Ann Patchett, the award-winning author of numerous books including “Bel Canto” and “State of Wonder,” joins her good friend Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the hit bestseller “Eat, Pray, Love,” to talk about the challenges and joys of their craft. In this thrilling conversation, Patchett and Gilbert ask each other how and why they write, covering everything from grief, to frustration, to divine inspiration.

Ann Patchett & Elizabeth Gilbert on Writing

Background, context, and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/04/06/cynthia-nixon-reads-emily-dickinson/

Photograph © A Quiet Passion/Hurricane Films/Courtesy of Music Box Films.

CONTEXT / POEM TEXT

Cynthia Nixon reads Emily Dickinson

Academy in One Day
Whilst Arendt is chiefly famous for her provocative study of the trial of Adolf Eichmann – from which we get the famous phrase ‘the banality of evil’ – Arendt’s important philosophical work, The Human Condition, is a profoundly original study of human life that deserves far greater attention than it receives. 

At the centre of The Human Condition is Arendt’s bold distinction between three spheres of human activity: Labour, Work, and Action. Labour, the toil that is essential for the preservation of biological life, Arendt associates with necessity, with what we must do to survive. The recurrent cycle of Labour and its characteristic lack of individuality is redeemed in part by Work – that is, the creation of and addition to the tangible human edifice, in a way that outlasts our own lives and makes possible our being remembered. For Arendt, however, it is only in Action that we experience freedom, for in Action we show ‘who’ we are (unique individuals), not merely ‘what’ we are (members of the human species). Only in Action are we motivated by concerns that go beyond the preservation of life. Rehabilitating this state of freedom, which Arendt associates with politics, is the central concern of The Human Condition. To this end, she draws on the Christian-Humanist celebration of natality, offering an impassioned defence of the ‘miracle’ that is the birth of each and every unique human being. 

The Human Condition is a challenging yet endlessly rewarding text, and the freshness and erudition of Arendt’s prose stands as a fine advert for the humanist ideals of the academy.

Speakers
Jon Nixon
writer, Centre of International Education and Lifelong Learning, Hong Kong Institute of Education; author, Hannah Arendt and the politics of friendship; founding co-editor, Perspectives in Leadership in Higher Education

Chair
Jacob Reynolds
consultant, SHM Productions


Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

Background and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/05/16/wait-galway-kinnell/

POEM TEXT

Galway Kinnell reads "Wait"

Background and poem text: https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/01/01/adrienne-rich-reads-what-kind-of-times-are-these/

Recorded for PBS's "Poetry Everywhere" program: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/

BACKGROUND / POEM TEXT

Adrienne Rich reads "What Kind of Times Are These"

Poem text and vital context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/08/14/wendell-berry-questionnaire-amanda-palmer/

POEM TEXT / CONTEXT

Amanda Palmer reads "Questionnaire" by Wendell Berry

Poem text and context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2019/10/23/the-weighing-jane-hirshfield/

Recorded at @pioneerworks, October 29, 2018.

Astrophysicist Janna Levin Reads "The Weighing" by Jane Hirshfield

What happens in a classroom of refugee and immigrant youngsters learning English? Their fresh approach to language can result in remarkable poetry -- some of which is collected in the anthology England: Poems from a School. Also, new language among healthcare professionals: the term cohorting describes the act of grouping patients with COVID-19 in designated facilities. But what's the word for reintegrating them into the general patient population after treatment. Decohorting, maybe? Finally, who can resist all those independent bookstores with tantalizing names like Moon Palace and Mysterious Galaxy? Also, black-hearted buzzard, nesh, livid, muckle, Fiddler's Green, Come go home with us, and a confounding puzzle about words containing the letters C-O-N. http://waywordradio.org

A Way with Words

Moon Palace (Full Episode)

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, conductor

Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op. 28 (November 1995)

CREDITS:
Stephen Newton (Vocals)
Julian Smith (Backing Vocals, Production)
Skyler D. White (Production, Mixing, and additional vocals)
Mark Littlemore (Vocal Mixing, and Recording)

Original track can be found on Depeche Mode's album "Delta Machine".
Lyrics written by: Dave Gahan and Kurt Uenala

Depeche Mode Cover

Broken feat. Stephen Newton

In just four short years the Trump administration overturned the foundational national narrative of American exceptionalism – the US’ reputation as global exemplar and promoter of democracy. Far from drawing distinctions between the US and authoritarian states like Russia, he tried to show equivalence, marking a start contrast with every one of his predaceous since the end of the Cold War. 

As Biden’s first week as 46th President of the United States draws to a close, Dr Ruth Deyermond, Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies and expert on the post-Soviet and post-Cold war US-Russia relationship, joins us to discuss whether Biden can re-build the US’ damaged reputation and fulfil the promises set out in his inauguration speech.

We also explore Trump’s close relationship with Putin and why so few White House records were kept on this, what another four years of Trump would have meant for US security and what the future might hold next for the historically fraught US and Russia relationship.

Adrienne Rich reads "What Kind of Times Are These"

brainpicker

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