The Literary Life Podcast

Today on The Literary Life, Cindy Rollins and Angelina Stanford are joined by a special guest, Angelina's husband, Thomas Banks! This week's selection for our summer series is Joseph Addison's "The Adventures of a Shilling." This episode is packed with book references, so scroll down for links to the titles mentioned! The conversation today kicks off with an attempt at defining the "essay" form and giving a brief history on its development. Thomas shares a little background information on Joseph Addison and his writing, as well as several other essayists who came before and after Addison. Thomas also talks about why essays are a significant part of his reading life. The conversation also spins off into a discussion of the importance of how we spend our leisure time. Finally, our hosts chat about this week's essay, which gives highlights of England's history from the perspective of a silver coin. Addison's tale is full of humor and satire, as well as layers of social commentary and pathos. Don't forget to register for the Back to School online conference coming up on August 26-29, 2019 so you don't miss out on this awesome opportunity to "repair the ruins" of your own education. Summer of the Short Story: Ep 15: "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant Ep 16: "Why I Write" by George Orwell Ep 17: "The Celestial Omnibus" by E. M. Forster Ep 18: "Vulture on War" by Samuel Johnson When I Consider How My Light Is Spent by John Milton When I consider how my light is spent,    Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,    And that one talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present    My true account, lest He returning chide;    "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need    Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best    Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,    And post o'er land and ocean without rest;    They also serve who only stand and wait." Book List: (Amazon Affiliate Links) Lives of the Poets by Samuel Johnson The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell Dove Descending by Thomas Howard Four Quartets by T. S. Elliot The Essays by Sir Frances Bacon The Essays: A Selection by Michel de Montaigne The Defendant by G. K. Chesterton The Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas de Quincy Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper Cato: A Tragedy by Joseph Addison Gulliver's Travels and The Battle of the Books by Jonathon Swift Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

6 Aug 20191h 21min

This week on The Literary Life, Cindy and Angelina discuss Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Garden Party.” Before starting today’s episode, we want to encourage you to register for the Back to School online conference coming up on August 26-29, 2019! After a great chat over their commonplace quotes, Angelina and Cindy dig into this week’s short story, “The Garden Party.” They start with how Cindy found this story and the connections she was making to Little Women. Angelina gives a brief biographical sketch of Katherine Mansfield and highlights how Mansfield’s own illness and death give us insight into how she deals with death in this story. Angelina walks us through how she looks at the use of figurative language and images, such as the Garden of Eden. They also touch on “The Garden Party” having the same structure of moving toward a moment of epiphany that we saw in “Araby.” Cindy brings up the disconnect between the world of the women at home and the working people outside the home, as well as between the classes in this story. They talk about the importance of Laura’s new hat as a symbol of one type of person she can become. Another image that Angelina and Cindy take a look at is the descent from the garden into darkness. They discuss the parallels from the beginning of the story and the end of the story, as well as Laura’s movement from innocence to experience, from blindness to sight. Summer of the Short Story: Ep 14: “Adventures of a Shilling” by Joseph Addison Ep 15: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant Ep 16: “Why I Write” by George Orwell Ep 17: “The Celestial Omnibus” by E. M. Forster Ep 18: “Vulture on War” by Samuel Johnson The Truly Great by Stephen Spender I think continually of those who were truly great. Who, from the womb, remembered the soul’s history Through corridors of light, where the hours are suns, Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition Was that their lips, still touched with fire, Should tell of the Spirit, clothed from head to foot in song. And who hoarded from the Spring branches The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms. What is precious, is never to forget The essential delight of the blood drawn from ageless springs Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth. Never to deny its pleasure in the morning simple light Nor its grave evening demand for love. Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother With noise and fog, the flowering of the spirit. Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields, See how these names are fêted by the waving grass And by the streamers of white cloud And whispers of wind in the listening sky. The names of those who in their lives fought for life, Who wore at their hearts the fire’s centre. Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun And left the vivid air signed with their honour. Copyright © 1955 by Stephen Spender. Source: Collected Poems 1928-1953 Book List: (Amazon affiliate links) Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

