Podcast appearances and mentions of ivan ilych

In this week's podcast series - PARSHA & PROS, with Rabbi Shlomo Gemara and Avrum Rosensweig, we discuss the Torah portion, Chukat, and delve into the profound themes of mortality and purification. Chukat explores the paradoxical nature of the laws of purity and impurity, highlighting the inevitable confrontation with death and the ritual of the Red Heffer that symbolize spiritual cleansing. Similarly, we talk about Leo Tolstoy's novella, 'The Death of Ivan Ilych', which grapples with the existential crisis of a man facing his own mortality. Ivan Illych's journey reflects the Torah's exploration of death and purification through its stark portrayal of Ivan's inner turmoil and societal façades crumbling in the face of death's inevitability. Both texts provoke contemplation on the essence of life, the inevitability of death, and the quest for spiritual and moral purity amidst human frailty. The show is sponsored by Gary Samuel and Paul Zivot and Family; Peter Ekstein and Family; Mathew Diamond & Family, who pay tribute to IDF soldiers fighting courageously for the safety and security of Israel, and Jews everywhere. Sponsorship is available. Please be in touch at avrum.rosensweig@gmail.com. Thank you.

This week on The Literary Life, our hosts talk about their favorite poems and poets. Cindy starts off by sharing the early influences on her developing a love of poetry. Thomas also shares about his mother reading poetry to him as a child and the poetry that made an impression on him as a child. Angelina talks about coming to poetry later in life and how she finally came to love it through learning about the metaphysical poets. Cindy and Thomas talk about the powerful effect of reading and reciting poetry in meter. Thomas also brings up the potential of hymn texts as beautiful, high-ranking poetry. From classic to modern, they share many poems and passages from their most beloved poetry, making this a soothing, lyrical episode. If you want to learn more, check out Thomas' webinar How to Love Poetry. We hope you will join us for the sixth annual Literary Life Online Conference, “Dispelling the Myth of Modernity: A Recovery of the Medieval Imagination.” You can visit the HHL Facebook page or Instagram to find the post to share and enter our giveaway for a $20 discount code! During the live or later series of webinars, we will seek to dis-spell the Myth of Modernity and gain eyes to see and ears to hear Reality as it truly is. Speakers include Jason Baxter, Jenn Rogers, and Kelly Cumbee, in addition to Angelina and Thomas. Commonplace Quotes: The knowledge-as-information vision is actually defective and damaging. It distorts reality and humanness, and it gets in the way of good knowing. Esther Lightcap Meek Perhaps it would be a good idea for public statues to be made with disposable heads that can be changed with popular fashion. But even better would surely be to make statues without any heads at all, representing simply the “idea” of a good politician. Auberon Waugh When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock–to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you use large and startling figures. Flannery O'Connor Reading in War Time by Edwin Muir Boswell by my bed, Tolstoy on my table; Thought the world has bled For four and a half years, And wives' and mothers' tears Collected would be able To water a little field Untouched by anger and blood, A penitential yield Somewhere in the world; Though in each latitude Armies like forest fall, The iniquitous and the good Head over heels hurled, And confusion over all: Boswell's turbulent friend And his deafening verbal strife, Ivan Ilych's death Tell me more about life, The meaning and the end Of our familiar breath, Both being personal, Than all the carnage can, Retrieve the shape of man, Lost and anonymous, Tell me wherever I look That not one soul can die Of this or any clan Who is not one of us And has a personal tie Perhaps to someone now Searching an ancient book, Folk-tale or country song In many and many a tongue, To find the original face, The individual soul, The eye, the lip, the brow For ever gone from their place, And gather an image whole. Book List: A Little Manual for Knowing by Esther Lightcap Meek The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake The Book of Virtues by William Bennett Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne Now We are Six by A. A. Milne Emma by Jane Austen Oxford Book of English Verse ed. by Arthur Quiller-Couch Immortal Poems of the English Language ed. by Oscar Williams Motherland by Sally Thomas Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at morningtimeformoms.com, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CindyRollinsWriter. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

