‘On Reading Well,’ with Karen Swallow Prior

Karen Swallow Prior makes a glorious return to the show to discuss literature, moral formation, and Jane Eyre (among many other things).

Karen Swallow Prior

Matt claims that the Mere Fidelity team won’t read fiction with him (though they counter that this is merely due to lack of a suitable reading companion). Karen Swallow Prior joins the conversation to set the record straight about the value of fiction and literature, along the way clearing up misconceptions about moral formation, church community, and the values and dangers of empathy. Karen is the author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books, and the editor and annotater of B&H’s new editions of Frankenstein and Jane Eyre.

The Book of the Month is Baptism: A Guide to Life from Death by Peter J. Leithart. It is part of the Christian Essentials Series. Leithart reunifies a church divided by baptism. He recovers the baptismal imagination of the Bible, explaining how baptism works according to Scripture. Then, in conversation with Christian tradition, he shows why baptism is something worth recovering and worth agreeing on. For the month of March 2021, Mere Fidelity listeners will get a 40% discount on their purchase of this volume with the code MEREFIDELITYMAR21 at checkout.

Timestamps

0:00
Book of the Month Deal
1:23
The Triumphant Return of Karen Swallow Prior
3:19
Not All Fiction Is Literature
6:01
The Role of Literature in Moral Formation
10:38
Is Moral Formation the Measure of a Good Book?
15:37
Empathy & Relatability
19:31
But isn’t fiction supposed to be fun?
23:08
How does Frankenstein or Jane Eyre fit into church life?
31:06
Conveying Truth Through Narrative
35:15
Women Authors
39:12
Forming Reading Communities
44:14
Patreon Book Giveaway and Live Show

Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Crouch for keeping us organized. Special thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Literature
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