30 Juli 20191h 21min

On The Literary Life podcast today, Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins discuss G. K. Chesterton’s essay “A Defence of Penny Dreadfuls.” Before diving in to today’s episode, don’t forget to register for the amazing Back to School online conference coming up on August 26-29, 2019! Angelina opens with a brief history of the Victorian era and the more prevalent availability of the novel to the masses. She also gives several examples of the “penny dreadful.” Cindy and Angelina discuss why they agree with Chesterton that people need these simple, even formulaic stories. They remind us that childhood is a time for good books, not a time to worry about reading all the “Great Books.” Another topic that Cindy and Angelina chat about is the importance of developing imagination. They talk about the truth that fiction and story-telling are necessary parts of human culture. Cindy highlights the importance of the heroic adventure stories for boys. Angelina brings out the point that the elite critic is out of touch with the masses who long for stories of good winning over evil. The penny dreadful should not be judged as art, since that was never what it was intended to be. Summer of the Short Story: Ep 13: “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield Ep 14: “Adventures of a Shilling” by Joseph Addison Ep 15: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant Ep 16: “Why I Write” by George Orwell Ep 17: “The Celestial Omnibus” by E. M. Forster Ep 18: “Vulture on War” by Samuel Johnson Bavarian Gentians by D. H. Lawrence Not every man has gentians in his house in Soft September, at slow, Sad Michaelmas. Bavarian gentians, big and dark, only dark darkening the daytime torchlike with the smoking blueness of Pluto’s gloom, ribbed and torchlike, with their blaze of darkness spread blue down flattening into points, flattened under the sweep of white day torch-flower of the blue-smoking darkness, Pluto’s dark-blue daze, black lamps from the halls of Dis, burning dark blue, giving off darkness, blue darkness, as Demeter’s pale lamps give off light, lead me then, lead me the way. Reach me a gentian, give me a torch let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of this flower down the darker and darker stairs, where blue is darkened on blueness. even where Persephone goes, just now, from the frosted September to the sightless realm where darkness was awake upon the dark and Persephone herself is but a voice or a darkness invisible enfolded in the deeper dark of the arms Plutonic, and pierced with the passion of dense gloom, among the splendor of torches of darkness, shedding darkness on the lost bride and groom. Book List: Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason War and Peace by Leo Tolsto The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins An Experiment in Criticism by C. S. Lewis G. A. Henty books Dave Dawson War Adventure Series Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

23 Juli 20191h 16min

This week on The Literary Life, Cindy Rollins and Angelina Stanford open our Summer of the Short Story series with a discussion of “Araby” by James Joyce. Cindy and Angelina also announce an encouraging Back to School online conference coming up on August 26-29, 2019. In delving into “Araby,” Angelina talks about the history and development of the short story form. Cindy gives a little of her own background with reading James Joyce and why she loves his short stories. Angelina and Cindy also discuss the essential “Irishness” of this story and all the tales in The Dubliners. Angelina walks us through the story, highlighting the kinds of questions and things we should look for when reading closely. Themes discussed in this story include: blindness and sight, light and darkness, romanticism, religious devotion, the search for truth, money, courtly love, and the knight’s quest. Summer of the Short Story: Ep 12: “A Defence of Penny Dreadfuls” by G. K. Chesterton Ep 13: “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield Ep 14: “Adventures of a Shilling” by Joseph Addison Ep 15: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant Ep 16: “Why I Write” by George Orwell Ep 17: “The Celestial Omnibus” by E. M. Forster Ep 18: “Vulture on War” by Samuel Johnson Huxley Hall by John Betjemen In the Garden City Cafe‚ with its murals on the wall Before a talk on “Sex and Civics” I meditated on the Fall. Deep depression settled on me under that electric glare While outside the lightsome poplars flanked the rose-beds in the square. While outside the carefree children sported in the summer haze And released their inhibitions in a hundred different ways. She who eats her greasy crumpets snugly in the inglenook Of some birch-enshrouded homestead, dropping butter on her book Can she know the deep depression of this bright, hygienic hell? And her husband, stout free-thinker, can he share in it as well? Not the folk-museum’s charting of man’s Progress out of slime Can release me from the painful seeming accident of Time. Barry smashes Shirley’s dolly, Shirley’s eyes are crossed with hate, Comrades plot a Comrade’s downfall “in the interests of the State”. Not my vegetarian dinner, not my lime-juice minus gin, Quite can drown a faint conviction that we may be born in Sin Book List: (Affiliate Links) To Pause on the Threshold by Esther de Waal The Dubliners by James Joyce Ulysses by James Joyce A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

16 Juli 20191h 31min

In this episode of The Literary Life, Cindy and Angelina interview their long time friend and fellow reader, Kelly Cumbee. Kelly is a wife and homeschooling mother of seven who has given herself a highly literary education. Together they discuss how Kelly started reading at a very young age and the kinds of books she loved as a child. Kelly talks about her love for Edmund Spenser and how she began reading Spenser with her children. Angelina asks about Kelly's background and how she makes connections throughout her conversations and her reading. Another topic of conversation is how Kelly made time for books throughout the different seasons of life and how she didn't really start reading "hard books" until later in life. They wrap up the conversation discussing what Kelly is currently reading and with more encouragement to read widely and make connections. Summer of the Short Story: Ep 11: "Araby" by James Joyce Ep 12: “A Defence of Penny Dreadfuls” by G. K. Chesterton Ep 13: “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield Ep 14: “Adventures of a Shilling” by Joseph Addison Ep 15: “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant Ep 16: “Why I Write” by George Orwell Ep 17: “The Celestial Omnibus” by E. M. Forster Ep 18: “Vulture on War” by Samuel Johnson Amoretti XXIII by Edmund Spenser Penelope for her Ulisses sake, Deviz’d a Web her wooers to deceave: In which the worke that she all day did make The same at night she did again unreave: Such subtile craft my Damzell doth conceave, Th’ importune suit of my desire to shonne: For all that I in many dayes doo weave, In one short houre I find by her undonne. So when I thinke to end that I begonne, I must begin and never bring to end: For with one looke she spils that long I sponne, And with one word my whole years work doth rend. Such labour like the Spyders web I fynd, Whose fruitless worke is broken with least wynd.   Book List: (affiliate links) A White Bird Flying by Bess Streeter Aldrich Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry The Secular Scripture by Northrop Frye Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham The Space Trilogy (The Ransom Trilogy) by C. S. Lewis Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis Realm of Numbers by Isaac Asimov I, Robot by Isaac Asimov   Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

