Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A Episode XI) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-02-27 10:29:09
Imported:
2026-06
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Content

Thank you all for your wonderful questions. As always, they have resulted in a great bookish conversation for this episode of our Q&A Show.

You might find the first half of the show to have a rather dark tone, as we discuss recent events.

After our discussion on times of crisis, topics include: reading the Qu'ran, two methods of chanting/recitation, exploring etymology, first editions of Modern Literature, and much more.

Feel free to jump to any topic/question you’re most interested in by using the timestamps below.

Video Timestamps:

  • 0:00 should writers reference recent events?
  • 15:30 how can literature help during crisis?
  • 24:41 what do you think of Paradise Lost?
  • 29:52 recommendations for literary theory?
  • 43:06 recommendations for podcasts & channels?
  • 47:16 recommendation for books on Shakespeare?
  • 50:27 are there more poetry lectures on the way?
  • 55:09 do you look up every unknown word?
  • 59:14 your experience with Middle Eastern Literature?
  • 1:04:46 your thoughts on Infinite Jest?
  • 1:06:50 what modern first edition would you love to have?

Mentioned in the show:

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

Happy reading, everybody. Love to you all.

Files

Previews only

Coffee with Hardcore Literature (Q&A Episode XI)

0:00 should writers reference recent events? 15:30 how can literature help during crisis? 24:41 what do you think of Paradise Lost? 29:52 recommendations for literary theory? 43:06 recommendations for podcasts & channels? 47:16 recommendation for books on Shakespeare? 50:27 are there more poetry lectures on the way? 55:09 do you look up every unknown word? 59:14 your experience with Middle Eastern Literature? 1:04:46 your thoughts on Infinite Jest? 1:06:50 what modern first edition would you love to have?

Comments

Florian Pesantes

Dear Don, you are so right to point at Ben’s quality as a teacher. One feels the wish to give one’s best for the wonderful man he is. Not only by growing one’s knowledge but also growing personally. Living the books, hence living the life.

Anonymous
>>78848527

Hey, Florian! Without a doubt, Ben has had an improving effect on me and my relationship to books, but I also like that he seems to be learning right along with us. Sure, he's the expert, but he models the kind of openness and enthusiasm for new ideas that I want to have. Having endured lectures by many experts over the course of my life, I find his attitude both refreshing and encouraging. I also like that he's created a space in which I can learn from people like you who have much valuable insight. It's a great set up.

Pierre Bolkonsky
>>78848527

Bill said it best: Ben is a guide on the side instead of being a sage on the stage like, many teachers who don't have his empathy or his humility.

Anonymous
>>78848527

Yes, Bill has a knack for turns of phrase, and he's a good guy as well.

Ellen M
>>78848527

Hi Florian, I love what you wrote: “living the books, hence living the life”. It feels so true and I feel an internal shift after our last month of Shakespeare and now Moby Dick. It really is a testament to Bens ability as a teacher, and our guide in this voyage.

Emma Yap

Coming to this late, but I really loved this video. Ben recommended Marcus Aurelius' meditations to me last year when I had surgery, and I brought a copy with me into the hospital. I ended up inwardly chanting his maxims to myself as a way to stay calm before going under anaesthesia. I can definitely attest to its effectiveness as a way of staying calm in difficult times. Last few weeks have been difficult too because my husband is Russian and my in-laws all live in Russia, so what's been going on has had an immediate impact on them. It was so refreshing to hear Ben talk about this.