During July, I returned to Plato after a month of King Arthur in June. I read the Phaedrus and Alcibiades dialogues. The Tripartite soul shows up in Phaedrus. I had heard about it but hadn’t yet encountered it in Plato’s works. Using the analogy of a chariot, the idea is that both gods and humans have a soul made of three parts:

• The Rational - the charioteer - thinking part

• The Spirited - the white horse - emotional part

• The Appetitive - the black horse - desiring part

The soul is a self-moving thing and is in motion, but the direction of a soul is largely dictated by the balance and reigning of the spirited and appetitive sides. I found this analogy to be very interesting and talked about it in episode 296 of the podcast:

I also obtained an advanced copy of The Coming of Arthur and thoroughly enjoyed it. There’s a reference to to Aeschylus’ Oresteia that is just sublime. I can’t wait to read the final two books in the series. You can pre-order a copy here.

The Mirror, the Mask, & the Masterpiece by Peter Kreeft was a very helpful book tied to Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. That was the book for my July Short Great Books reading group and Kreeft’s work helped in my preparation. That was the first book I’d read by Kreeft and I liked it very much.

The additional copy of Phaedrus was because I read it twice, first in the Complete Works and then second in that Oxford World’s Classics version translated by Robin Waterfield.

I’m currently reading Billy Budd by Herman Melville in preparation for the August Short Great Books reading group. After that, my August focus will be on Plato. Here are the dialogues I have coming up:

• Second Alcibiades

• Hipparchus

• Rival Lovers

• Theages

• Charmides

My plan is to read through all of Plato’s dialogues by the end of November. I’ve currently read 13 of them and have 20+ to go.

I reigned in my book purchases in July. Here are the five I purchased from top to bottom:

• Phaedrus / Plato (Robin Waterfield translation) - wanted to read a second translation and another introduction

• Billy Budd / Herman Melville - purchased a second copy (my other is the Penguin Classics) for the purpose of reading the introduction. I’m reading Billy Budd twice in preparation of my reading group

• Ginkgo / Peter Crane - I’m quietly building my arsenal of books about trees that I’ll be reading during December of this year. My absolute most favoritest tree in all the world is the Ginkgo tree, so I can’t wait to read this one.

• Revolution & Bonhoeffer / Eric Metaxas - we had an event with Eric Metaxas at Landmark Booksellers this past month and so I got signed and personalized copies of these two books.

I set aside one post per month to highlight my reading life. Books of Titans is a reading project aimed at seeking the ancient paths by reading The Great Books by 200 Authors chronologically over the next 40 years. Thank you for following my journey.

What comes to your mind when you think about studying philosophy? I’m immediately taken back to the fall of 1999 and my Intro to Philosophy (Phil 1000) course at the University of Georgia. I was way out of my league. I couldn’t even keep up with an introductory course. I somehow earned a B grade but left frustrated at my inability to understand what I was reading. I did not continue on to Phil 2000.

I carried that frustration and a healthy bit of fear into this reading project when I started reading Plato last year. I struggle with his dialogues. I require multiple readings just to grasp the main ideas. Plato’s Parmenides dialogue nearly broke my brain.

Perhaps I’m not doing philosophy the right way. There’s something that has stood out in Plato’s works. Part of it is explicit and the other part is the nature of dialogues. The explicit part is that Plato has Socrates state that philosophy is best done person to person. The nature of the dialogues show philosophy occurring between people.

That may seem like a fairly inane observation, but my assumption going into this was that philosophy was best done individually in front of a book. That the true philosopher was alone, turning ideas in his or her head. That may be part of it, but Plato’s ideal certainly does not look like that. And it also doesn’t look like a teacher in front of a 40-student Phil 1000 course.

There’s an interesting story that Plato has Socrates tell in the Phaedrus dialogue about the Egyptian god Theuth talking to Thamous, the king of Egypt. Theuth is known as the inventor of “number, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, of games involving draughts and dice—and especially of writing.” Thamous surprises Theuth by saying that his invention of writing will “atrophy people’s memories.”

He goes on to say:

“Trust in writing will make them remember things by relying on marks made by others, from outside themselves, not on their own inner resources, and so writing will make the things they have learnt disappear from their minds.”

