Godward: A Lit-Wisdom Podcast

More of the same, for die-hard fans only. Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance. Part 3.

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Part 2 in the video series on Hawthorne's 1852 book, "The Blithedale Romance"

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In this introductory episode, hear about Brook Farm and 19th century socialism in America, the influence of Fourier, and the necessity of skepticism and doubt. "The Blithedale Romance" was published in 1854, about 12 years after Hawthorne lived for a time at Brook Farm with a bunch of unitarians who wanted to reform the world. In the long run, he wasn't buying it. Part 1 in a series.

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In this eclectic episode, hear about Montaigne's approach to essay-writing, my own health difficulties, and Buddha's teachings -- plus, a general review of the channel and a discussion of what sorts of directions we might pursue in the future. There's a little bit of everything here.

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In this high-verbal IQ episode, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing Melville's very dense follow-up novel to Moby-Dick, "Pierre, or, The Ambiguities." What happens when mom wants you to like Reese Witherspoon but you fall for Helena Bonham Carter instead -- and then discover she's your half-sister? You move to New York City and try to become a great Truth-Telling writer, of course! But seriously, epistemological uncertainty can be a real drag, but it might also be how things really are -- and maybe it's at least nice to know that someone else has swum in these depths before us. "The brain is wider than the sky," Emily Dickinson said -- and that means it's definitely larger than politics too. My argument here is that we need to get in closer touch with human nature and psychology in order to construct anything of value, whether it be art or a political order or anything else -- the mind comes first, and it's not easy terrain to master.

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Continuing in the thread of 19th century liberals and why we love them, this episode considers "Song of Myself" and a couple of shorter poems by Whitman. Is he a very modern, post-Christian, sexually-depraved degenerate? Probably yes to all those. Do we still love his poetry?--yes!--even though it doesn't rhyme?--still, I think yes! There's never been a more anti-nationalist writer than Whitman, unless you count Anacharsis Cloots, but at the same time, Whitman is the most American-American ever... so, what's going on there? Can we salvage any of this? Here's my take: we DO want some serious emphasis on the esoteric elements of religion. Religion is not merely a language that we use to organize society. It is also the gateway to the other dimension of thought, to the twilight zone -- and this gateway cannot be inherited genetically, and it cannot be forcibly inculcated by a doctrine. Instead, one has to discover it for himself. And once he does, he is now qualified as what William James would call "the twice born," which means he is no longer LIKE all the other people -- including the people he has known for his whole life! He's a new man! Born again! And he will THEN go on to seek others who have experienced this second birth. He will identify with his fellow-twice-born even more than he did with his blood-ties. Can we imagine a society of the twice-born? Can such a society avoid ossifying?

Nietzsche's ubermensch, eternal recurrence, anti-Christianism. Enjoy the analysis and commentary on "Thus Spake Zarathustra." Plus, honoring Jerry Rubin! This episode gives you all the content you want in a way that will make some of you (the ones who don't know what they're talking about) mad. Seriously, Nietzsche is not a conservative.

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In this Francophilic video, enjoy lots of pretty pictures and some sympathetic talk about Huysmans' 1884 cult classic, "Against Nature," which is also translated as "Against the Grain." The idea of this book is that the French Decadent period was sort of the end of an age. Ennui was dominating French intellectuals and the opium dens and brothels were lining the streets of Paris. Some visionaries like Baudelaire and Rimbaud challenged the optimistic narrative of Progress and secularism. Some became political liberals, but some decided that that was a path leading nowhere. Swimming against the stream, cutting against the grain, not following the pack -- all that stuff -- Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a book in the exact opposite direct, and it scandalized the French literati. Degeneracy is a real thing, and some people actually oppose it smartly!

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In this misleadingly titled video, hear a reasonable attempt at summarizing one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, as well as some thoughts about its meaning and dominant themes. See some famous paintings of the play, and hear something about how Shakespeare changed English drama, as well as how he influenced later writers like Herman Melville. Pull your tights up, gentlemen!

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