Episode 337: "The Celestial Omnibus" by E. M. Forster – Short Story Summer Remix
About this episode
The episode discusses E. M. Forster's short story 'The Celestial Omnibus' and its themes related to literature and education.
On this week's episode of The Literary Life, we continue our series of replays from our Summer of the Short Story with a discussion of "The Celestial Omnibus" by E. M. Forster. Angelina and Cindy tell why they love this short story so much and how it encapsulates their own ideas about literature. Thomas gives us some biographical background on E. M. Forster. We get a brief look at the plot of the story, as well as some discussion of how allegorical Forster makes this story. Angelina highlights the idea presented in "The Celestial Omnibus" that what we see in fairy land is more real than what we see in our own world. Other themes our hosts bring up include modern educational theory, wonder and innocence, using poetry versus enjoying it, and literary critique contrasted with experiencing literature. Their conversation hinges around the contrast between Mr. Bons' pride and pretension and the boy's humility and sincerity. This story embodies everything that The Literary Life podcast is all about, so we hope you enjoy both the story and this episode! To get the replay of Thomas' webinar on How to Love Poetry, as well as the current and upcoming summer classes mentioned in this…
More episodes of The Literary Life Podcast
- Episode 338: "The Vulture" by Samuel Johnson – Short Story Summer Remix
- Episode 336: "Why I Write" by George Orwell - Short Story Summer Remix
- Episode 335: "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant – Short Story Summer Remix
- Episode 334: "The Adventures of a Shilling" by Joseph Addison – Short Story Summer Remix
- Episode 333: "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield - Short Story Summer Remix
- Episode 332: "A Defence of Penny Dreadfuls" by G. K. Chesterton, Short Story Summer Series Remix
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