Many critics have pointed out that Plato has Socrates relay this story in a written dialogue. Ironic, yes. But he continues:

“It’s the same with written words: you might think they were speaking as if they had some intelligence, but if you want an explanation of any of the things they’re saying and you ask them about it, they just go on and on for ever giving the same single piece of information.”

Written words don’t have the organic nature of a conversation. They can’t explain. They can’t answer. The original Greek of Plato’s dialogues has not changed in the past 2,400 years. The lone philosopher in front of a book is missing something.

Over the past year, I’d estimate my time breakdown as 99% reading Plato and 1% discussing Plato with others. That’s not Plato’s ideal. Perhaps the better approach would be to spend more of that time in conversation about these dialogues, preferably with a teacher.

I wish I would have given Phil 1000 more of my attention during college when I could have spoken with the professor. I’m doing this Great Books project outside of a university or group. I’m doing it alone. And as I’m reading Plato alone, he keeps telling me to do it with others.

What is love and what does it have to do with the immortal soul? These are some of the questions addressed in the wide-ranging Phaedrus dialogue by Plato. Similar to other Plato dialogues, this one contains a myth. Perhaps you have heard of the Tripartite Soul. This is one of the dialogues that introduces that idea and it is found within the Myth of the Winged Soul.

In this episode, I talk about how Plato used this myth to talk about ideas like love, desire, immortality, education, and the soul. I then tie that together with a major theme of this reading project, direction. I close out with a, how should I say this, interesting 😬 definition of love from Plato.

A certain film has been making recent headlines and has sparked a fresh interest in Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. In 1929, Alfred North Whitehead said “the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists in a series of footnotes to Plato.” While that is likely the case in the philosophical tradition, the western literary tradition is a direct descendant of Homer.

In September 2023, I began reading The Iliad for the very first time in my life. It was chronologically the next book on my Great Books reading list and it coincided with a Catherine Project reading group where we read The Iliad and The Odyssey over Zoom.

Reading Homer was one of those experiences where I left sensing I had been changed. There was an Erik before Homer and there was a different Erik after Homer. The Iliad immediately became my favorite book and the best way I know how to describe it is to say that it contains everything. I see traces of Homer in nearly everything I’ve read since then.

I had done some preparation before arriving at Homer. I had read Hesiod and Edith Hamilton to gain some exposure to the world of Greek Mythology. I was coming in fresh and I wanted to have some familiarity with the Greek world.

If I could go back in time to September 2023, would I have approached Homer differently? Perhaps.

Start with Homer. Yes, you will likely miss many of the mythological references and the layers they add to the understanding of the epic, but it will be an introduction that leaves you wanting more. As you encounter the myths in Homer and then in the Greek Tragedies, you’ll be collecting your own experiences of them across literature.

I liken it to studying business at college, something I did at the undergraduate and graduate levels. You can study business all day long, but there is no comparison to diving in and learning on the job. You may know the correct terms for business-speech by studying it in college, but you’ll better understand business itself by immersing yourself in it.

And with Homer, start with The Iliad. Although The Odyssey is popular at the moment, it’s important to know the context of Odysseus’ return, and you’ll find that in The Iliad.

If you’d rather approach Homer with some mythology knowledge under your belt, here are some places where you can start:

I keep this book in close proximity as it is one of the most helpful guidebooks to Greek Mythology. Many of the sources I’ll be mentioning below contain portions of the myths. What Edith Hamilton has done is to combine the stories from all of the sources to present a more cohesive storyline. Sometimes these myths come to us from just one obscure ancient work. This collection helps consolidate all of those stories in one place and is an invaluable reference guide as you read works for Ancient Greece.

Hesiod was a contemporary or near contemporary of Homer and his Theogony is about the genealogy of the gods. Parentage is of extreme importance in Greek mythology as children take on the attributes of their parents.

Attributed to Homer but more likely composed by the Homeridae (children / students of Homer), this work contains a series of hymns about the major Greek gods. The stories are wonderful and I really enjoyed reading this collection.

This is one of the most important books to read alongside Homer. The Iliad and The Odyssey are just 2 of 8 total works making up the Trojan Epic Cycle. The other 6 works have been lost to us (it’s also unlikely Homer wrote down the other 6). However, they provide the whole story and fill in gaps we’re used to seeing in these epics. For example, the Trojan Horse, the abduction of Helen, and the death of Achilles do not show up except by reference in either The Iliad or The Odyssey. Instead, they were in other works that fit outside those two works. The book gives summaries of the 6 works that were lost, filling out the entire storyline.

