“Why don’t we ever do anything with final books of Augustine’s Confessions”, I complained to Neil Robertson, director of [[foundation-year-program|Foundation Year Program]], in the Spring of 2024. “Why don’t we do an extra lecture on them sometime in the Fall?”
Augustine’s Confessions is most famous for being the world’s first work of self-conscious autobiography. The problem is the story of Augustine’s life only occupies the first two-thirds of the text. Most people don’t read the last four books, which is understandable because they are very strange. But I think it’s also sad, because while strange, they communicate the philosophical/cosmic/theological centre of the entire work.
Neil told me that there’s no way he would welcome an additional lecture, but, if I wanted to write a song about each book and present them that way, I was welcome to.
I’m pretty sure this was not meant to be a challenge, but it’s what I did.
You can read more about the project below.
There is a video of the performance. If you’re interested in seeing it, send me an email.
Starting in the Fall of 2026, I will be expanding this project on my newsletter to feature songs for all 13 books of Augustine’s Confessions.
“Songs for a Restless Heart: New Music for Augustine’s Confessions.” FYP News, Winter 2026, 35.