Why don't more philosophers take psychedelic drugs seriously as a means of examining reality? Sean Illing talks with Justin Smith-Ruiu, professor of philosophy, whose recent essay "This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" tells of how experimenting with psilocybin and other substances led to a radical reevaluation of nearly everything in his life — including his views on the nature of reality. They discuss the roots of an alternative worldview in the thought of German polymath G.W. Leibniz, what it means to say — as Socrates does — that philosophy is "preparation for death," and why psychedelics aren't more often explored in contemporary philosophy. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area Guest: Justin Smith-Ruiu, philosopher; author References:  "This Is a Philosopher on Drugs" by Justin E.H. Smith (Wired; Mar. 7) Justin Smith-Ruiu's Hinternet (Substack) The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2022) "The brutal mirror: What the psychedelic drug ayahuasca showed me about my life" by Sean Illing (Vox; Nov. 2, 2019) G.W. Leibniz, "The Monadology" (1714) René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (1641) Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason by Justin E.H. Smith (Princeton; 2019) Plato, Phaedo (for Socrates's claim that philosophy is preparation for death) Reality+ by David Chalmers (W.W. Norton; 2022) David Chalmers on The Gray Area (Jan. 10, 2022) Justin's review of David Chalmers: "The World as a Game" (Liberties, vol. 2 no. 4) "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy (1886) How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan (Penguin; 2018) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by:  Producer: Erikk Geannikis Engineer: Patrick Boyd Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did not realize this "short story" would be so long! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/support

Ivan's poor health continues to decline, and he begins to feel disconnected from everyone. As his suffering continues, he begins to ask why this has happened to him, and if he brought this onto himself --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/support

Ivan Ilych finds that he is changing, and not for the better --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/auryaun/support

Today we are talking about the power of stories through one of the greatest stories ever written, The Death of Ivan Ilych!Support the showCheck out Wondrium here! https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=25630&awinaffid=1137683Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/jonathankutz03https://www.instagram.com/food4thought_pod Https://www.twitter.com/Jonathankutz03Consider supporting on Locals! Gain bonus content as well as submit questions! https://food4thought1.locals.com/

In the big building of the law courts, during a break in hearing the case of the Melvinskys, the members and the prosecutor met in Ivan Yegorovich Shehek's office, and the conversation turned to the famous Krasovsky case. Fyodor Vassilievich became heated demonstrating non-jurisdiction, Ivan Yegorovich stood his ground; as for Pyotr Ivanovich, not having entered into the argument in the beginning, he took no part in it and was looking through the just-delivered [newspaper]. “Gentlemen,” he said, “Ivan Ilyich is dead!” Thus begins Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella, The Death of Ivan Ilych, the first reading for the 2022 Wyoming School of Catholic Thought. It's intriguing that the story begins with Ivan Ilych's death, recounting his life and his dying as a flashback after we hear of his funeral. At the Wyoming School, Wyoming Catholic President, Dr. Glenn Arbery introduced Tolstoy's novella this way.

The War and Peace crew find themselves interrupted by travel season. As a peace offering, we give you a class by Adam and Missy Andrews on one of Tolstoy's other great classics… Join the Facebook discussion group here!Follow along with our reading schedule: https://www.centerforlit.com/hee

It had to come up eventually. In this episode, the CenterForLit crew tackles the question, “What is a good death?” But what could easily have become a morose conversation quickly becomes an occasion for joy and laughter with a little help from the Christian tradition. Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/333790777396633Referenced Works:– Pride and Prejudice (1995), screenplay by Andrew Davies– The Bishop's Wife (1947), directed by Henry Koster– Enchanted April (1991), directed Mike Newell– Midnight in Paris (2011), directed by Woody Allen– Harry Potter (2001-2011), Warner Bros. Pictures– “Prediction-based neural mechanisms for shielding the self from existential threat” by Zidermanm, Lutz, and Goldstein– “The Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” by Sam Bush– “An Ode to Middle Age” by James Parker– The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy– Peace Like a River by Leif Enter– The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis– The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien– Charlotte's Web by E.B. White– A Quiet Place (2018), directed by John Krasinski– Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis– The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright– A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens– Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand– Paradise Lost by John Milton– “Death be not proud” by John DonneShop BiblioFiles: www.centerforlit.com/the-bibliofiles-shopWe love hearing your questions and comments! You can contact us by emailing i.andrews@centerforlit.com, or you can visit our website www.centerforlit.com to find even more ways to participate in the conversation.

Ally and Mary discuss the fragility of life, the incompetence of 19th century doctors, and what Ivan Ilych might have considered the 'right life' in Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886).