• Ovid’s Metamorphoses

• Apollodorus’ The Library of Greek Mythology

Some thoughts on the reading life:

• It’s not as much from discipline as from purpose. Why are you reading? Does it bring you delight, are you longing for something, or are you seeking after truth? Purpose entices you to read. Discipline pushes.

• I rarely meet a great reader who has hours of uninterrupted reading time. Instead, I meet those busy with the ordinary duties of life. Their reading time accrues through minutes here and there, not from long spells of reading. They are usually always carrying a book.

• Reading requires sacrifice, though usually what is given up is not missed. Those who question how someone can read so much are usually the same people who have several tv show seasons under their belts. You can either watch or read. Choose wisely.

• A reading goal can work wonders. Pick a timeframe and a desired reading list. Write those books down in order and include the number of pages. Add the pages together and divide by the number of days in your timeframe. That’s how many pages to read per day. That’s the best way to make a big book (or a big reading project) less intimidating.

• Wake up while the house is quiet. Reading at night induces sleep. Reading in the morning (with coffee, of course) is a great time to read.

• Identity and purpose work together. If you are a seeker of truth, you will seek after truth in the books you read. “I’m not well-read” or “I’m not really a reader” are ideas to remove from your thoughts. You are a reader. You are a seeker. Go and practice your craft.

• Reading is a habit. It’s a delightful, wonderful habit, but a daily practice nonetheless.

I obsessively track my reading, counting books, pages, and time. When looking back, I’m continually amazed at how those words, paragraphs, and pages accumulate over the years. Someone well-read, read well over time. However, they are unlikely to consider themselves well-read because the more they read, the more they realize how much remains to be read. It’s the quest that lasts a lifetime, and likely beyond.

2026 has been a fun year of reading so far. I’ve read the Bible, a few Plato dialogues, legends of King Arthur, and others. Here’s my mid-year reading review. It’s a great way to learn about books you may want to add to your own reading list. I go through the 20+ books I’re read so far for this year and a little about each one of them. Enjoy!

• The Intertextual Tanakh

• Bibliotheca Vol II: The Latter Prophets

• Bibliotheca Vol III: The Writings

• Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell

• Bibliotheca Vol V: The New Testament

• Our Name is Dare by Kev Coleman

• Heraclitus Fragments

• The First Philosophers: The Presocratics and the Sophists

• Early Greek Philosophy

• The Logos of Heraclitus by Eva Brann

• Nero & Paul by Kathie Lee Gifford w/ Brian M. Litfin

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

• The Greek Sophists

• The Flowering Hawthorn by Hugh Ross Williamson

• Plato: Complete Works by Plato

• Philebus Plato

• Le Morte Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory

• Galahad and the Grail by Malcolm Guite

• King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green

• The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien

• Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

• The Mirror, the Mask, and the Masterpiece: A Guide to C. S. Lewis’s “Till We Have Faces” by Peter Kreeft

While The Odyssey is about to hit movie theaters around the world, in Ancient Greece, rhapsodes would travel and perform recitations of Homer’s epic poems to large audiences. Rhapsodes were a mix of actor and lecturer. They wouldn’t just perform the epics but would also explain what the poets meant in their stories. Whether they did the explaining through their acting or through side speeches is unclear.

In Plato’s dialogue titled Ion, we meet the rhapsode named Ion. Socrates approaches Ion to ask him about his profession and to tease out his specific skill set. A rhapsode is competition for the philosopher. Ion, in passing down the epics of the past, is also passing down traditional views of the gods and morality. Socrates wants to influence the morality of the populace through reasoned argument, not through the emotions. In The Republic, Plato actually wishes to banish such imitative poets from his ideal city for their negative, diversionary influence.

This dialogue beings with Ion having just won first prize in a poetry contest. He has brought tears and laughter to 20,000 audience members and has won the accolades of the masses. We learn quickly that Ion has a singular focus on Homer and cares nothing for other poets. Socrates uses this as a way to examine the skills that Ion possesses.

