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Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A AMA Episode VII) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-10-29 15:05:22
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

Thank you all so much for submitting such wonderful questions. It has, as always, resulted in a really enjoyable bookish conversation.

We're talking about the Beat Generation, book-to-film adaptations, literary circles, suffering leading to great literature, and much more. 

We also had two questions that deserved much more care and attention than we had time for, on structuralism and digressions, so we'll be answering those first in the next episode which we'll do earlier than usual as a bonus.

I read each question out in full and then respond to it. Feel free to jump to any topic/question you’re most interested in by using the timestamps, or grab a coffee or tea and enjoy whenever you can claim the time for yourself.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 who are the inheritors of the Beat Generation? And what's the real definition?
  • 12:52 do you believe Harold Bloom's hope in The Western Canon has come to fruition? And can you talk about literary circles?
  • 24:23 should you read the forward/introduction to a book first?
  • 28:30 what are your top 3 books that should be made into films?
  • 37:42 on comments, notifications, reading retreats, and community
  • 47:15 can narration style reflect the content of the story?
  • 49:51 is the best literature created from significant suffering?
  • 55:00 structuralism, 'Turn of the Screw', and 'Black Mirror'
  • 56:00 digressions/exposition in literature

I hope you're looking forward to the Hardcore Literature Halloween Special Show this weekend.

We'll be reading out the great ghost stories penned by our very own book club members. 

But, warning: you may need to sleep with a night-light after hearing these frightful tales.

I've penned one of my own for the occasion too, and we'll have some other tricks and treats, and lots of horror chat interspersing the tales.

Please do let us know any questions you might have for the next bonus Q&A Show.

Happy reading, everybody!

Files

Previews only

Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A AMA Episode VII)

0:00 who are the inheritors of the Beat Generation? And what's the real definition? 12:52 do you believe Harold Bloom's hope in The Western Canon has come to fruition? And can you talk about literary circles? 24:23 should you read the forward/introduction to a book first? 28:30 what are your top 3 books that should be made into films? 37:42 on comments, notifications, reading retreats, and community 47:15 can narration style reflect the content of the story? 49:51 is the best literature created from significant suffering? 55:00 structuralism, 'Turn of the Screw', and 'Black Mirror' 56:00 digressions/exposition in literature

Comments

Sooz

There was an adaptation of Clarissa in (I think) the early nineties. It starred a pretty young Sean Bean. I have yet to read the book so don't know how accurate it was though.

Bill Freeman

Arlington, Virginia – USA Ben, These monthly sharings are wonderful. Thanks for your reply to my question about reading forwards and introductions. As you know, I never read Anna Karenina nor a summary or intro to the book. I didn’t know the storyline (SPOILER ALERT!), so reading into Anna's stream-of-consciousness and the buildup to her final traumatic, gross suicide death under the train was, to say the least, unexpected. After reading “The Odyssey,” reading both the introduction and translator notes did feel like a reread and a deeper dive into the context. I appreciate meeting bookclub members in this corridor of literature and outside of the political/social frame that is swallowing up my country. I find that we are living through a national trauma and being retraumatized. Personally, I do not believe that I have the luxury of ignoring it anymore than the Germans would have had during the Second World War. With that said, the HCLB is a welcomed part of my life. There is a great insight into the value of a “lack of notification” that I’ve felt for the past 18 months. About a year ago, I delisted myself from Facebook and other platforms and the related notifications. I realized how “assaulted” and by consequence, reactive and defended I had become. Here, this is a deliberation that is thoughtful and meditative. This augments and supports my reading; I interact with the platform with intention and write reflectively. This works especially at this stage in my life as I segue from the demands of full-time academia and teach as an adjunct very selectively and consult on projects of my choosing. As I type, I have a sailing flashback of holding the rudder in my right hand and the sheet line in my left hand. Finally, I would be interested in learning more about you and your life – those growth touchpoints – and how literature has supported you as you've navigated life (of course, as you feel comfortable sharing) similar to what you have shared regarding the backstory of these great authors.

Halcyon Distilled

I think what I appreciate about you Ben is how authentic you come through your videos. Thank you for that and for tending to our questions. What you shared about the connection you felt around E.D.'s poem and Bloom's passing is so special. If you feel the intensity around that experience, then it is enough to make it valid and real. I have had 2 quite strong synchronicities come through for me while reading Les Mis. These things for us water signs never go unnoticed.... If you ever have time to expand on narration style complementing themes in a novel, that would be awesome. If not, I am glad to hear I wasn't over analyzing and that it's a thing... :) Now I will always be on the lookout for it. Have a great weekend!