Mary reads the concluding chapters (Chapters 10, 11 and 12) of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886). 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886). 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886). 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886).

Mary reads a chapter or two a day of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886).

Mary reads a chapter or two a day of The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy (1886). 

Rich recaps reading The Death of Ivan Ilych. Considered a masterpiece on the subject of "death and dying." A successful careerist becomes injured and it turns out to be terminal. How will someone who hasn't reflected on life respond?

The Mental Game Enthusiasts are chatting on facebook. Search 'mental game enthusiasts' on facebook and get in on the discussion. "Her attitude was this: "You know," she would say to her friends, "Ivan Ilych can't do as other people do, and keep to the treatment prescribed for him. One day he'll take his drops and keep strictly to his diet and go to bed in good time, but the next day unless I watch him he'll suddenly forget his medicine, eat sturgeon—which is forbidden—and sit up playing cards till one o'clock in the morning." "Oh, come, when was that?" Ivan Ilych would ask in vexation. "Only once at Peter Ivanovich's." "And yesterday with Shebek." "Well, even if I hadn't stayed up, this pain would have kept me awake." "Be that as it may you'll never get well like that, but will always make us wretched." - Tolstoy

Our FREE communication and TRUST BUILDING mini-course is up and running! We'll go over the 8 communication skills you must master to succeed as a coach. You can sign up for it at https://www.pazikperformancegroup.com/masteringcommunication "Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible." - Tolstoy

Continuing the conversation from the anthology 'Leading Lives That Matter,' Devan and Alhrik dive into what makes our lives meaningful and significant. Books referenced: Leading Lives That Matter. The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. Clairvoyant by Devan Arntson.

Today’s book discussion on The Literary Life podcast centers around the book 84, Charing Cross Road. Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins and Thomas Banks share their first experiences reading this book of letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel. Cindy talks about her deep identification with Helene the first time she read 84, Charing Cross Road and how much she dreamed of going to England. Angelina and Thomas talk about the characteristics of Helene as a reader and as a person seeking self-education. Come back again next week for a special guest episode look at the literary life of Charlotte Mason! After that, we dig into George Eliot’s Silas Marner. Commonplace Quotes: Our Japanese soldiers who came back from overseas were a pitiful sight. They looked thin, weak, and exhausted. And some of them were invalids, drained of color and borne on stretchers. But among the returning soldiers there was one company of cheerful men. They were always singing, even difficult pieces in several parts and they sang very well. When they disembarked at Yokosuka the people who came to greet them were astonished. Everyone asked if they had received extra rations, since they seemed so happy. These men had had no extra rations, but had practiced choral singing throughout the Burma campaign. Their captain, a young musician fresh from music school, had enthusiastically taught his soldiers how to sing. It was singing that kept up their morale through boredom or hardship and that bound them together in friendship and discipline during the long war years. Without it, they would never have come home in remarkable high spirits. Michio Takeyama  Men are apt to prefer a prosperous error before an afflicted truth. Jeremy Taylor Secondhand booksellers are the most friendly and most eccentric of all the characters I have known. If I had not been a writer, theirs would have been the profession I would most happily have chosen. Graham Greene Reading in Wartime by Edwin Muir Boswell by my bed, Tolstoy on my table; Thought the world has bled For four and a half years, And wives’ and mothers’ tears Collected would be able To water a little field Untouched by anger and blood, A penitential yield Somewhere in the world; Though in each latitude Armies like forest fall, The iniquitous and the good Head over heels hurled, And confusion over all: Boswell’s turbulent friend And his deafening verbal strife, Ivan Ilych’s death Tell me more about life, The meaning and the end Of our familiar breath, Both being personal, Than all the carnage can, Retrieve the shape of man, Lost and anonymous, Tell me wherever I look That not one soul can die Of this or any clan Who is not one of us And has a personal tie Perhaps to someone now Searching an ancient book, Folk-tale or country song In many and many a tongue, To find the original face, The individual soul, The eye, the lip, the brow For ever gone from their place, And gather an image whole. Book List: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff The Harp of Burma by Michio Takeyama  Holy Living by Jeremy Taylor The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff The Narnian by Alan Jacobs The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell P. G. Wodehouse A Modest Proposal by Jonathon Swift Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The Dubliners by James Joyce The Works of Lord Byron: Letters and Journals by Lord Byron Selected Letters by Jane Austen Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy’s own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

Rich and his creative partner, Ken Ferguson, unplugged Tuesday morning and don't know the results of election. It would be interesting to see how long it'd take for the news to reach them.Rich reflects on a morning conversation with Ken about the importance of purpose after reading "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy.Unplugging allowed for more intentional use of time. On an evening walk, Rich wonders if we'll ever be able to vividly see the Big Dipper again standing in Chicago.You can also watch the video on YouTube. 

