Literary Nomads

By Steve Chisnell

Join me, Steve Chisnell, as we find and lose meaning across modern and classic tales, through ancient and distant verse, atop everything in our many cultures which might be read. For teachers, studen... more

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How many episodes does Literary Nomads have?

The podcast currently has 105 episodes available.

Literary Nomads episodes:

August 01, 2025In Defense of Fantasy
1 Aug 2025
Episode 6.07 - In Defense of Fantasy
Riddle: What do Beowulf, Palmolive dish liquid, and Sarah Maas have in common? Hint: Ursula K. Le Guin knows!
Today we wonder at both the disdain of fantasy as genre and its enduring popularity, examine some of Le Guin’s arguments for it as literature, and take a crash course in the history of fantasy across the millennia.
Some key texts discussed in this episode:
Ancient Texts: Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey
Roman Epics: The Aeneid, Africa
Chanson de Geste: The Song of Roland; Beowulf
Amadis of Gaula
Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queen
Cervantes: Don Quixote
Works of Sir Walter Scott
William Morris: The Well at the World’s End
Lord Dunsany: The Gods of Pegana
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings
C. S. Lewis: Narnia series
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson: Dungeons and Dragons
Readings on Fantasy Recommended:
Tolkien, J. R. R. - “On Fairy Stories” - https://archive.org/details/on-fairy-stories_202110
Le Guin, Ursula K. - “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie”
Carter, Lin - Any of his essays or books on fantasy history
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Geekdom and Down-the-Nose POV
07:40 Opening Theme
08:10 Un-Trashing Mass Culture
15:49 Truths of Fantasy
22:12 History of the Fantastic
38:39 You’re Soaking In It
41:56 The Fantasy Formal
46:33 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-07-in-defense-of-fantasy/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “In Defense of Fantasy,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 1 August 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
48min
July 25, 2025Stephen King Meets Shel Silverstein: Formalism and Trope in Story
25 July 2025
Episode 6.06 - Stephen King Meets Shel Silverstein: Formalism and Trope in Story
What do a children’s story and horror film have in common? Maybe our Suffering Child question, with very different approaches to it. In the meantime, we break down some of the keys to understanding form, genre, trope, medium–and throw some shade of formula, cliches, and stereotypes.
Terms from today’s episode:
Formalism - A literary theory which considers structure before content in considering meaning. Some of its principles:
Texts stand alone; consider only the text, not outside factors
Close Reading is an active strategy for thinking about how texts are built
Defamiliarization (ostranenie) is when something in the text is subverted, changed, varied, to upset our comfort levels
Organic Unity is the idea that every single part of a text works towards building the meaning of the whole work
Terns of structure discussed today:
Form
Genre
Trope
Medium
Formula, cliche, and stereotype
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Building Story
07:50 Opening Theme
08:23 From What to How
17:32 Blueprints: Choosing Form
21:03 Genre: Breaking the Unwritten Contract
28:16 Pattern Recognition: Tropes
33:24 Medium: The Material of Story
38:46 Formula, Cliché, & Stereotypes: The Shadow Side of Formalism
43:48 The Hideous Bargains
49:38 Glimpse into the Fantastic
52:55 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-06-stephen-king-meets-shel-silverstein/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Stephen King Meets Shel Silverstein: Formalism and Trope in Story,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 25 July 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
55min
July 18, 2025Negotiating for Space: Compromise and Flag-Planting
18 July 2025
Episode 6.05 - Negotiating for Space: Compromise and Flag-Planting
This is getting challenging. What are we to do with the Suffering Child question? And on which form of suffering do I plant my flag of resistance? Dostoevsky and Langston Hughes both offer clues.
The complete reading of Dostoevsky’s “Rebellion” in The Brothers Karamazov: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17z89hjeEz1Rl_hcx4jUdkQi1M0jzbwv2/view?usp=drive_link
Langston Hughes: “Let America Be America Again” - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147907/let-america-be-america-again
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Our Suffering Child
02:19 Opening Theme
02:52 And Yet We Know, Too
09:47 A Plethora of Principles
15:35 A Different Hideous Bargain
23:38 Rebellion, Revolution, Reconciliation
28:03 Reading: Langston Hughes “Let America Be America Again”
33:09 Closing Words
34:45 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-05-negotiating-for-space-compromise-and-flag-planting
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Negotiating for Space: Compromise and Flag-Planting,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 18 July 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
37min
July 11, 2025Reading: “Rebellion” from Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’
11 July 2025
Episode 6.04 - Reading: “Rebellion” from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov
Still another famous writer has posed the Le Guin question, and he did it in one of Russia’s most famous novels, The Brothers Karamazov. This chapter precedes the more famous and discussed ‘The Grand Inquisitor.’ Here it is.
The Complete Reading as pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17z89hjeEz1Rl_hcx4jUdkQi1M0jzbwv2/view?usp=drive_link
Also mentioned: William James: “The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life” - https://archive.org/details/jstor-2375309/page/n1/mode/2up
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Question in Non-Fiction & Fiction
05:53 Opening Theme
06:31 Reading of “Rebellion” from The Brothers Karamazov
36:05 Next Week
37:04 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-04-reading-rebellion-from-dostoevskys-the-brothers-karamazov/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Reading: ‘Rebellion’ from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 11 July 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
39min
July 04, 2025Otium and The Moral Philosopher – William James
4 July 2025
Episode 6.03 - Otium and The Moral Philosopher - William James
Le Guin leans on an essay by William James, but what does that have to do with all our garden talk? It’s about our blind spots and our privilege. Here’s James’s argument and how it sets up a pragmatic popular ethic that may be worrisome.
William James: “The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life” - https://archive.org/details/jstor-2375309/page/n1/mode/2up
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of Season 5, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Cranky Professor
05:25 Opening Theme
05:59 Oppositions to Work
12:51 Otium as Privilege
