4.12 Paul Franz and John Pistelli on René Girard and "Romantic Truth"
From Hopkins Press Podcasts by Johns Hopkins University Press
December 3, 2025 · 32 min
About this episode
This episode features Paul Franz interviewing John Pistelli about René Girard's influence on literary criticism and its relevance in contemporary social media and political contexts.
On today's episode of the Hopkins Press Podcast, Literary Imagination editor Paul Franz introduces the new issue of Literary Imagination, and interviews author/scholar John Pistelli about his new article, "Romantic Truth: Imaginative Authority in the Literary Criticism of René Girard." Engagement with Girard's work has expanded outside of academic and literary circles in recent years, and his ideas have found purchase in economic and political institutions within the U.S. and around the world. In this discussion, Pistellii and Franz look at ways Girard has become an "oracle of the social-media epoch." Along with two other pieces in the new issue of Literary Imagination — "The Mysteries of Love: On Alice Munro" by James Tussing and "Poems and Translations" by Victoria Moul — "Romantic Truth: Imaginative Authority in the Literary Criticism of René Girard" will be free to read on Project MUSE through the end of December.
People in this episode
Host: Paul Franz
Guest: John Pistelli
Topics covered
- René Girard
- literary criticism
- Romantic Truth
- social media
- imaginative authority
- economic and political institutions
Keywords
- René Girard
- literary criticism
- Romantic Truth
- social media
- Paul Franz
- John Pistelli
- Literary Imagination
- Project MUSE
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Literary Imagination, Project MUSE
Books & works: Romantic Truth: Imaginative Authority in the Literary Criticism of René Girard, The Mysteries of Love: On Alice Munro, Poems and Translations
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