Vaster Than Empires

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Literary Nomads

Steve Chisnell

60 episodes

3 days ago

Join us as we find and lose meaning across modern and classic tales, through ancient and distant verse, atop everything in our many cultures which might be read. Explore familiar and unfamiliar reads, discovering ways to read, ways to know, and ways to make meaning. For teachers, students, and lovers of literature, Waywords can be listened to on its own but also comes with a host of bonus materials on its website for those who wish to go further.
I can’t promise what we’ll find along our paths each time, only that we will meet it together.

All content for Literary Nomads is the property of Steve Chisnell and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Vaster Than Empires – Le Guin

Literary Nomads

48 minutes 59 seconds

4 months ago

Vaster Than Empires – Le Guin

20 June 2025
Episode 6.02 - "Vaster Than Empires" - Le Guin
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.

New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we're all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/

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Reading Ahead, Journey 6:

* Ursula K. Le Guin: "Vaster Than Empires and More Slow": https://eyeofmidas.com/scifi/LeGuin_VasterThanEmpires.pdf
* Ursula K. Le Guin: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas": https://archive.org/download/the-ones-who-walk-away-from-omelas-ursula-k-leguin/The%20Ones%20Who%20Walk%20Away%20from%20Omelas%20-%20Ursula%20K%20LeGuin.pdf

Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Pastoral Splendour
04:29 Opening Theme
05:03 Living Fast and Slow
12:05 The Story: "Vaster Than Empire and More Slow"
18:13 Le Guin and Marvell
28:50 Veggie Minds and The Other
40:58 Green Silences
47:42 Closing Theme and Credits

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Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/transcript-6-02-vaster-than-empires-le-guin/

Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8

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Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.

Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.

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