Florian Pesantes

“Don’t silence your thoughts!” You are such a lovely man. To think I’d had a teacher as you are in my time in secondary school! So 2023 for the reading retreat? Britain or Ireland I assume. Oh, I’m in, no doubt. To read something about a Shakespeare play prior to the proper work really puts me off. To read the plot of King Lear prior didn’t help me at all. I thought, what a silly operatic plot, all confusing. At the insistence of a friend I can always trust I overcame my hesitation and just to think what I’d missed! It’s all in the sound of the spoken word, reading all aloud unlocked the play for me and transformed myself. I didn’t even have to look up all words unknown to me. It works like music, it speaks to the whole body and soul. Impossible to translate my feelings into an analytic essay.

Florian Pesantes

otherwise I’d like to copy and paste Bill’s comment in its entirety. Though I’m not sure if I’d be in the sphere of breaching a copyright. So just read what he’s written!

Bill Freeman
>>70780013

Florian, my brother of a different mother, I always look for your posts and so enjoy them. While this may be “coloring outside of the lines,” I have to comment on U.S. politics. During the early 1930s, as the conflict that became World War II grew as a gathering storm and exploded across Europe during the wars years, doctors continued to practice, and university professors continued to teach. For so many of us in the U.S. the past five years, the four Trump years, the normalization of “fake news,” the intentional misstatement of objective fact (alt-facts), the siege on the U.S. Capitol (only six miles from our home), the refusal by an entire political party to “see what happened,” the continuation of “The Big Lie,” the anti-vax/anti-mask, the racial unrest, the shaming and silencing, the demonization of immigrants, the banning of books, the pending state elections of extremists, Trump’s daily flirting of a 2024 run --- all by his machinations from Florida --- this is our present, political, reality. The above may very well be outside, perhaps far outside the HCLB; yet when the pages of this time are written, may we who live on each side of the Atlantic be found not wanting. Let those 50 years our junior not ask – as so many have looking back on the 1930s – “how could you remain silent?” I apologize if these comments are outside the frame of the club, and then, not so much . . . Ben, you most certainly have my permission to delete this entire comment. I do believe that I am obliged to keep showing up, to listen deeply, to bear witness. Knowing that I brought voice and reason, at least this day, is enough.

Caroline P

What a lovely time I have had listening to this. I have been to the beach with my dog and got soaked through in a rain storm. So came home, got dry, made a big pot of tea and am knitting a pair of socks for my daughter while listening (because I can’t ever sit completely still) . All pretty good, even the storm bit really. I am only chipping in to say that, as others say, this is the very best group. I particularly love that no one is made to feel silly for thoughts or comments. If you haven’t studied literature at an advanced level it is difficult to understand the way to analyse and talk about books. But it is wonderful that all levels of knowledge are accommodated, encouraged and listened to in this group. I am very very much looking forward to the poetry video. I am doing a poetry course right now…i am not convinced about it because it is too much free thought and zero structure and form so far. I get that ideas need to be generated, but I have ideas, I just need to learn more about how to form them correctly and have more discussion about what we are all writing in the class. Despite being a lifelong reader of poetry, reading it and writing it are two quite different things!. I wait to see with the course, maybe that is to come.. Lastly I really love Ginsbergs Howl I am just posting this video of an animation of it, it is old and I expect most have seen it but I find it mesmerising and love the way it is read too, always worth a rewatch https://youtu.be/lM9BMVFpk80

Scott W

Thank you, Ben. These videos are wonderful. I truly appreciate all the work you put into this group, and everyone here that makes it such a wonderful place to be. To answer your question in return, I think 'the blossoming' has truly begun at least in this corner of the internet. The content of your videos and podcasts is attracting people who deeply love and care about literature, that is clear. I am sad to say though, I don't see a return to aesthetic quality or art for art's sake outside of this group. I've tried different forums and social media groups and goodreads clubs and etc. over the last few years but none of them compare to here. I think there are three reasons for this: 1) You, Ben, our muse and guide, are building something wonderful here - you have the knowledge and love to pull this off. 2) The people you have managed to attract. I positively glow reading so many of the comments here, everybody's love of deep reading shines through, and I feel lucky to be able to learn from you all, you have so much so valuable to say, all of you. 3) Last but not least, the intentional, low-speed, rate of communication. No pings, no rapid fluttery one-line replies. Great videos, provoking great discussion, at a pace that gives everyone space and time to put the reading first.. It seems we all love reading, and learning from one another, and I feel very luck to have found you all.

