The Reader and the Writer

Shari Dragovich and Rhea Forney
  • 4.5 (11)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

Our lives, from their beginnings, are storied, and find their fullness when nestled securely within the Great Story; the one that opens, “In the Beginning…” Here on The Reader and the Writer, we delight in and give witness to that Great Story by reading and discussing those excellent works of literature written since. thereaderandthewriter.substack.com

  1. Hannah Coulter | Part 2

    1d ago

    Hannah Coulter | Part 2

    But you may have a long journey to travel to meet somebody in the innermost inwardness and sweetness of that room. You can’t get there just by wanting to, or just because the night falls. The meeting is prepared in the long day, in the work of years, in the keeping of faith, in kindness. (p. 110, on the room of love) Welcome back to Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry. In this 2nd episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the ways Hannah’s story echoes deeply Genesis 2:15-24: the making of man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” (v. 24) They discuss grief, membership, a place on earth, work, and love. They discuss how Wendell Berry is insistent that all of these things are intertwined in such a way that one cannot truly flourish without the other. All are needed for a whole life. They talk about the musicality embedded in Hannah’s story; which leads to a lengthy discussion about the power and beauty of music and poetry to express truths and realities not reachable by words alone. They talk about the ways this section is embedded with all Wendell’s theses: on life, on work kindly done, on marriage as “one flesh.” Indeed, it all rises and falls on marriage. Resources Mentioned on podcast: * Jeremy Begbie on music and the arts * Rhea’s Hannah Coulter Reading Guide (scroll down for the bookmarks pdf) * R&W’s Substack page (for full access to essays, links, discussions): If you liked this post check out: Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer. If you liked what you heard, please ❤️ it and share it with others. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 10m
  2. Hannah Coulter | Part 1

    Jun 23

    Hannah Coulter | Part 1

    “This is my story, my giving of thanks.” —Hannah Coulter (p. 5) Welcome to Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the power of Wendell’s work in and for their lives. They talk about his way of seeing every single thing that opens up to us a story that, as Hannah writes in the beginning: weighs upon us, presses against us and fills all our senses to overflowing (paraphrased from p. 5). They discuss the long-view narrative structure (much like Crossing to Safety), memory, and the trinitarian life hidden in plain sight. They talk about Hannah’s beginning that is a continuation of Nathan’s ending, the story that is her story, Nathan’s story, their story together. They talk about the humility of knowing one’s own neediness, the golden threads of love and gratitude, kindness that keeps alive, and her unique way of describing what it is to be “in love.” They talk about the light that shines in darkness and never goes out calling us always back into life (paraphrased from p 57). Of course, they talk about Membership. They do none of this while maintaining dry eyes. Below is our reading schedule: * Chapters 1-7: June 23 * Chapters 8-15: June 30 * Chapters 16-24: July 7 Further Wendell Berry Resources: * The Berry Center * Berry Center Bookstore * Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry The Wendell Berry poem I (Shari) keep on my desk: IX. The incarnate Word is with us,is still speaking, is presentalways, yet leaves no signbut everything that is. (from: This Day: Collected & New Sabbath Poems) Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you enjoyed this post, please give it some ❤️ and share it with others. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 12m

  3. Jun 16

    Beloved | Part 4

    “The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It’s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.” —Sixo to Paul D. Only this woman, Sethe could have left him his manhood like that. He wanted to put his story next to hers. Welcome to our final episode of Beloved, by Toni Morrison. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the first images, and any Scripture that came to them when they finished the novel. They discussed axes, fruit, chopping down, our creature limitations and the devastations we aren’t meant to carry. They discuss the four strange chapters at the beginning of this section; the “thoughts of the women of 124, unspeakable thoughts, unspoken.” (235) They read aloud the unspoken conversation and discuss the ways in which, when read this way, it sounds a little like the call and response of a Black Spiritual. They discuss why possession v. love, why the women of the community were the only ones who could exorcise Beloved, and Paul D was the only one who could heal Sethe’s brokenness. Finally, they ask themselves: “What do I say is my best thing? What do I act like is my best thing?” Our next book is Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. We will read it over three weeks. Here is the breakdown: * June 23: Chapters 1-7 * June 30: Chapters 8-15 * July 7: Chapters 16-24 Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, please hit the ❤️ button and share it with others. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 7m

  4. Jun 12

    Middlemarch | Book 5

    “What is it you gentlemen are thinking of when you are with Mrs. Casaubon?” “Herself,” said Will…. When one sees a perfect woman, one never thinks of her attributes—one is conscious of her presence.” (409) Welcome back to Middlemarch. In this episode, Shari & Rhea discuss beauty and love from multiple characters’ perspectives. What is love and beauty according to Will Ladislaw? Lydgate? Rosamond? Dorthea? They talk about Farebrother and the apostolic question surrounding Dorthea and Lydgate’s conversation: What does “apostolic” mean? What has it become in the world of Middlemarch? How is all this apostolic talk relevant with the question of the Reform Bill looming in the background? Finally, they discuss the dead hand. Is there more than one dead hand? What are all the ways these dead hands are affecting the living? Next month, is Book 6 (only three books left!). That episode is set to air the second Friday of July. Between now and then, consider making a Casaubon/Ladislaw family tree. It may just come in handy as you continue to read! Here is the R&W outline for Middlemarch, Book 5 for your personal use: Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, ❤️ it, and share it with others. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 16m

