Writing Back: Letters to Humanity

26 Dec 2025 Episode 6.21 - Writing Back: Letters to Humanity A different sort of New Year Resolution, moving us from personal improvement to public advocacy! Let's write an essay of address, framing our passions into a perspective that would make Le Guin proud! Texts from this episode: Nazim Hikmet: Letters to Taranta-Babu, 1935 Aimé Césaire: Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, 1939 Walt Whitman: various poems from Leaves of Grass, 1855 Mahmoud Darwish, "Identity Card," 1965 Chimamanda Adichie: Dear Ijeawele, 2017 Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/ CHAPTERS 00:00 New Years, New Laments 06:16 Intro Theme 06:50 Why Write Back 12:06 Our Writing Prompt: Anchor & Sting 21:34 Topics, Topics, Topics 26:21 I'm Writing, Too 37:30 Closing Credits === New to Literary Nomads? Check out my introductory episodes (0.1-0.3) to find out what's going on here! I've got an episode for readers, for teachers, and for students: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords-podcast/ Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8 Transcript: https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-21-writing-back-letters-to-humanity === Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas. Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses. Website: https://waywordsstudio.com Newsletter: https://waywordsstudio.kit.com/ Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and LinkedIn: @ Waywords Studio CREDITS: Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/) Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski USING THIS WORK: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution. MLA CITATION: Chisnell, Steve. “6.21 Writing Back: Letters to Humanity,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 26 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.