Socrates (Plato’s mouthpiece) uses a particular manner of examination in this dialogue. We see him use it elsewhere and it’s a process derived from the early Greek philosophers, who were attempting to find the First Principle, the archē of things (for example, Democritus’ first principle(s) were atoms and void). In the Plato dialogues Statesman and Sophist, Socrates uses a method of definition through division. Socrates is seeking the core elements, the first principles of those professions. He’s atomizing the concepts to reach the root.

We see him employing a similar tactic in Ion. He’s conducting a proxy war of sorts against Homer through his “acting” agent Ion. So, while Socrates is questioning Ion specifically and the profession of the rhapsode more generally, his ultimate target is Homer. If he can show that the rhapsode is not skilled, he can draw a line back to Homer and show how philosophy is the better way.

Socrates references a series of episodes from the Iliad and the Odyssey and asks Ion who would be more skilled to talk about things like charioteering and divination, him or an expert. Ion admits that an expert would be more skilled.

This is where the dialogue becomes tricky. If a rhapsode is explaining the epic through dramatization, Socrates’ series of questions are absurd. Can you imagine Ion stopping in the middle of a scene to call in the expert charioteer to lecture on the intricacies of horses? It would destroy the show. The majority of the 20,000 attendees would get up from their seats and leave.

Ion gets tricked in this dialogue. Socrates actually makes him look absurd and unskilled through definition by division. There are two instances where Socrates asks Ion point blank what skills he has over and above the experts in the field. In both cases, Ion responds by saying “in everything.” This was not the answer Socrates was expecting.

I think Ion was right. He was more skilled in Homer as a whole. He should have responded to Socrates by reciting the episode of Priam kissing the hand of the man who killed his son from the Iliad. He should have then asked Socrates the question, who judges this better, the rhapsode or the expert in kissing hands? The rhapsode or the anger management counselor? The rhapsode or the parent who has lost a child?

Ion was right because you can’t atomize the arts. You can’t break Homer down into small pieces and determine if he was as correct as an expert about a given topic. “The play’s the thing…” as Shakespeare stated through Hamlet. You don’t combat Homer by breaking him down. You combat Homer by telling better stories. Ion was correct - he was better at understanding and portraying the epic that has lasted 2,500+ years.

Plato knew this. He was a tragedy playwright himself (the story goes that he burned them all upon meeting Socrates). He utilized dialogues and myths to tell what he considered to be better stories. While it seems as though Ion is the absurd man in this dialogue (and he does say some absurd things), I actually think Plato presents Socrates as the absurd one for his line of questioning. Ion’s double response of “everything” exposes a deep insight about the arts.

Plato also uses this dialogue to explore the origin of these arts. Do they arrive through the skill of the artist, through the possession of the poet by a god, or through some middle ground of divine inspiration?

When I talk to artists, I rarely hear them say that the song, painting, or poem came through their own skill. They are skilled at what they do, but that’s not the origin. And I’ve never heard someone say they were completely out of control and possessed during the creation process. Nearly every time, I hear the artist admit that the work of art flowed through them in a way that they can’t fully explain. They were in control but something outside of their control happened in the process.

How do you atomize a work of art like that? How do you atomize Homer? You can’t. Ion was right.

I usually take a break from The Great Books during July, but I bumped my break up a month to read about the Legends of King Arthur. I did this because I was asked if I would be interested in interviewing Malcolm Guite about the first of four volumes of his epic Arthuriad, Galahad and the Grail. As a general rule, I try not to turn down opportunities to speak with epic poets, so I spent the beginning of June prepping for that episode, which you can watch here.

I am an Arthurian newbie. Until a few weeks ago, I lacked the most basic parts of the storyline. Here’s what I read this past month:

• I started with Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur to get my feet wet. I read the first 50+ pages about Arthur and then skipped to the parts dealing with Galahad. I did not read this entire book but just portions of it.

• Next, I read Galahad and the Grail in preparation for my conversation with Malcolm. I was amazed. It truly feels like we’re witnessing the release of an epic poem that will be around for generations. I loved this and the poetry would ring in my head after reading.

• Then, I read Roger Lancelyn Green’s King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. This is written for young adults and was very helpful in getting a relatively quick overview of the main stories of the legend of King Arthur. The Malory edition can be a bit long-winded and contradictory, but Green does a wonderful job of consolidation. He was also a friend of C.S. Lewis.

