Episode 274: The Literary Life of Dr. Anne Phillips
This week on The Literary Life Podcast, our hosts Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks are back with a new “Literary Life of…” interview, this time with their teaching colleague at House of Humane Letters, Dr. Anne Phillips. In addition to her classes at HHL, you can also find Dr. Phillips writing on Substack. Angelina starts off the conversation asking Anne about her reading life growing up and her homeschool experience. She talks about how she came to love the Greek myths and started pursuing Latin. The three of them discuss how having a diet of truly good literature cultivates discernment in reading less valuable books. They also share thoughts on writing as imitation and the great importance of having good ideas over knowing particular forms. Anne also talks about her college and graduate school experiences and the challenges of being in academia in our current culture. They wrap up the conversation with a little look into what Dr. Phillips reading life looks like now as a working, homeschooling mother and wife. To register for Dr. Phillips and Jenn Rogers’ upcoming mini-class, “The Great Divide”, please visit HouseofHumaneLetters.com. To view the full show notes for this episode, along with all the books mentioned, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/274.
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1:43:14
Episode 273: Best of Series- “The Enchanted April” by Elizabeth von Arnim, Ch. 12-22
This week on The Literary Life podcast, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas continue their discussion of The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, on chapters 12-22. Angelina and Thomas begin the conversation sharing some thoughts on modern literature and why we don’t hear of modern authors like Elizabeth von Arnim among “the academy.” Cindy tells us what stood out to her most in the second half of the book and the surprising turns von Arnim takes in the storyline. Angelina and Thomas also talk about the types of books they enjoy, and Cindy brings up the longings and fears of the various characters. The metaphors and fairy tale concepts found in this book are, of course, major topics of the conversation. Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s Literary Life Online Conference coming April 23-26, 2025! Register today for “Living Language: Why Words Matter” at HouseofHumaneLetters.com for full live or later access. To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/273.
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1:29:08
Episode 272: Best of Series – “The Enchanted April” by Elizabeth von Arnim, Ch. 1-11
Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast with Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins and Thomas Banks. This week we are bringing you another episode from the vault, this time part one of our series on The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Thomas gives some interesting biographical information about von Arnim, and Angelina shares some perspective on appreciating the art and the life of artist. Cindy highlights the fact that we see only caricatures of the women in England, and it isn’t until they get to Italy that we begin to see their real selves. Angelina also points out that all the women are on identity quests in this story. Angelina unpacks some of the metaphors in this book and the Dante-esque images, in addition to the key place beauty has in the story. Don’t forget to sign up for this year’s Literary Life Online Conference coming up later this month! Register today for “Living Language: Why Words Matter” at HouseofHumaneLetters.com for full live or later access. To view the full show notes for this episode, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/282.
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1:43:04
Episode 271: The Literary Life of Peter Hitchens
On The Literary Life Podcast today we bring you a special “Literary Life of…” episode featuring author and journalist Peter Hitchens. After sharing their commonplace quotes, Angelina and Thomas dive into the interview with Mr. Hitchens, first asking about his memories of books and reading in his childhood. In this wide-ranging conversation, our hosts and Mr. Hitchens discuss such topics as the George Orwell’s lesser known works, the Spanish Civil War and the Balkan Wars, oft overlooked 20th Century authors, ghost stories, losing our literary tradition, and so much more! The seventh annual Literary Life Online Conference is coming up April 23-26, 2025! Please visit HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up for that as well as all the other upcoming webinars of this year. Be sure to visit https://theliterary.life/271 to view the full show notes for this episode, including links to all the books mentioned in this conversation.
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Episode 270: “Best of” Series – “How Much Land Does a Man Need” by Leo Tolstoy
This week on The Literary Life, we bring you a gem from the archives. In this episode hosts Angelina Stanford, Thomas Banks, and Cindy Rollins discuss “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy. To start off the discussion of this short story, Thomas gives us some background to help answer Angelina’s question about why this story seems so very different from other Tolstoy works. Angelina shares how to approach this story like a parable. Cindy brings up the question of the difference between ambition and vocation in terms of contentment. The Literary Life Online Conference “Living Language: Why Words Matter” is coming up this month, so now is the time to register for lifetime access. Head over the HouseofHumaneLetters.com to sign up today! Don't forget to visit our website at https://theliterary.life/270 for the full show notes for this episode.
Not just book chat! The Literary Life Podcast is an ongoing conversation about the skill and art of reading well and the lost intellectual tradition needed to fully enter into the great works of literature.
Experienced teachers Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks (of www.HouseOfHumaneLetters.com) join lifelong reader Cindy Rollins (of www.MorningtimeForMoms.com) for slow reads of classic literature, conversations with book lovers, and an ever-unfolding discussion of how Stories Will Save the World.
And check out our sister podcast The Well Read Poem with poet Thomas Banks.
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