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Close Reads

From the CiRCE Institute, Close Reads is a book-club podcast with Angelina Stanford, Tim McIntosh, and David Kern. We read Great Books and talk about them. Join us!
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Now displaying: March, 2017
Mar 29, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "The Enduring Chill." 

Topics include: O'Connor's sense of humor, the autobiographical nature of the story, the meaning of the names, where Asbury's illness came from, the work of the Holy Spirit in the story, and much more. 

 

Mar 24, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, David chats with Dr. Ralph Wood, author of Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South, about Flannery O'Connor's reputation for grimness. 

Topics include: When Dr. Wood heard O'Connor give a reading live in 1962, O'Connor's sense of humor, the scandalousness of the gospel in O'Connor's canon, Julian's mother in Everything That Rises Must ConvergeA View of the Woods' lack of quality, and much, much more. 

Mar 20, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "A View of the Woods." 

Topics include: Whether Mary actually exists, Mary as mirror of her grandfather, O'Connor's mysterious use of pronouns, the battle between Fortune and Pitts, the story's comments on modernism, and the damnation of Fortune. 

Mar 13, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David continue their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge,  with "Greenleaf." 

Topics include: The romance of the bull, the bull as Christ-figure, O'Connor's commentary on Southern Christianity, sympathy for the Greenleafs, class differences in the story, Mrs. May's irreligion, Mrs. May's disdain for the bull, and the medieval theme of ecstasy in the story's ending. 

PLEASE NOTE: STARTING AT ABOUT 49 MINUTES SOME THEMES THAT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN ARE DISCUSSED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION IF LISTENING WITH YOUR KIDS. 

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Mar 6, 2017

On this episode of Close Reads, Angelina, Tim, and David begin their conversation on Flannery O'Connor's collection of stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge, beginning with the titular story. 

Topics include: The 2017 Close Reads literature bracket, first experiences with O'Connor (18:10), O'Connor's "metaphysical realism" (26:40), story summary (37:11), the real racist in the story (41:50), the effect of coming home in O'Connor's work (51:40), the coin (62:45), the ambiguity of the end (70:00). 

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