Episode 20: Tania Runyan and Chris Smith

Jen kicks off 2021 with a thoughtful and timely discussion of the reading life, and the connections between one's sense of place and mental wellness. The poet Tania Runyan joins Jen and Chris for this conversation.Tania Runyan is the author of many poetry collections: What Will Soon Take Place, Second Sky, A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight and Delicious Air, which was awarded Book of the Year by the Conference on Christianity and Literature in 2007.  She’s also written the guides, How to Read a Poem, How to Write a Poem, and How to Write a College Application Essay. When she is not writing, Tania plays fiddle and mandolin, drives her kids to appointments, and gets lost in her Midwestern garden.C. Christopher Smith is the Founding Editor of The Englewood Review of Books and the author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks, published by Brazos in 2019.Books discussed in this episode:What Will Soon Take Place: Poems by Tania RunyanSecond Sky: Poems by Tania RunyanA Thousand Vessels by Tania RunyanSimple Weight by Tania RunyanHow to Write a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Tania RunyanHow to Read a Poem: Based on the Billy Collins Poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Tania RunyanHow to Write a College Application Essay: Expert Advice to Help You Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Tania RunyanA Plum Tree in Leatherstocking Country by Daniel Bowman Jr.Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert PutnamBecoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness and Gentle Discipleship by John SwintonAll the Young Men by Ruth Coker BurksBecoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty and Achieve Peace by Carl SafinaThe Library Book by Susan OrleanDarkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William StyronThe Hilarious World of Depression by John MoeLost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann HariFinding Jesus in the Storm: The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges by John SwintonThe Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk