Episode 99: The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster
This week on The Literary Life, we bring you another episode in our 2021 Summer Short Story series. This week Angelina, Cindy and Thomas talk about E. M. Forster\u2019s short story \u201cThe Machine Stops.\u201d If you are interested in more E. M. Forster chat, you can go listen to our hosts discuss \u201cThe Celestial Omnibus\u201d in Episode 17. Angelina points out how this story made her think of Dante. Thomas and Cindy share their personal reactions to reading \u201cThe Machine Stops.\u201d They marvel at how prescient Forster was to imagine a world that comes so close to our current reality. They also discuss how to stay human in an increasingly de-humanizing world.
On July 15, 2021, we will be celebrating our 100th episode hosting a LIVE Q&A episode in our Patreon group, and you can ask questions in our Facebook group with hashtag #litlife100. The recording will air on July 20th.
We are excited to announce our third annual Literary Life Back to School Online Conference! This year\u2019s theme is Awakening: The Pursuit of True Education, and our featured guest speaker is James Daniels. The conference will take place on August 4-7, 2021, and you can learn more and register at\xa0morningtimeformoms.com.\xa0
Cindy also has some exciting announcements, including the debut of the new expanded edition of her book\xa0Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love, is now available! AND she is starting a new Charlotte Mason podcast called\xa0The New Mason Jar, set to begin airing on August 5, 2021!\xa0
Listen to The Literary Life:\xa0
Commonplace Quotes:from \u201cThe Hollow Men\u201dImagination, in its earthbound quest,
Seeks in the infinite its finite rest.
Walter de la Mare (from \u201cBooks\u201d)
by T. S. Eliot
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man\u2019s hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
\xa0 \xa0\xa0\xa0
Is it like this
In death\u2019s other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
\xa0 \xa0\xa0\xa0
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
\xa0 \xa0\xa0\xa0
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death\u2019s twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
Two Stories and a Memory by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Howards End by E. M. Forster
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison
1984 by George Orwell
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Connect with Us:You can find Angelina and Thomas at\xa0HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram\xa0@angelinastanford,\xa0and on Facebook at\xa0https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/
Find Cindy at\xa0morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram\xa0@cindyordoamoris\xa0and on Facebook at\xa0https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out\xa0Cindy\u2019s own Patreon page\xa0also!
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