The Death of Ivan Ilych (1886) is a famous novella (short novel) by Leo Tolstoy which penetrates our cavalier attitude about death, challenges our notion of a fulfilling life, and warns of the tragedy we may be headed towards if we do not value the proper things in life. Fortunately, it also portrays a potential solution to the vain and superficial lifestyle which often consumes us. With his signature style and psychological realism, Tolstoy’s work challenges us to consider life from its endpoint in order to live rightly before it is too late.Visit our website: https://www.wellreadchristian.comCheck our our blog: https://www.wellreadchristian.com/blogFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/wellreadchristianTwitter: https://www.twitter.com/WellReadChrist1Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGxz4OH1-hVD0fL9AWR4Xg

This week on The Literary Life, our hosts talk about their favorite poems and poets. Cindy starts off by sharing the early influences on her developing a love of poetry. Thomas also shares about his mother reading poetry to him as a child and the poetry that made an impression on him as a child. Angelina talks about coming to poetry later in life and how she finally came to love it through learning about the metaphysical poets. Cindy and Thomas talk about the powerful effect of reading and reciting poetry in meter. Thomas also brings up the potential of hymn texts as beautiful, high-ranking poetry. From classic to modern, they share many poems and passages from their most beloved poetry, making this a soothing, lyrical episode. If you want to learn more, check out Thomas’ webinar How to Love Poetry. Next week our hosts will be checking in with their 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge progress, and we hope you will share your progress on Instagram and Facebook, too. Hint: there will be giveaways! Affiliate links are used in this content. Commonplace Quotes: The knowledge-as-information vision is actually defective and damaging. It distorts reality and humanness, and it gets in the way of good knowing. Esther Lightcap Meek Perhaps it would be a good idea for public statues to be made with disposable heads that can be changed with popular fashion. But even better would surely be to make statues without any heads at all, representing simply the “idea” of a good politician. Auberon Waugh When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal means of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock–to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you use large and startling figures. Flannery O’Connor Reading in War Time by Edwin Muir Boswell by my bed, Tolstoy on my table; Thought the world has bled For four and a half years, And wives’ and mothers’ tears Collected would be able To water a little field Untouched by anger and blood, A penitential yield Somewhere in the world; Though in each latitude Armies like forest fall, The iniquitous and the good Head over heels hurled, And confusion over all: Boswell’s turbulent friend And his deafening verbal strife, Ivan Ilych’s death Tell me more about life, The meaning and the end Of our familiar breath, Both being personal, Than all the carnage can, Retrieve the shape of man, Lost and anonymous, Tell me wherever I look That not one soul can die Of this or any clan Who is not one of us And has a personal tie Perhaps to someone now Searching an ancient book, Folk-tale or country song In many and many a tongue, To find the original face, The individual soul, The eye, the lip, the brow For ever gone from their place, And gather an image whole. Book List: A Little Manual for Knowing by Esther Lightcap Meek The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake The Book of Virtues by William Bennett Cautionary Tales for Children by Hilaire Belloc When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne Now We are Six by A. A. Milne Emma by Jane Austen Oxford Book of English Verse Immortal Poems of the English Language ed. by Oscar Williams Motherland by Sally Thomas Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the “Friends and Fellows Community” on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy’s own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let’s get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

How do we move through the complexity of history in the present day?On episode 059, Paul Holdengräber is joined by New York-based journalist and author David Rieff for a discussion about the complicated narratives surrounding many historical figures from Gandhi to Churchill, the notion of collective memory, and how this informs the ways in which a society remembers its past.  

