Claire and I have one of my favorite discussions about a very under-read book. We talk about the relationship between America and money, love and money, obsession, greed, expectations vs. reality, imagination vs. fantasy, nature, beauty, truth, hoarse-voiced entertainers on sub-par cruises, and lots more.
Some students and I walk through Hopkins' poem, celebrating its particular pleasures and insights, as well as talking in general about how easy it is to access the strange mysterious power of a poem.
Nov 03, 2021
Hamlet
01:02:03
Who's there? Who are you? Why are you here? What is it all for? Are these the right questions? Can we even know?
I aim for a brief glimpse of the grandeur of these ancient scriptures, and think out loud about their central message: all is one. Along the way I ramble about death, unity, grief, the Self, the transcendent vs. the immanent, and more.
Oct 08, 2021
The Book of Chuang Tzu
00:53:09
In this episode, I talk for an entire hour as if I know something. I make many statements that have the cadence of "understanding," but mostly I'm just rambling about a very beautiful and fascinating book, The Book of Chuang Tzu. And the worse thing of all is that Claire--the only reason these recordings are worth listening to--isn't even here to stop me from rambling!