Reading for Life

timothy abbatacola
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Reading for Life is a show about books and the ways they expand our imaginations. Here, I explore texts for meaning, beauty, and the shape they impress upon us as we read. If you're looking for a conversation partner as you continue your reading journey, or need an approachable way in to the world of serious literature and the ideas that surround it, join me!

Episodes

  1. Sep 7

    I Who Have Never Known Men, Burden 2, Desire

    A look at the idea of desire as a function of the human psyche to urge us into a state of deeper belonging to the world around us. Using the concept of the primary imagination and some of the work of Northrop Frye, I try with varying levels of success to stick to Harpman's text and grasp some meaning in the narrator's continued, though stifled, drive to be a part of the world she knows.

  2. Jul 7

    I Who Have Never Known Men, Burden 1, The Inexplicable

    Using the mystery of Jaqueline Harpman's novel to think seriously about certain existential and psychological frameworks. Get ready for some Freud, Rilke, Becker, and Oliver. I read two Oliver poems. You can find both of them in Volume 1 of her Selected Poems.

  3. Jun 11

    Harpman and the Concept of Burden - An ill-advised preamble to the I Who have Never Known Men episodes

    Introducing the concept of a burden as the existential gift the universe gives a human for living up to (or below) their destiny. Setting up a creative and (too?) earnest interpretation of Jaqueline Harpman's I Who have Never Known Men. Ad-libbed explanation of how I got to this interpretive framework.

  4. Mar 17

    David Copperfield, "Reading as if for Life" | Ep. 1 of Vol. I, "A Great Host"

    An introduction to the show and a dive into Dickens' David Copperfield.

  • 4 Episodes

About

Reading for Life is a show about books and the ways they expand our imaginations. Here, I explore texts for meaning, beauty, and the shape they impress upon us as we read. If you're looking for a conversation partner as you continue your reading journey, or need an approachable way in to the world of serious literature and the ideas that surround it, join me!

Information

  • Creator
    timothy abbatacola
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © timothy abbatacola
  • Show Website
    Reading for Life