9 Juli 20191h 15min

Today on The Literary Life, Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins discuss Dorothy L. Sayers’ essay “Are Women Human?“ They explore the ideas that Sayers wrestles with in the essay, including: the Victorian view of women, the significance of the industrial revolution, the human need for meaningful occupation, and the early feminist movement and women’s suffrage. Angelina and Cindy also discuss the history of women’s work inside and outside of the home and how they have been impacted by industry and our production-consumption culture. They take a fascinating look at the effects of the Enlightenment on women in the modern western world, as well as the problem of over-generalization and categorizing people according to classes. Finally, Cindy and Angelina highlight the importance of asking yourself the question: “Who am I supposed to be as a mother and a woman?” Upcoming Events and Shows: June 20: Live Q&A Session on the Patreon page for “Fellows” July 9: The Literary Life of Kelly Cumbee July 16: Araby by James Joyce (The Summer of the Short Story) Villon by Siegfried Sassoon They threw me from the gates: my matted hair  Was dank with dungeon wetness; my spent frame  O’erlaid with marish agues: everywhere  Tortured by leaping pangs of frost and flame,  So hideous was I that even Lazarus there In noisome rags arrayed and leprous shame,  Beside me set had seemed full sweet and fair,  And looked on me with loathing.  But one came  Who laid a cloak on me and brought me in  Tenderly to an hostel quiet and clean; Used me with healing hands for all my needs.  The mortal stain of my reputed sin,  My state despised, and my defilèd weeds,  He hath put by as though they had not been. Book List: New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton Seeking God by Esther De Waal Raids on the Unspeakable by Thomas Merton Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers Thanks to our Sponsor: The Literary Life Podcast is brought to you New College Franklin. Located in beautiful Franklin Tennessee, NCF is a four year Christian Liberal Arts college dedicated to excellent academics and discipling relationships among students and faculty. Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

11 Juni 20191h 7min

This week, your hosts Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins are covering the final chapters of Gaudy Night, starting with chapter 16. They also announce the opening of the Patreon community called "Friends and Fellows" where they will be offering a wealth of additional content. In this episode, Cindy and Angelina explore the ideas in these last chapters of the book, including the fact that this is more a novel of manners than it is a thriller. Other topics of discussion include the development of Lord Peter's character, the vampire motif present throughout the novel, and the significance of the sonnet form and musical counterpoint references in this book. Angelina wonders at the brilliance of Sayers and the way she weaves the head versus heart theme into the text. Cindy brings up the problem of principle and passion, and the loss of metaphor in our culture. Of course, no discussion of the end of Gaudy Nightwould be complete without mentioning the proposal, and Angelina delves into the meaning of the Latin words used by Lord Peter. Upcoming Show Schedule: Episode 9 (June 11): Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers "The Summer of the Short Story" series Heureux, Qui Comme Ulysse by Joachim du Bellay, translated by Richard Wilbur Happy the man who, journeying far and wide As Jason or Ulysses did, can then Turn homeward, seasoned in the ways of men, And claim his own, and there in peace abide! When shall I see the chimney-smoke divide The sky above my little town: ah, when Stroll the small gardens of that house again Which is my realm and crown, and more beside? Better I love the plain, secluded home My fathers built, than bold façades of Rome; Slate pleases me as marble cannot do; Better than Tiber's flood my quiet Loire, Those little hills than these, and dearer far Than great sea winds the zephyrs of Anjou. Book List: (affiliate links) The Defense of Poesy by Sir Philip Sydney Mere Motherhood Newsletters by Cindy Rollins Crow Lake by Mary Lawson Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon. Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

4 Juni 20191h 5min

In this episode of The Literary Life, Cindy Rollins and Angelina Stanford discuss chapters 8-15 of Dorothy L. Sayers' book Gaudy Night. In addition to reviewing the plot points of interest in these chapters, Cindy and Angelina focus in on the interweaving of plot, theme, and setting in Gaudy Night. They talk about how Oxford is more than just a place in which the story is told, but is almost a character itself, as well as being the place where Lord Peter and Harriet can meet as equals. Another recurring topic is the continuing conversation about what it means to be a woman and an intellectual, as well as how marriage changes both men and women. In these chapters, we see more of Harriet and Lord Peter's relationship, and we get to know Lord Peter in a fuller light. Upcoming Show Schedule: Episode 8 (June 4): Gaudy Night, ch 16-23, complete Episode 9 (June 11): Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers When You Are Old by William Butler Yeats When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face; And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. Book List: The Getaway Car by Ann Patchett (included in This is the Story of a Happy Marriage)   Connect with Us: Find Angelina at  https://angelinastanford.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/ Jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

28 Maj 20191h 7min