Episode 41! We play another fun round of "What If...?" where we speculate wildly about our favorite writers - Marc wants Flann O'Brien to be his favorite author with "At Swim Two Birds" and Trevor reconciles with mortality in "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy

Topics Tim is singing Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys: https://youtu.be/9UsUL7D_GOo (https://youtu.be/9UsUL7D_GOo) There are conflicting opinions about whether the Crown Chakra belongs with the previous six chakras or not Sahasraara translates to thousand petals, think of it as infinite possibilities Forcing enlightenment creates unnecessary anger A healthy crown chakra gives you the ability to see unlimited opportunities You can find the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know?” here: https://amzn.to/2ZmTTNR (https://amzn.to/2ZmTTNR) It is quantum physics light. :) The water analogy is also from the book “The Hidden Messages In Water” by Masaru Emoto: https://amzn.to/2LfsP99 All of the six chakras have to work properly all of the time in order to keep moving forward in life The Beach Boys are all about enlightenment (exaltation), salt water, the sun and surfing (finding the state of flow) The seventh chakra is associated with the Sun The Sun represents our soul The day of the week is Sunday The color is white as in white light Practicing Sun Salutations outside is a great way to cultivate your seventh chakra The expression that Tim is recalling is “bright light” from the movie “Gremlins”: https://amzn.to/2Zw34GW Contact us to purchase your Herkimer diamonds and Icelandic spar This is a good video showing the use of Icelandic spar by the Vikings: https://youtu.be/eq9NE2qQzTo (https://youtu.be/eq9NE2qQzTo) The bija mantra for the seventh chakra is Om or Aum Om alone means you are going home alone Leo Tolstoy’s book is the Death of Ivan Ilych: https://amzn.to/328f8je (https://amzn.to/328f8je) Wayne Dyer’s quote came from the movie, Shift: https://amzn.to/2ZxgmTs (https://amzn.to/2ZxgmTs) The work to strengthen the six chakras is not as painful as living an unsatisfying life FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real You can help support our Podcast by giving as little as $1 per episode, our PayPal account is here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7FDYKCGSKL3NL&source=url Resources Brought to you by Paleo Ayurveda - Ayurveda Designed for Thriving Our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/asktimandvie (https://youtube.com/c/asktimandvie) Paleo Ayurveda's Training Library can be found at: https://squareup.com/store/training-courses The Spartan Mind Strength Calendar: https://spartanmindstrength.com/events For YA & AAPNA Registered Instructors Earn non-contact CEUs here: https://squareup.com/store/training-courses Disclaimer All information provided here is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken solely on the contents of this Podcast. Please consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and well being or on any opinions expressed within this Podcast. You assume all responsibilities and obligations with respect to any decisions, advice, conclusions or recommendations made or given as a result of the use of this Podcast. Support this podcast

The blog: didionandhawthorne.blubrry.net Books 2018: LOTR #3-TolkienDeadeye Dick-VonnegutFrom Here to Eternity-DoughtyPalm Sunday-VonnegutThe Elephant Vanishes-MurakamiGod Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian-VonnegutThe Sound and the Fury-FaulknerMr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore-SloanA Brief History of Time-HawkingThe Stranger-CamusAbsolutely on Music-MurakamiAll The Pretty Horses-McCarthyIndignation-Roth1Q84-MurakamiATPH (again)Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls-SedarisWhite Noise-DelilloThe Year of Magical Thinking-DidionDrive-PinkThe White Book-KahnIf This Isn’t Nice, What Is?-VonnegutThe Secret Agent-ConradInnocence-DahlDeath of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories-TolstoyCalypso-SedarisHuman Voices-P. FitzgeraldAnna Karenina-TolstoyThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks-SklootThe White Album-DidionSlaughterhouse Five-VonnegutThe Handmaid’s Tale-AtwoodEverything That Remains-Nicodemus/MillburnLess-AustBeautiful Darkness-Garcia/StohlBeautiful Chaos-Garcia/StohlBeautiful Redemption-Garcia/StohlMother Night-VonnegutTYOMT (again)The Great Gatsby-FitzgeraldClock Dance-TylerI Married a Communist-RothHT (again)Something Wicked This Way Comes-BradburyThe Wind-Up Bird Chronicle-MurakamiOption B.-Sandberg/GrantI Am I Am I Am-O’FarrellAn Absolutely Remarkable Thing-GreenThe Handmaid’s Tale (yes, this is #3)Frankenstein-ShelleyThe Joy Luck Club-TanV for Vendetta-Lloyd/MooreJailbird-VonnegutSleep of Memory-ModianoOliver Twist-DickensKilling Commendatore-MurakamiDress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim-SedarisChasing Red-RoninAlways Red-RoninPrometheus-5-VonnegutA Tale of Two Cities-DickensA Pale View of Hills-Ishiguro