• I closed out my Arthurian Month with The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is an unfinished poem and was neat to see Tolkien’s interaction with the legend. His son wrote a very helpful and informative afterward. I recommend this to Arthur fans.

After Arthur, I read Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. This is the July book for the Short Great Books reading group I lead in Franklin, TN. I’m going to be reading it one more time before the July 6th meeting. I’m still processing the first read-through.

After Lewis, I dove back into Plato as I prepare for a podcast conversation I will be having later this week about the Ion dialogue. This is a short dialogue dealing with artistic inspiration. Here are the books I’ve been consulting for this deep dive:

• Plato: Complete Works - I usually start here with Plato’s dialogues to do a read-through for the overall picture. This version of Ion was translated by Paul Woodruff.

• Plato: Early Socratic Dialogues - Intro to & Translation of Ion by Trevor Saunders

• Plato: On Poetry - Intro to Ion by Penelope Murray (not pictured)

• Ion - translation by Allan Bloom

• An Interpretation of Plato’s Ion - by Allan Bloom - an article that has been very helpful in thinking about Ion.

• Classical Literary Criticism - Intro and Translation by Penelope Murray - I enjoyed this introduction.

By the time the podcast conversation occurs this Thursday, I’ll have read Ion at least 5 times. Some of these Great Books take me a long time to understand, but it’s been fun to see my understanding increase with each subsequent reading.

One quick note to close out June - I read the full books of about half of those listed above. For the others, I read small portions for intros or different translations, or I’m working my way through the entire work (as in the case of Plato’s Complete Works).

From July - November, I’ll be reading the dialogues of Plato. I’ve read about a third of them so far and am going to attempt to finish all of them by the end of the year. That will include a deep dive at some point into The Republic. I’ll want to read that one at least two times, maybe more.

I filmed two delightful podcast episodes during June around the Galahad and the Grail epic poem:

I first interviewed the author and poet, Malcolm Guite. We talked about the Arthurian threads back to Ancient Greece, his collaboration with illustrator Stephen Crotts, and the theme of unveiling.

After that, I interviewed the illustrator of Galahad and the Grail, Stephen Crotts. I asked Stephen about his design process, how he got into the Arthur stories, and how we should approach his artwork.

My book buying is out of hand. These books fall into a few main buckets:

• King Arthur - I really got into the Legends of King Arthur this past month and books would keep pointing to other books that I wanted to explore. The Apocryphal Gospels (particularly, the Gospel of Nicodemus) relates to Arthur as well.

• Till We Have Faces - I’m leading a discussion on this book next week and want to be well-prepared, so I purchased some books for that purpose. The story is based upon the Cupid & Psyche myth found in Apuleius’ Golden Ass, the reason for that purchase.

• Plato - I want to understand the Ion dialogue well before I discuss it this week on a podcast.

• Others:

  • I rearranged my shelves this past month and bought some books to fill in some Great Books gaps that I have coming up (Tao Te Ching, Sun Tzu, and Zhuāngzǐ.

  • The Yearling - I saw Andrew Peterson in concert and he talked about this book for quite a while. It really impacted him, so I bought it for the future.

  • The Hidden Life of Trees - I’m going to spend December reading about trees, so I’m building my arsenal.

Here’s some book-related fun I had during June:

1. Each year, thriller writer Brad Thor signs and personalizes his latest book for our customers at Landmark Booksellers. It’s a joy to get to speak to him each year as he signs books.

2. My office/study mid-shelf rearrangement.

3. An event at Landmark Booksellers with Former United States Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander.

4. Catching an Andrew Peterson concert at the Ryman where his backdrop was shelves of books.

5. In-person interview with Stephen Crotts, illustrator of Galahad and the Grail.

6. An event with Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman at Landmark Booksellers. I have listened to his music for many years, so it was neat to get to meet him.

I set aside one post per month to highlight my reading life. Books of Titans is a reading project aimed at seeking the ancient paths by reading The Great Books by 200 Authors chronologically over the next 40 years. Thank you for following my journey.

Last episode, I spoke to poet Malcolm Guite about his epic poem, Galahad and the Grail. In this episode, I interview Galahad’s illustrator, Stephen Crotts.

