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ABOUT THE EPISODE

Reader, writer, and professor Karen Swallow Prior joins Sarah in episode 46 of Not My Story. They begin by talking about how good literature affects the way we see and experience the world (including a few must-read suggestions from Karen!). Sarah and Karen also discuss the distinction between art and creativity, and Karen shares about her own wrestling to make her words beautiful when her first response to writing isn’t artful but analytical. Their conversation also dives into social media, what it looks like to approach platforms like Instagram and Twitter as an avenue for beauty and goodness, holding both beauty and brokenness, and practical thoughts on cultivating a creative life.

MEET THE GUEST

Karen Swallow Prior, Ph. D., is Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is the author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press, 2012), Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson, 2014), and On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos 2018). She is co-editor of Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues (Zondervan 2019) and has contributed to numerous other books. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, Relevant, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, Religion News Service, Books and Culture and other places. She is a founding member of The Pelican Project, a Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum, a Senior Fellow at the International Alliance for Christian Education, a Senior Fellow at the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture, and is a former member of the Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States. She and her husband live on a 100-year old homestead in central Virginia with sundry horses, dogs, and chickens. And lots of books.

EPISODE NOTES

• Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

• Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (Karen’s first book)

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau

• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

• “Creativity is a lifeline.” - Maile Silva, from episode 44

• Connect with Karen:

  • Instagram: @karenswallowprior

  • Twitter: @KSPrior

  • Website: KarenSwallowPrior.com

• What Karen is reading: Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward

• SUBSCRIBE to Sarah’s newsletter, The Shelf.

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