On the library, the arcade, town hall and the police station, with reference to Ikiru and The Death of Ivan Ilych and a digression on the word chortle --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wesley-schantz/support

This week on StoryWeb: Leo Tolstoy’s novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer and philosopher, is known for his epic, huge-canvas novels, War and Peace and Anna Karenina. But I am also a fan of his much shorter work, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, a novella that has deeply moved me every time I have read it. The work is titled The Death of Ivan Ilyich because it is precisely not about Ivan’s living but about his passing from life (limited as his was) to death. The reader knows from the start – from the very title – that Ivan Ilyich will die. Indeed, the opening scene includes the announcement of his death to his former colleagues and is followed immediately by the scene of his funeral. Freed from that suspense, the reader can focus, as Tolstoy does, on Ivan Ilyich’s experience of dying. After the funeral scene, Tolstoy backs up 30 years and briefly tells the story of Ivan Ilyich’s life as a lawyer in the Russian Court of Justice. He went to law school as expected, married as expected, had children as expected, and moved up through the career ranks as expected. Ivan Ilyich at all times did what was expected of a man from his background. As Tolstoy writes, “Ivan Ilyich’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.”   One day when hanging curtains in his new home, he falls and injures his side. Over time, the injury does not subside but instead becomes worse, until the pain is unbearable. Finally, Ivan Ilyich has no choice but to leave his job as a magistrate and take to his sick bed.   By far my favorite scene is the one in which Ivan Ilyich’s servant, Gerasim, comes in to Ivan’s sickroom and holds his master’s legs up for him. It is the only position in which Ivan does not feel pain. Ivan’s wife and children can hardly be bothered to visit Ivan at his deathbed. They are always in a hurry, ready to move back into their “real” lives as soon as possible. God help them if they had smart phones! But Gerasim stays with Ivan, sits with him, listens to him, but most importantly reaches out to him with the healing power of human touch. It is supremely intimate: one person being fully present with another human being, one person bearing witness to another’s life . . . and death. I described Leo Tolstoy at the beginning of this episode as a writer and philosopher. I suppose that many people think of him only as a writer and that those who know of his philosophy may dismiss it. It did have some rather outlandish components. Tolstoy declared his celibacy even though he was still married, much to his wife’s surprise and profound disappointment. He gave away virtually all of his inherited fortune so that he could live a life of poverty. And he renounced the copyrights to his earlier works, assigning them instead to his increasingly estranged wife. In addition, the constant presence of spiritual disciples in the Tolstoy household deeply angered Tolstoy’s wife. One source says that the Tolstoys’ later life as a couple was “one of the unhappiest in literary history,” because “Tolstoy's relationship with his wife deteriorated as his beliefs became increasingly radical.” Despite the unorthodox nature of Tolstoy’s philosophy, it proved influential, especially to 20th-century leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I especially admire his deep, abiding emphasis on love. Eschewing the trappings of conventional religion, Tolstoy developed his own version of Christianity. He very much subscribed to Jesus’s primary teaching, which held that the old commandments had now been replaced with one overarching commandment: “Love one another.” In fact, so deeply did Tolstoy embrace Christ’s teachings (especially those in the Sermon on the Mount) that he has been described as a Christian anarchist and pacifist. It is important to note that The Death of Ivan Ilyich was written after Tolstoy’s deep and profound spiritual conversion. Indeed, Gerasim represents the highest calling: he loves Ivan. He reaches out to another human being with love, compassion, caring. You can read the full novella online – or buy a hard copy for your collection. You can gain insights into Tolstoy’s last days by watching the film The Last Station, based on the novel by Jay Parini. For links to these resources, visit thestoryweb.com/Tolstoy. Listen now as I read Chapter VII from The Death of Ivan Ilyich. This is the scene in which Gerasim takes care of Ivan Ilyich tenderly and holds his master’s legs. How it happened it is impossible to say because it came about step by step, unnoticed, but in the third month of Ivan Ilych's illness, his wife, his daughter, his son, his acquaintances, the doctors, the servants, and above all he himself, were aware that the whole interest he had for other people was whether he would soon vacate his place, and at last release the living from the discomfort caused by his presence and be himself released from his sufferings. He slept less and less. He was given opium and hypodermic injections of morphine, but this did not relieve him. The dull depression he experienced in a somnolent condition at first gave him a little relief, but only as something new, afterwards it became as distressing as the pain itself or even more so. Special foods were prepared for him by the doctors' orders, but all those foods became increasingly distasteful and disgusting to him. For his excretions also special arrangements had to be made, and this was a torment to him every time—a torment from the uncleanliness, the unseemliness, and the smell, and from knowing that another person had to take part in it. But just through his most unpleasant matter, Ivan Ilych obtained comfort. Gerasim, the butler's young assistant, always came in to carry the things out. Gerasim was a clean, fresh peasant lad, grown stout on town food and always cheerful and bright. At first the sight of him, in his clean Russian peasant costume, engaged on that disgusting task embarrassed Ivan Ilych. Once when he got up from the commode too weak to draw up his trousers, he dropped into a soft armchair and looked with horror at his bare, enfeebled thighs with the muscles so sharply marked on them. Gerasim with a firm light tread, his heavy boots emitting a pleasant smell of tar and fresh winter air, came in wearing a clean Hessian apron, the sleeves of his print shirt tucked up over his strong bare young arms; and