Brendon Sylvester
Fall 2022 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Sylmar, CA
College: Biola University
Degree: B.A., English
Brendon Sylvester attended Biola University, where he majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing, and completed the course for the Torrey Honors College, Biola’s great books program. During his course of study with Torrey, he participated in the Torrey Parks trip, where fourteen students read several books about nature, including The Lord of the Rings and essays by John Muir, before discussing them while camping and hiking in Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and Glacier national parks.
While an undergraduate, Brendon published the article “A Shorter Way to Fall” in Touchstone magazine, and composed the poems “The First Vision of Eternity,” and “Even the Shadows Dance,” which he would later publish in Ekstasis magazine. He also participated in the Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford program, during which time he studied the works of Edmund Spenser, George Herbert, John Donne, Thomas Traherne, Robert Southwell and the like under Dr. Richard Lawes of Oxford University. Much of Brendon’s research contrasted Edmund Spenser’s unique depiction of chastity with the courtly love tradition in which he wrote.
Since graduating, Brendon has worked full-time as a teacher in the Great Hearts network in Phoenix, Arizona. He has taught 9th grade poetry and 7th grade English at Trivium Preparatory Academy, while co-running the school’s creative writing society.
In his spare time, Brendon likes hiking, camping, reading, running, and playing ultimate frisbee. He hopes to continue pursuing the disciplines of writing and teaching after completing his time at the John Jay Institute, ideally as a university professor.