My First Promo!

Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - My name is George Bartley, and this is Episode 451 - only 49 more episodes to go until this podcast reaches 500 - anyway,

What you're hearing is not a full length episode - I'm close to going over my limit. But I want to let you know about an exciting series that will be released September 6 at 12 o'clock midnight EST

I'm launching a new series called "Voices Through Time," where I will explore the lives and works of some of the most influential writers in history. This isn't just about reading books; it's about understanding the people behind them and how their words have shaped our world.

After hundreds of hours of work, I have written the transcripts for all but three more writers to cover in the series.  My original goal was to compile an admittedly subjective list of the top 25 most creative and influential writers and do an episode regarding each writer - in future months, I plan to have episodes devoted to the most creative and influential painters, religious leaders, classical musicians, popular artists, among others - but for the month of September, the episodes will deal with some of the greats of literature - from familiar writers to ones that might be completely new to you

We begin on September 6 with Moses — not often thought of as a writer, but his words still shape laws, stories, and the moral imagination thousands of years later.  By the way, if you have ever read the words - and who hasn’t - in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth - you are reading words written by Moses.  Most scholars believe that Moses wrote the creation story.  In fact, it is generally agreed that Moses wrote the book of Genesis. But I digress.

Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - My name is George Bartley, and this is Episode 451 - only 49 more episodes to go until this podcast reaches 500 - anyway,

What you're hearing is not a full length episode - I'm close to going over my limit. But I want to let you know about an exciting series that will be released September 6 at 12 o'clock midnight EST

I'm launching a new series called "Voices Through Time," where I will explore the lives and works of some of the most influential writers in history. This isn't just about reading books; it's about understanding the people behind them and how their words have shaped our world.

My original goal was to compile an admittedly subjective list of the top 25 most creative and influential writers and do an episode regarding each writer - in future months, I plan to have episodes devoted to the most creative and influential painters, religious leaders, classical musicians, popular artists, among others - but for the month of September, the episodes will deal with some of the greats of literature - from familiar writers to ones that might be completely new to you.  I have a few extra and even surprise writers to include - and have decided to discuss them near the end of September during the relevant episodes - but more about that later. 

We begin on September 6 with Moses — not often thought of as a writer, but his words still shape laws, stories, and the moral imagination thousands of years later.  By the way, if you ha  ve ever read the words - and who hasn’t - in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth - you are reading words written by Moses.  Most scholars believe that Moses wrote the creation story.  In fact, it is generally agreed that Moses wrote the book of Genesis. But I digress.  And everyday is a new writer and a new episode.

Then David, the poet-king. His psalms remind us that the lyric voice can cut deeper than any sword.

Then, we’ll move to the early Christian era to discuss Paul, whose epistles laid the groundwork for a major world religion, before jumping into the medieval world with Dante and his epic journey through the afterlife in the Divine Comedy in exquisite Italian verse. Reading Dante is like taking a guided tour through hell, purgatory, and heaven, with the best poetry as your souvenir.

Next comes Chaucer, the cheeky master of pilgrims and bawdy tales. He reminds us that literature has always thrived on gossip and laughter.

And then of course, William Shakespeare. More ink has been spilled about him than almost anyone else, but his words still live in our mouths: “wild goose chase,” “forever and a day,” “break the ice.” He gave us the language we speak.  And I broke my self imposed rule of an episode for each writer by giving William Shakespeare two episodes.  But then again, I didn't have much choice because I majored in Shakespeare studies in graduate school   Big deal

Then, John Donne, who proved that love poetry and the love of sermons could share the same pulsing fire.

Next is John Milton, who set out to justify the ways of God to man — and in the process created a Satan so compelling that readers still cheer for the villain.

And John Milton is followed by Daniel Defoe, who smuggled the modern novel into the world with Robinson Crusoe — and set us all dreaming of island survival before Castaway or Gilligan’s Island were even ideas.

And Daniel Defoe is followed by Jonathan Swift, the sharpest satirist of them all. He could shrink us down to six inches tall or make us giants, all to expose the smallness of human pride.

In the next episode, I linked together William Wordsworth, Robert Frost, and Taylor Swift - in their own ways, they insisted that the ordinary moment — a walk by a lake, a cloud in the sky, and a patch of daffodils— were worthy of the highest poetry.

