Introduction Middlemarch by George Eliot: What If the Characters Met Again After Death?What if Dorothea Brooke could finally ask Edward Casaubon whether he had ever truly loved her?What if Lydgate and Rosamond could confront the question that haunted their marriage: Who was really responsible for their unhappiness?And what if the characters of George Eliot's … [Read more...] about Middlemarch: What If George Eliot’s Characters Met Again?
Imaginary Talks
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee: Characters Speak
Introduction What if the family in American Hagwon could finally say everything they had kept inside?In Min Jin Lee's American Hagwon, John and Helen Koh believe in hard work, education, and sacrifice. They want their three children, Bo, DH, and Mido, to have opportunities they never had. But when betrayal, financial collapse, and immigration overturn their … [Read more...] about American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee: Characters Speak
Winnie-the-Pooh at 100: Friendship, Wisdom & Happiness
Introduction On October 14, 1926, A. A. Milne introduced readers to a little bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. One hundred years later, Pooh and his friends continue to remind us of something surprisingly easy to forget: happiness may have less to do with what we accomplish than with the people we share our lives with.In the Hundred Acre Wood, nobody is perfect. … [Read more...] about Winnie-the-Pooh at 100: Friendship, Wisdom & Happiness
Autobiography of Red Analysis: Love, Identity & Art
Main Introduction By Anne Carson (imagined as moderator)What if the monster in an ancient Greek myth had something to say?In Autobiography of Red, I imagined Geryon not merely as the creature defeated by Herakles, but as a young man with red wings, a camera, and a heart capable of extraordinary longing.His story raises questions that reach far beyond mythology. … [Read more...] about Autobiography of Red Analysis: Love, Identity & Art
Autobiography of Red Explained: Love and Identity
Introduction By Anne Carson (imagined as the moderator)What happens when a monster refuses to die?More than two thousand years ago, the Greek poet Stesichoros told the story of Geryon, a red, extraordinary creature killed by the great hero Herakles. The hero's victory became legendary. But the monster's feelings, dreams, and memories were largely left untold.In … [Read more...] about Autobiography of Red Explained: Love and Identity
Klara and the Sun Explained: What Makes Us Human?
Introduction by KlaraWhen I first met Josie, I was standing near a store window, watching the Sun.I had been created to be an Artificial Friend. My purpose was to observe, learn, and provide companionship to a child who would choose me. I knew there were newer models with greater abilities, and I understood that customers had many things to consider before making … [Read more...] about Klara and the Sun Explained: What Makes Us Human?
The Sun Also Rises Centennial: Are We a Lost Generation?
Introduction One hundred years after The Sun Also Rises first appeared in 1926, Ernest Hemingway’s characters still feel unexpectedly close to us.Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn, Pedro Romero, and Bill Gorton lived in the shadow of the First World War. They inherited a world in which familiar ideas about patriotism, masculinity, love, religion, … [Read more...] about The Sun Also Rises Centennial: Are We a Lost Generation?
Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: What Does It Really Mean?
Introduction What does it really mean to "wake up"?In Awareness, Anthony de Mello argues that much of human life is lived almost automatically. We inherit ideas about success, happiness, love, identity, religion, and even ourselves, then gradually forget that we inherited them. We begin treating our conditioning as reality.But some of de Mello's most … [Read more...] about Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: What Does It Really Mean?
Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: Waking Up Through Comedy
Introduction What if being awake and having your eyes open are two different things?In Awareness, Anthony de Mello makes a provocative suggestion: much of human life is lived almost automatically. We chase success because we learned that success makes us valuable. We seek approval because being liked feels like proof that we matter. We acquire things … [Read more...] about Anthony de Mello’s Awareness: Waking Up Through Comedy
War and Peace Lessons for Modern Life: 5 Short Stories
Introduction What happens when life refuses to become the story we expected?In Parts 1 and 2 of this War and Peace trilogy, Tolstoy's characters and later Tolstoy himself with literary scholars explored a similar question from different directions. Plans collapse. History exceeds individual control. Love can contain devotion and injury at the same time. … [Read more...] about War and Peace Lessons for Modern Life: 5 Short Stories