23:22 Hideous Bargains: William James
29:40 Back to Our Garden
32:37 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-00-trailer
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Otium and The Moral Philosopher - William James,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 4 July 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
34min
June 27, 2025Marvell’s Garden and Ours – Otium
27 June 2025
Episode 5.18 Marvell’s Garden and Ours: Otium
Speaking of links back to Andrew Marvell’s poetry–weren’t we?–we add a new concept into our repertoire which exposes some of our misapprehensions about nature, leisure, and work. And we read Marvell’s poem “The Garden” while we think green thoughts about it.
Confused about our episode numbering? Don’t be! Since this episode is more about Andrew Marvell’s work, it appears as a Journey 5: Andrew Marvell episode, though it aired in the context of Journey 6 where the concept of otium became important to us!
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of Season 5, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow”: https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Reverie in Roma
04:32 Opening Theme
05:05 Building Nature
11:15 Reading” The Garden” by Andrew Marvell
15:14 Green Thoughts
23:05 Otium
37:35 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-5-18-marvells-garden-and-ours-otium/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Marvell’s Garden and Ours: Otium,’” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 27 June 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
39min
June 20, 2025Vaster Than Empires – Le Guin
20 June 2025
Episode 6.02 - “Vaster Than Empires” - Le Guin
What does it mean to embrace “Other”? And how might we understand carpe diem if we truly had “world enough and time?” Le Guin shows us in her famous science fiction short story.
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of Season 5, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow”: https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Pastoral Splendour
04:29 Opening Theme
05:03 Living Fast and Slow
12:05 The Story: “Vaster Than Empire and More Slow”
18:13 Le Guin and Marvell
28:50 Veggie Minds and The Other
40:58 Green Silences
47:42 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-02-vaster-than-empires-le-guin/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Vaster Than Empires - Le Guin” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 20 June 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
49min
June 13, 2025Signpost – Pretty Gardens in Paint
13 June 2025
Episode 6.01 - Signpost: Pretty Gardens in Paint
Where we’ve been and where we’re going, and we take a pause in a museum gallery, too!
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of Season 5, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Thomas Gainsborough painting: Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (1750): https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/thomas-gainsborough-mr-and-mrs-andrews
Literary Terms Reviewed:
narrative distance
dramatic irony
inter-textuality
ekphrasis
allusion
polysemy
sfumato
Reading Strategies Reviewed:
Embracing uncertainty and ambiguity
Asking why questions
Our interpretation process: notice, significance, pattern, coherence
Engaging our experience; engaging others
Authors & Titles Reviewed:
Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”
Horace, Ode 1.11
Roman Krznaric, Carpe Diem Regained
Rilke, “Archaic Torso of Apollo”
Concepts and Themes Reviewed:
Carpe diem as “pluck” or “harvest”
Accountability
Uncertainty
Ethics of Choice
Ethical Attentiveness
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow”: https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Pastoral Splendour
06:38 Opening Theme
07:16 Signposting
09:19 Literary Terms
17:22 Interlude: The Andrewses
21:28 Strategies for Meaning
28:52 Interlude 2: The Andrewses
33:21 Authors and Titles
37:23 Interlude 3: The Andrewses
40:47 A Few Themes
47:43 Final Visit: The Andrewses
51:20 Closing Theme and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-01-pretty-gardens-in-paint/
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “6.01 Signpost: Pretty Gardens in Paint,’” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 13 June 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
53min
May 30, 2025Trailer: Journey 6
30 May 2025
Episode 6.00 - Trailer
Looking ahead at Season 6: Ursula K. Le Guin’s story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” and all the wrestling we do with dilemmas of ethics.
New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of Season 5, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow”: https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Trailer
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-00-trailer
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “Journey 6 Trailer,’” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 30 May 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.
...more
5min
May 23, 2025What I Get Wrong
23 May 2025
Episode 5.17 - What I Get Wrong
We close out the journey with a needed reflection, a look at what I’ve been doing, how it fits our collective needs, and what we might see for changes ahead. I reflect on the integration of skills in language, the role of thinking skills, and why reading and interpretation cannot be about objective deliverables.
Listener Survey Available! Please let me know what you thought of the season, and get some free stuff, too!
https://forms.gle/rZEaGFhniuv78BwF7
Reading Ahead, Journey 6:
Ursula K. Le Guin: “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow”: https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
Ursula K. Le Guin: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf
Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/andrew-marvell-coy-mistress/
CHAPTERS
00:00 Announcement
00:56 Reflecting on the Wrong
08:13 Opening Theme
08:45 Nuts & Bolts
14:52 More Bolts Than Nuts
17:13 Interpretation and Intimidation
26:42 Getting It Right?
32:53 The Wrong Of It
39:47 A Bit of Daring
44:38 Outro and Credits
===
Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-5-17-what-i-get-wrong
Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/MmhqcGgeLcjCaVK97
What are your thoughts on our discussion? Email me: [email protected]
===
Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.
Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.
Website: https://waywordsstudio.com
Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/
Instagram: @WaywordsStudio
Facebook: Waywords.Studio
YouTube: Waywords Studio
LinkedIn: Waywords-Studio
CREDITS:
Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)
Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski
USING THIS WORK:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.
MLA CITATION:
Chisnell, Steve. “What I Get Wrong,’” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 17 May 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/andrew-marvell-coy-mistress/.
...more
46min

FAQs about Literary Nomads:

How many episodes does Literary Nomads have?

The podcast currently has 105 episodes available.