Scott W
>>70804863

Do look into 'The Ode Less Travelled' by Stephen Fry if you haven't already. It is a wonderful guide to writing your own poetry. Out of interest, have you ever tried writing 'response' poems? I don't know if it's a recognised concept, but I recently read Coleridge's 'Frost At Midnight', on Ben's recommendation, and felt moved to write my own poem in response to Samuel's. I was moved by his poem but as I found myself reflecting how my own experience of sitting up late with a baby was quite different to Coleridge's, I started to write my own poem in response. It is called 'That Will I Never Forget (Or, A Response to Frost At Midnight)'. I didn't use any particular form, just lines of about five feet or so that sounded 'right' when I read them. I have not read Howl or watched that video, but the start is very intriguing. I will watch that when I get time, Caroline. I haven't ready anything by the Beat generation yet and it looks like just the place to make a start. Thank you, I already trust your links to well worth looking into. :)

Scott W
>>70779871

'To read something about a Shakespeare play prior to the proper work really puts me off.' Oh I really agree with you here, Florian! To read what others think about Hamlet before you've read Hamlet and decided for yourself is the definition of 'the tail wagging the dog', isn't it? I read Self-Reliance by Emerson recently, on Ben's recommendation, and I do have a greater resolve now not to censor my own thoughts and opinions so much, which looking to others before we look to ourselves is certainly a form of, isn't it? I read 'Christabel' by Coleridge twice this week and made sure to decide for myself what I thought before reading what anyone else thought, and I'm glad I did because my own take was quite different to the 'accepted' one (whatever that means)!

hardcoreliterature
>>70752872

Thank you, Bill. A really cool thing about summaries and lectures, as many are discovering, is that they’re great for leveraging into a conscious, guided reread. Rereading for me often looks like zooming through some passages, then alighting on one particular passage and spending inordinate amounts of time there - reading and writing around it and into the fabric of the book’s universe. National trauma, and also very much a global trauma. In recent years, I have become more aware of just how living, breathing, conscious, and growing the world is - and growth sure is painful. I’m glad you’ve felt the benefit of quieting the lack of notifications. I remember many years ago when I felt anxious without knowing why - easily overwhelmed. I had a feeling that if I purged a lot of the instantaneous stuff that a calm would come. And, for me, after the initial restless period that came about from a developed dependency, an awesome calm most certainly did come! As for growth and touch points in my own life arc, something I’ve noticed is a roughly 3-year cycle which involves intense change to the point of being almost a completely different person. I fully believe we have seasons in our lives - summers and winters, springs and autumns - and I also believe that a lot manifests in the body. Whenever I feel extreme body tiredness and pain, I know there’s some kind of breakthrough on the horizon. I can almost forecast my next one :) thanks for the amazing comment as always.

hardcoreliterature
>>70775124

Thank you so much :) Grazie! I love what you’ve said here about the feeling itself making the validity. This reminds me of one of my very wise friends a few years back. I didn’t want to complain or burden anybody with any of my issues so would shrug them off. And I remember him saying, “If it’s important to you, it’s important.” That stayed with me. I’ll definitely expand on the relation between form and subject - I’ve got some plans for a series of lectures on “Narrative”, where they will fit well! And have a great weekend yourself too - happy Halloween!

hardcoreliterature
>>70827698

Thank you for such a lovely comment, Scott! There definitely has been a nice bit of magic sprinkled over this group. I had experienced what you mention here about different forums and goodreads too, so it got to the point where I thought it was worth a shot putting one together myself. There are a lot of kindred spirits in this group, and it’s been so wonderful getting to know you all through these classic books :)

Deborah E Costine

Just an interesting side note. Your comment on "sympathy" made me realize it comes from the Greek "sum" (with/together with) & "pathos" (suffering). So etymologically it would literally be "suffering together with" someone. That gives me greater insight into my own mixed feelings of sympathy & horror of Frankenstein's "monster".

hardcoreliterature
>>71197913

Beautiful realisation, Deborah, thank you so much for sharing. I love examining the etymology of words - it's always so revealing. And this really reveals that suffering is so deeply at the heart of sympathy!

David Wisehart

I loved your discussion of film adaptations. I've directed films and plays, and a part of me always reads books with a thought to how the story and characters might play on stage or film. A classic I read recently that got me thinking about adaptation was The Brothers Karamazov. I think it could work well as a pure courtroom drama, adapting only the the last sections of the book dealing with the trial, and revealing the backstory through testimony. It would be easier to mount on the legit stage, but might also be doable as a modest-budget indie film.