Episode 336: "Why I Write" by George Orwell - Short Story Summer Remix episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 7, 2026 · 1H 22M

Episode 336: "Why I Write" by George Orwell - Short Story Summer Remix

from The Literary Life Podcast · host Angelina Stanford Thomas Banks

For this week's installment of our Short Story Summer Remix, we revisit a conversation Angelina and Cindy had covering George Orwell's essay "Why I Write." Our hosts kick off the discussion about how much they each identify with Orwell's description of his childhood. In his story of learning to write, we see many aspects of a good education, even his inclination to imitate other authors. An important point Angelina brings up is Orwell's own struggle against the calling he felt to write, in contrast to having an ambition to do so. Angelina brings up a related story about musician Gregory Alan Isakov, and Cindy reiterates the idea of why we need leisure in order to find our vocation. Cindy and Angelina also bring out some of the qualities Orwell possessed that make a good writer. Maturity as a human being and as a master of a craft are crucial to certain forms of writing, as Orwell points out about his own work. Other topics of conversation include truth-telling in writing, the motives for writing according to Orwell, and the growing process of writers. If you want to find replays of the 2019 Back to School online conference referenced in this episode, you can purchase them in Cindy's shop at MorningTimeforMoms.com. For replays of the How to Love Poetry webinar with Thomas, as well as all the current and upcoming classes at HHL you can find those at HouseofHumaneLetters.com. Check out the schedule for the podcast's summer episodes on our Upcoming Events page. And to view the full show notes for this episode, please visit our website at https://theliterary.life/336. 

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Episode 336: "Why I Write" by George Orwell - Short Story Summer Remix

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