refraining from looking at his sick master out of consideration for his feelings, and restraining the joy of life that beamed from his face, he went up to the commode. "Gerasim!" said Ivan Ilych in a weak voice. "Gerasim started, evidently afraid he might have committed some blunder, and with a rapid movement turned his fresh, kind, simple young face which just showed the first downy signs of a beard. "Yes, sir?" "That must be very unpleasant for you. You must forgive me. I am helpless." "Oh, why, sir," and Gerasim's eyes beamed and he showed his glistening white teeth, "what's a little trouble? It's a case of illness with you, sir." And his deft strong hands did their accustomed task, and he went out of the room stepping lightly. Five minutes later he as lightly returned. Ivan Ilych was still sitting in the same position in the armchair. "Gerasim," he said when the latter had replaced the freshly-washed utensil. "Please come here and help me." Gerasim went up to him. "Lift me up. It is hard for me to get up, and I have sent Dmitri away."     Gerasim went up to him, grasped his master with his strong arms deftly but gently, in the same way that he stepped—lifted him, supported him with one hand, and with the other drew up his trousers and would have set him down again, but Ivan Ilych asked to be led to the sofa. Gerasim, without an effort and without apparent pressure, led him, almost lifting him, to the sofa and placed him on it. "Thank you. How easily and well you do it all!" Gerasim smiled again and turned to leave the room. But Ivan Ilych felt his presence such a comfort that he did not want to let him go. "One thing more, please move up that chair. No, the other one—under my feet. It is easier for me when my feet are raised." Gerasim brought the chair, set it down gently in place, and raised Ivan Ilych's legs on it. It seemed to Ivan Ilych that he felt better while Gerasim was holding up his legs. "It's better when my legs are higher," he said. "Place that cushion under them." Gerasim did so. He again lifted the legs and placed them, and again Ivan Ilych felt better while Gerasim held his legs. When he set them down Ivan Ilych fancied he felt worse. "Gerasim," he said. "Are you busy now?" "Not at all, sir," said Gerasim, who had learnt from the townsfolk how to speak to gentlefolk. "What have you still to do?" "What have I to do? I've done everything except chopping the logs for tomorrow." "Then hold my legs up a bit higher, can you?" "Of course I can. Why not?" and Gerasim raised his master's legs higher and Ivan Ilych thought that in that position he did not feel any pain at all. "And how about the logs?" "Don't trouble about that, sir. There's plenty of time." Ivan Ilych told Gerasim to sit down and hold his legs, and began to talk to him. And strange to say it seemed to him that he felt better while Gerasim held his legs up. After that Ivan Ilych would sometimes call Gerasim and get him to hold his legs on his shoulders, and he liked talking to him. Gerasim did it all easily, willingly, simply, and with a good nature that touched Ivan Ilych. Health, strength, and vitality in other people were offensive to him, but Gerasim's strength and vitality did not mortify but soothed him. What tormented Ivan Ilych most was the deception, the lie, which for some reason they all accepted, that he was not dying but was simply ill, and that he only need keep quiet and undergo a treatment and then something very good would result. He however knew that do what they would nothing would come of it, only still more agonizing suffering and death. This deception tortured him—their not wishing to admit what they all knew and what he knew, but wanting to lie to him concerning his terrible condition, and wishing and forcing him to participate in that lie. Those lies—lies enacted over him on the eve of his death and destined to degrade this awful, solemn act to the level of their visitings, their curtains, their sturgeon for dinner—were a terrible agony for Ivan Ilych. And strangely enough, many times when they were going through their antics over him he had been within a hairbreadth of calling out to them: "Stop lying! You know and I know that I am dying. Then at least stop lying about it!" But he had never had the spirit to do it. The awful, terrible act of his dying was, he could see, reduced by those about him to the level of a casual, unpleasant, and almost indecorous incident (as if someone entered a drawing room defusing an unpleasant odour) and this was done by that very decorum which he had served all his life long. He saw that no one felt for him, because no one even wished to grasp his position. Only Gerasim recognized it and pitied him. And so Ivan Ilych felt at ease only with him. He felt comforted when Gerasim supported his legs (sometimes all night long) and refused to go to bed, saying: "Don't you worry, Ivan Ilych. I'll get sleep enough later on," or when he suddenly became familiar and exclaimed: "If you weren't sick it would be another matter, but as it is, why should I grudge a little trouble?" Gerasim alone did not lie; everything showed that he alone understood the facts of the case and did not consider it necessary to disguise them, but simply felt sorry for his emaciated and enfeebled master. Once when Ivan Ilych was sending him away he even said straight out: "We shall all of us die, so why should I grudge a little trouble?"—expressing the fact that he did not think his work burdensome, because he was doing it for a dying man and hoped someone would do the same for him when his time came. Apart from this lying, or because of it, what most tormented Ivan Ilych was that no one pitied him as he wished to be pitied. At certain moments after prolonged suffering he wished most of all (though he would have been ashamed to confess it) for someone to pity him as a sick child is pitied. He longed to be petted and comforted. He knew he was an important functionary, that he had a beard turning grey, and that therefore what he longed for was impossible, but still he longed for it. And in Gerasim's attitude towards him there was something akin to what he wished for, and so that attitude comforted him. Ivan Ilych wanted to weep, wanted to be petted and cried over, and then his colleague Shebek would come, and instead of weeping and being petted, Ivan Ilych would assume a serious, severe, and profound air, and by force of habit would express his opinion on a decision of the Court of Cassation and would stubbornly insist on that view. This falsity around him and within him did more than anything else to poison his last days.    

