year Program at University of King’s College.

For concert bookings, speaking engagements, collaborations, or other inquiries, send me an email.

Projects

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000