The Literary Life Podcast

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.

The Literary Life Podcast is a arts podcast hosted by Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks, with 341 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks hosts The Literary Life Podcast, a arts show with 341 episodes published.

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  Episode #342

  Episode 342: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Ch. 21-30

  Aug 18, 20261 hourS8

  On The Literary Life Podcast this week, Angelina and Thomas continue their series on Richard Adams' Watership Down , covering chapters 21-30 in this episode. Angelina opens the discussion with some thoughts on the importance of the structure of a story in view of the literary tradition inspired by her commonplace quote for today. Once again, in these chapters we see echoes from mythology and beast fables, including references to the "and-then" story structure, the Sabine women, the rabbit as trickster, testing of the leader, and so much more! Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars. And to see the full show notes for this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/342 .

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  Episode #341

  Episode 341: Watership Down by Richard Adams, Ch. 11-20

  Aug 11, 20261h 6mS8

  Welcome to The Literary Life Podcast and the second episode in our series on Richard Adams' Watership Down . This week Angelina and Thomas will be discussing chapters 11-20. In addition to covering the main plot points and characters in these chapters, they share connections with other stories in the literary tradition and highlight elements of the journey story seen in this section of the book. The contrasts between the Aeneid and the Odyssey and Illiad are part of the conversation in context of the ways in which Watership Down reflects the Aeneid . Angelina also brings out some of the beast fable elements we find in this part of the story. Be back here next week when we will talk about chapters 21-30. Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new autumn classes and webinars. For the full show notes on this episode, please visit https://theliterary.life/341 .

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  Episode #339

  Episode 339: Ask Us (Almost) Anything

  Jul 28, 20261h 48mS8

  This week on The Literary Life Podcast, our hosts Angelina Stanford and Thomas Banks return from their summer break with a fun "Ask Us (Almost) Anything" episode. The questions they answer include the following: How does Mr. Banks choose the poem for the end of each episode? How do they go about finding sources of good secondary research or literary criticism? How did Angelina first learn about alchemy in the literary tradition? Is Mr. Banks any relation to the sculptor Thomas Banks? Can you give a brief definition of each of the building blocks of stories? What exactly is the "objective correlative"? Is re-reading important in the literary life and, if so, what makes it profitable? How do you keep up with the many images when reading? How should an author approach trying to write in the literary tradition? How do you deal with reading slumps? What is your favorite book? How do you defend an education in the humanities in an age obsessed with STEM? How many books do you own? Does Angelina actually hate John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress ? And more…. Don't forget to check out everything going on over at HouseofHumaneLetters.com to stay up to date on all the upcoming new summer classes and webinars. View the full show notes for this episode, including quotes, book links, and this week's poem at https://theliterary.life/339 .

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  Episode #338

  Episode 338: "The Vulture" by Samuel Johnson – Short Story Summer Remix

  Jul 21, 20261h 15mS8

  Welcome to the final episode of our summer series on short stories and essays! Today your hosts Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins are joined once again by Thomas Banks for their discussion of Samuel Johnson's essay "The Vulture." Before getting into the meat of the essay, Angelina talks about why she disagrees with her own commonplace quote on the purpose of poetry. In the process, she gives us a brief history of literary periods from the classical to the neoclassical and enlightenment. Thomas shares some more biographical information on Samuel Johnson and his work. Cindy highlights both the important place and the danger of satire, which is a popular neoclassical form and the one used in Johnson's essay. The discussion ends with thoughts on why Johnson's essay was finally not included with the others in The Idle r collection, as well as what his purpose may have been in writing "The Vulture." To check out the current offerings at The House of Humane Letters, as well as Thomas Banks' poetry webinar mentioned in this episode, please visit HouseofHumaneLetters.com . And for the full show notes on this episode, please visit our podcast website at https://theliterary.life/338 .

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  Episode #337

  Episode 337: "The Celestial Omnibus" by E. M. Forster – Short Story Summer Remix

  Jul 14, 20261h 38mS8

  On this week's episode of The Literary Life, we continue our series of replays from our Summer of the Short Story with a discussion of "The Celestial Omnibus" by E. M. Forster. Angelina and Cindy tell why they love this short story so much and how it encapsulates their own ideas about literature. Thomas gives us some biographical background on E. M. Forster. We get a brief look at the plot of the story, as well as some discussion of how allegorical Forster makes this story. Angelina highlights the idea presented in "The Celestial Omnibus" that what we see in fairy land is more real than what we see in our own world. Other themes our hosts bring up include modern educational theory, wonder and innocence, using poetry versus enjoying it, and literary critique contrasted with experiencing literature. Their conversation hinges around the contrast between Mr. Bons' pride and pretension and the boy's humility and sincerity. This story embodies everything that The Literary Life podcast is all about, so we hope you enjoy both the story and this episode! To get the replay of Thomas' webinar on How to Love Poetry, as well as the current and upcoming summer classes mentioned in this episode, please visit HouseofHumaneLetters.com . Check out the full show notes for this episode on our website at https://theliterary.life/337 .

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