Breece D’J Pancake died in 1979 at the age of 26, but not before writing some legendary short stories. In this episode, we read his collected work and discuss the rural landscape he explored. But first: it’s the return of Klassics Korner with Two K’s. Tod tries to fool Julia and Rider with some Leo Tolstoy by creating a fake paragraph from The Death of Ivan Ilych. Will it work? Click here to purchase from an independent bookseller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Kagan puts forward the claim that Tolstoy's character Ivan Ilych is quite the typical man in terms of his views on mortality. All of his life he has known that death is imminent but has never really believed it. When he suddenly falls ill and is about to die, the fact of his mortality shocks him. In trying to further access how people think about death, Professor Kagan explores the claim that "we all die alone," presents a variety of arguments against it and ends by considering whether the primary badness of death could lie in the effects on those who are left behind.

The lecture explores the question of the state of being dead. Even though the most logical claim seems to be that when a person stops P-functioning he or she is dead, a more careful consideration must allow for exceptions, such as when one is asleep or in a coma. Professor Kagan then suggests that on some level nobody believes that he or she is going to die. As a case in point, he takes Tolstoy's famous character Ivan Ilych.

Professor Kagan puts forward the claim that Tolstoy's character Ivan Ilych is quite the typical man in terms of his views on mortality. All of his life he has known that death is imminent but has never really believed it. When he suddenly falls ill and is about to die, the fact of his mortality shocks him. In trying to further access how people think about death, Professor Kagan explores the claim that "we all die alone," presents a variety of arguments against it and ends by considering whether the primary badness of death could lie in the effects on those who are left behind.

The lecture explores the question of the state of being dead. Even though the most logical claim seems to be that when a person stops P-functioning he or she is dead, a more careful consideration must allow for exceptions, such as when one is asleep or in a coma. Professor Kagan then suggests that on some level nobody believes that he or she is going to die. As a case in point, he takes Tolstoy's famous character Ivan Ilych.