  5. Jun 9

    Beloved | Part 3

    Welcome back to Beloved. In this episode, Rhea and Shari discuss the way this section of the story has a sense of suspendedness to it in ways that are hard to understand or explain. They discuss this phenomena through the unique p.o.v.’s: Baby Suggs (beyond the grave), the “four horsemen,” and Stamp Paid. They discuss the moments of “communion” happening and what each one is signifying, pointing toward and away from. They talk about the way the back and forth of the narrative time leaves them feeling suspended over time itself, and the implications of this for the characters, especially Sethe who is now anxious to live in the “no-time” behind the locked door of 124 with Denver and Beloved. And because so much of this story leaves them beyond the realm of understanding, they end with poetry from Gwendolyn Bennett: “Epitaph.” Epitaph by Gwendolyn Bennett When I am dead, carve this upon my stone: Here lies a woman, fit root for flower and tree, Whose living flesh, now mouldering round the bone, Wants nothing more than this for immortality, That in her heart, where love so long unfruited lay A seed for grass or weed shall grow, And push to light and air its heedless way; That she who lies here dead may know Through all the putrid marrow of her bones The searing pangs of birth, While none may know the pains nor hear the groans Of she who lived with barrenness upon the earth. Next week Rhea and Shari will discuss the final portion Beloved: pp. 236-323. The next book they are deep reading is Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry (yay!!) Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, please show it some ❤️ and share it with a friend. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 2m
  6. Beloved | Part 2

    Jun 2

    Beloved | Part 2

    Welcome back to Beloved, by Toni Morrison. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the novel in a bit of a different way, that is, in the way of movement. What is the push and pull of each character? Where is the status quo that each is continually striving for and what is the continual element disrupting that design? Where and when and to who is each character saying yes, or no to, and what is the resulting consequence of that decision—however conscious or unconscious that may be. All these things help reveal a movement happening: for the characters individually, and the story as a whole. And how is memory involved in all this movement? How is it pushing, pulling, causing, disrupting, animating, and fragmenting these people, their lives, and our lives, too? If you missed our last episode, you can listen to it here: You also may like reading my most recent essay asking the question: Could AI ever get so good that it could write Beloved?? Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer. If you liked this post, show it some ❤️ and share it with others. . The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the literary work we’re doing, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 3m

  7. May 26

    Beloved | Part 1

    Welcome to our first episode of Beloved, by Toni Morrison. In this episode, Shari and Rhea introduce their four week reading of this powerful novel by way of poetry. Rhea discusses how poetry has helped her digest the intensity of the narrative by reading poetry along the way. They talked about Morrison as a writer, her beliefs about fiction, narrative, and the participatory compact she makes with the reader. Rhea explains how her regular process for reading has drastically adjusted with reading this novel, and why this new approach feels like the right one for now. They discuss memory as a narrative device: how memory functions in Beloved, how it is the subject matter within the story, now it is guiding the story’s structure, how it is a theme, and how Morrison is using memory as a theme to explore other big ideas. And they talk about memory as it relates to language: how language and memory both reside in our bodies, how this shows up in the characters, and what it means for us as readers moving forward into Morrison’s world of Beloved. Show Notes: * Toni Morrison essay: “Memory, Creation, and Writing” * The Source of Self Regard * African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song If you’d like to go deeper into this week’s reading, or want some help as you discuss Beloved with a friend or reading group, here is a PDF of this episode’s outline and detailed book notes. Finally, look for Rhea’s Beloved Reading Guide to drop soon! Thanks for listening to this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, please ❤️ it and share it. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 6m

  8. May 12

    Middlemarch | Part 4

    Most happy she that most assured doth rest, But he most happy who such ones love best —Spenser (from epigraph in ch 37) Welcome back to our year(ish) long read, Middlemarch, by George Eliot. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss all the ways Book Four feels pivotal; the story lines begin to really boil in “Three Love Problems,” and there is no shortage of curiosities to go with it. First, they talk of reform in this section, and all the ways the greater idea of “reform” webs itself into the story’s greater themes. They discuss the “three love problems”: who exactly does Eliot want us to think of here? They talk about the “gossamer web” of young love-making, and wonder why Eliot applies it to Lydgate and Rosamond and not, say, Dorthea and Casaubon, or Dorthea and Will? Rhea recognizes the possible significance in the repeated mention of the “pale stag” (once in Ch 9, and then again in Ch 37). Shari wonders if the Bulstrodes really give a rip about Rosamond marrying Lydgate, or if their “caring” has a more selfish motive at heart. Finally, they do a “lightning” round (more like a slow thunder rumble), asking each other those burning questions they have moving forward. What about you? Any questions or predictions for what will happen next? If you haven’t already, go to the R&W Middlemarch page and download Rhea’s next set of bookmarks! Scroll down to find them. Finally, for your continued deeper dive into Middlemarch’s Book Four, or use in a book group, homeschool study, and all purposes in-between, here is a PDF of our Book Four outline: Thanks for this episode of The Reader & the Writer! If you liked this episode, ❤️ it and share it with others. The Reader & the Writer is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our literary work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to The Reader & the Writer at thereaderandthewriter.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 34m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Our lives, from their beginnings, are storied, and find their fullness when nestled securely within the Great Story; the one that opens, “In the Beginning…” Here on The Reader and the Writer, we delight in and give witness to that Great Story by reading and discussing those excellent works of literature written since. thereaderandthewriter.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Shari Dragovich and Rhea Forney
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    147
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Shari Dragovich
  • Show Website
    The Reader and the Writer

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