This is my Arthurian Month where I’ve been getting to know the Legends of King Arthur through the works of Sir Thomas Malory, Roger Lancelyn Green, and Malcolm Guite.

In this episode, recorded at Landmark Booksellers in Franklin, TN, I ask Stephen about his design process, how he got into the Arthur stories, and how we should approach his artwork. He also shares a few illustrations from the second book in the series that releases later this year.

I’ve gotten to know Stephen over the past few years. He’s helped me to see how illustrators can reveal parts of the story that authors cannot. When done right, authors and illustrators can create more than the sum of their individual contributions. The two can inform each other and help the reader see and understand in unexpected ways.

Two years ago, as Stephen was preparing for this Arthuriad project, we happened to be in London at the same time and toured the British Museum together. After perusing the Egyptian and Babylonian sections, we looked at the artifacts that bridged the gap between Pagan and Christian Britain, around the time of when the Arthur stories were said to have taken place (400’s AD). Stephen was there for inspiration for that timeframe.

• Stephen Crotts

• Purchase a copy of Galahad and the Grail from Landmark Booksellers

• Free Reader’s Kit

• Malcolm Guite

• Rabbit Room Publishers

• Landmark Booksellers | Recording Location

• Merlin’s Isle Trailer -

Last week, I wrote about how the Matter of Britain intersects with a number of the Great Books. Certain tales inspire the greatest minds. It’s helpful to know these stories to better appreciate the books that tap into these legends.

With that in mind, this article highlights the works that have told the Legends of King Arthur. As Malcolm Guite highlighted in the last podcast episode, there is not an authoritative work marking the origin of the Arthurian Legends. Instead, there are a number of works that have captured the tale over time.

It all started in Troy. While Aeneas was fleeing a Troy in flames and making his way to Italy, Brutus, another Trojan, was doing the same, making his way to Albion (Britain) to found New Troy, what we know today as London. From these lofty beginnings, this book chronicles the kings and legendary figures of Britain. You may have heard of some of them - King Lear, Merlin, and King Arthur.

Wace took Monmouth’s History that was written in Latin prose and adapted it to Old French poetry. He also added to the story and introduced the Round Table for the first time.

Here are some other important early works:

• Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes (1170 to 1191 AD) - introduced Lancelot, Percival, the Holy Grail, and Lancelot’s affair

• Brut by Layamon (1200 AD) - the first English retelling

• The Vulgate Cycle by Robert de Boron (1200 AD) - tied the Holy Grail to Joseph of Arimathea

I’m jumping ahead to this story as it connects Joseph of Arimathea to Glastonbury, where Arthur was buried. This story recounts how Jesus gave Joseph of Arimathea the Holy Grail (the cup from the last supper), the platter from the last supper, and the spear that pierced Jesus’ side on the cross. The Flowering Hawthorn is a staff that Joseph thrust into the ground on Wearyall Hill near Glastonbury Tor. The legend is that the staff flowers each Christmas (January 6th on the old calendar) in England.

This poem survived in a single document and recounts the story of a large Green Knight and one of the Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gawain.

This is one of the most famous prose collections of the Legends of Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory used French and English material to compose this work. It is mainly divided into different adventures that tell the stories of the Knights of the Round Table and the kingdom of Arthur.

Tennyson revived the Arthurian Legends by composing a Victorian retelling within twelve narrative poems of blank verse.

The story of an American Hank Morgan who winds up in 6th century England.

A friend of C.S. Lewis, Roger Lancelyn Green took the long and sometimes contradictory stories from Malory and compiled them into a version perfect for first-timers or children.

Some other works:

• The Once and Future King by T.H. White’s (1958)

• The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck (unfinished)

A story, the third of a trilogy, that is heavily steeped in the Arthurian legend.

The first of a total four volume Epic Poem called The Arthuriad by poet Malcolm Guite. This fresh telling of the Arthurian legend is composed in ballad form that creates a pleasant aftertaste in your mind. I spoke with Malcolm about this work in a recent podcast episode.

This is a look at the interactions between The Inklings (C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and others) with the legends of Arthur.

If you are completely new to the Arthur Legends, I recommend starting with Roger Lancelyn Green’s King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. It’s a short and easy to understand review of the main stories. That provides an excellent foundation to approach any of the other works listed above.