The next episode deals with Victor Hugo, who turned revolution and justice into epics that still thunder through Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.


The next episode deals with  Charles Dickens, who practically invented Christmas as we know it, while also shaming Victorian society into caring for its poor.

The next episode deals with Henry David Thoreau, prophet of the woods and stubborn individualism. His two years at Walden Pond still echo whenever we talk about simplicity, sustainability, or concern for the environment.

The following episode concentrates on Walt Whitman, who sang the body electric and created a new American voice — one that embraced democracy, diversity, and desire.

Then we arrive at the Russian heavyweights: Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Dostoevsky plunges us into the depths of guilt, faith, and psychology, while Tolstoy builds whole worlds of love, war, and moral struggle. Two very different giants, both unforgettable.

The next literary artist on the list is Oscar Wilde, whose wit sparkles brighter than ever in a world obsessed with appearances. He turned his life into theater — and left us plays, stories, and epigrams still quoted at cocktail parties.

And the following episode deals with Eugene O’Neill, who gave America its first true tragic stage, peeling back the illusions of family life with raw, almost unbearable honesty.

I slightly changed my original intention of devoting an episode to only one writer with an episode regarding The Inklings — a group of friends in an Oxford pub who changed fantasy and faith for generations. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield, and others gathered over pints to read drafts, debate ideas, and challenge each other. Out of that circle came The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Out of the Silent Planet and some of the most imaginative Christian writing of the twentieth century. Proof that sometimes creativity flourishes best not in solitude, but in fellowship.
This is followed by an examination of William Faulkner, architect of the Southern Gothic labyrinth. Reading him can feel like getting lost in a swamp — but if you stay with it, you discover voices unlike any others in literature.

And the next writer is someone that I've met - so you know I have my story to tell - and that is Maya Angelou. She was someone who gave us words that heal, provoke, and lift. Her poetry and memoirs remind us that creativity can be both survival and celebration.

And a writer whose books have outsold everything except the Bible and Shakespeare. She might just be the most widely read author of them all. And appropriately enough, I am going to leave her identity a mystery - hint, hint.

Finally, three writers associated with the Holocaust who wrote some extremely moving words regarding human struggles and existence.

Over the coming episodes, I’ll dive into each of these writers — not with dusty lectures, but with stories, anecdotes, and a few playful detours. We’ll explore why they mattered then, and why they still matter now.

Now the entire process of doing the episodes was more than I could have possibly imagined - probably the most enjoyable activity that I have experienced in years - the process of reading and researching regarding a list of famous writers - some made the final cut, and others were less impressive.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part was the fact that I used ChatGPT for much of my research.  I came up with a list - which, not surprisingly, was always changing, and researched that particular writer. I did all this before I even started writing a prompt so I could give ChatGPT a theme to follow and let it know what I wanted. Of course there was that rush when you entered your prompt or ask a question, and ChatGPT started to instantly pour out text that was articulate and exactly what you wanted.

But I digress …
Think of Voices Through Time as a creative road trip — one that takes us from Sinai to Stratford, from Florence to St. Petersburg, from Concord to Dublin. Along the way, you’ll meet saints and sinners, mystics and mischief-makers, people who used words to challenge kings, comfort souls, and sometimes just make us laugh.

Some names you know, some you may not. But together, they make up a chorus — the 25 most creative writers, the ones who changed how we dream, how we write, and how we live.

By the way, here’s a thought I keep coming back to as I got higher and higher on the list: - I tried to present the writers in chronological order - I learned in a very surprising way that literature is never written in isolation… it’s a conversation that stretches across centuries.”  And every great writer is answering and reshaping the voices that came before.

Voices Through Time is more than just a list of names; it’s a journey through the evolution of thought, storytelling, and language.  You will see that the great authors didn't exist in a vacuum; they were in conversation with each other, borrowing ideas and building on the works that came before them. So subscribe to Celebrate Creativity and join me for "Voices Through Time.”

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I'm incredibly excited to introduce - and in some cases reintroduce - you to these brilliant minds. Until then, don’t forget “Voices Through Time” - beginning September 6.

So subscribe, tune in, and join me for this journey. Because creativity is not just about art — it’s about life. And these writers show us how to live it.
Until then, remember to download “Voices Through Time” - beginning September 6. Thank you very much Thank you - and hope that you will join out literary exploration.