26 - Stevenson and the Short Story

What this episode covers

Can you know Truth, with a capital T? Is uncertainty a necessary condition of our existence? After studying the canon of Robert Louis Stevenson, Barry argues the famous writer would have said “no” to the first question and “yes” to the second. Good writing is not escapism, it’s engagement with life’s deepest questions. But how do we know Stevenson is right? And can we privilege his materialistic worldview over and against, say, the theistic worldview of the Shema? “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might?” This is one of the “small” questions tackled in this episode! Episode 26 dives into the history of the short story, the role Robert Louis Stevenson played, and how modernism changed how so many people read and understand life. Heads up, in episode 27 we’ll be talking about Truman Capote and his short story, “A Christmas Memory.”