With the release of the third volume of The Book of Dust, Lyra's full story has been let loose in the world--in all the many worlds--and so the time has come for another long-form series of discussions and commentaries on the works of Philip Pullman.
For it would seem as though the windows from one world to another have not all been closed, despite what we were led to believe at the end of His Dark Materials; and as for the "Republic of Heaven" spoken of there, and so stirringly evoked in Pullman's nonfiction, interviews, and public remarks as a "democracy of reading," if we were expecting to find it in The Rose Field at last, it might prove elusive, disappointing perhaps, and somewhat different anyhow than we supposed. But after all, resourceful readers, like Lyra and her friends, can always find a way to reopen the windows, and when we leave them at the end of the final book, sharing poems and stories, something like what was promised seems to be what they are at work building together.
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Continuing the podcast format of my prior series on The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, and in the hopes of contributing to a more complete understanding of the place of Pullman's writing in the wider culture, this project will consist of commentaries on each chapter of The Book of Dust, as well as conversations with scholars and other readers, fans and critics alike. Wherever possible, I'll trace Pullman's references and allusions to their probable sources, whether in his own previous books or in the literature, art, and experiences that have influenced him; my main purpose, however, and the why behind all this effort, is to attempt to say in as clear and interesting a way as possible what Pullman's work has meant for me and for the many other readers--writers and aspiring writers, teachers and students, young and old--he's influenced over the years, telling Lyra's story.
I think it is a wonderful story and a compelling one. For many, and for me in many places, it may be a challenging one, too. For others it is nothing special, or even disreputable or dangerous, and another of my goals with this round of reading and conversations is to reach out to a wider variety of interlocutors and to engage with a wider range of criticism and outright dismissal of Pullman than in my previous forays. In particular, I want to be cognizant of the religious, philosophical, and poetic stakes in the encounter with Pullman's formidable powers of narrative and polemic.
The Book of Dust, if not his swan-song, will likely prove to be one of Pullman's last artistic statements. More and more I am persuaded that at the heart of his works, from his little-known early novels through to the poignant and puzzling last pages of The Rose Field, there live serious questions for people who hold all manner of commitments to faith, art, and politics. What sorts of relationships--to others, to institutions, to values, and to our own imaginations--are we responsible for? What sorts might we long to be free from? What kinds of communities are possible to hold together in a world driven by money, fear, and violence? What happens when traditional structures start to break down? And when even an apparently inevitable political or economic order, standing in for the religious, becomes unstable in turn? What is the nature of Dust, finally? I think that honest responses to these sorts of questions will tend to be illuminated by recurring to them patiently, charitably, and with an open mind. For myself, my faith in God--the sort of God who Pullman, far from killing, brings to life by his "negative capability"--and in the manifold, splendid, awful capacities of human beings, made in the image of God as we are out of the dust, only grows with each visit to Pullman's many worlds and each return to our own.
Here is the course page where you'll find audio and notes with recommendations for further reading.
Comments, questions, suggestions? Please reach out!
Thank you for reading, especially those who have shared your time and expertise.
La Belle Sauvage: Volume I of the Book of Dust
Episode 1: To be a philosopher's apprentice (audio forthcoming)
Front matter and Chapter 1: The Terrace Room
Schubert's Trout Quintet, Rudin et al. fresh from youtube
Gabriel Schenk's tour of Philip Pullman's Oxford
Ep 2
Ch 2: The Acorn
Ch 3: Lyra
Ep 3
Ch 4: Uppsala
Ch 5: The Scholar
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