Guess who I have on as my guest today! Long-time listeners know that I love the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast. One of the co-hosts, Vanessa Zoltan, has similar views about connecting with literature as I do with artwork. In this episode, she and I discuss her book Praying with Jane Eyre and how to use sacred text (or sacred art) as a tool to help you deal with some of life’s problems, do good in the world, and become a better person in the process.

2:24​ - Vanessa briefs us on her background in education and chaplaincy

4:46 - Vanessa explains why she loves Jane Eyre so much

8:15 - What it means for something to be sacred, according to Vanessa

10:22 - Exploring the idea of how treating text as sacred leads to treating your neighbor as sacred

16:35 - The gift Vanessa recently received while reading Jane Eyre that we can all heed

19:25 - A brief description of Vanessa’s book and why her chapter on destiny shook me so much

21:27 - How a recent controversy involving JK Rowling tested people’s capacity to separate art from the artist

26:05 - How problematic elements in Bronte’s Jane Eyre reflect a dark side of the U.S.

30:42 - How to find your own sacred text or art and work with it

36:02 - Why re-reading the same exact text can still produce a different experience every time

40:20 - The artwork that has changed Vanessa’s life for 20 years running

Transcript at https://artclasscurator.com/81

Get full access to Art and Self with Cindy Ingram at cindyingram.substack.com/subscribe