Literary Nomads

Literary Nomads


Latest Episodes

Reading: “Rebellion” from Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’
July 11, 2025

Still another famous writer has posed the Le Guin question, and he did it in one of Russia's most famous novels, The Brothers Karamazov. Here it is.

Otium and The Moral Philosopher – William James
July 04, 2025

Le Guin leans on an essay by William James, but what does that have to do with all our garden talk? It's about our blind spots and our privilege.

Marvell’s Garden and Ours – Otium
June 27, 2025

Speaking of links back to Andrew Marvell's poetry--weren't we?--we expose some of our misapprehensions about nature, leisure, and work. And we read Marvell's poem "The Garden" while we think green tho

Vaster Than Empires – Le Guin
June 20, 2025

What does it mean to embrace "Other"? And how might we understand carpe diem if we truly had "world enough and time?" Le Guin shows us in her famous science fiction short story.

Signpost – Pretty Gardens in Paint
June 13, 2025

Where we've been and where we're going, and we take a pause in a museum gallery, too!

Trailer: Journey 6
May 30, 2025

Looking ahead at Season 6: Ursula K. Le Guin's story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," and all the wrestling we do with dilemmas of ethics.

What I Get Wrong
May 23, 2025

We finish a carpe diem journey and I reflect back on what I've learned, what I believe, and where we are going next.

Writing Back 2: Getting Over Our Essay Anxiety
May 16, 2025

It's time for the end of our carpe diem journey, and we celebrate with a congratulatory essay! Hey, why so glum?

Bellow Seizes Our Day
May 09, 2025

Sure we can philosophize, but what happens when we put carpe diem to the test in the modern world of capital?

Rilke and Carpe Don’t Rhyme
May 02, 2025

What is required of us to find the power and meaning in art? in poetry? Is it related to carpe diem? And does it give us any guidance in how to approach meaningful lives?