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Alexander Pushkin Elisabeth Van Der Meer  Finland Podcast TTT Russia Russian Literature Season 2

Season 2 Episode 34: Elisabeth on The Eugene Onegin Challenge Part 2

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

Alexander Pushkin by Orest Kiprensky (Public Domain)

Elisabeth Van Der Meer from the extraordinary blog, A Russian Affair, has once again joined me from Finland, the far distance of 7,514 km from Vancouver.  Elisabeth promised to come back and talk about the  “The Eugene Onegin Challenge” which is happening on her blog, A Russian Affair. 

As you know, I have taken up the challenge and am reading Alexander Pushkin’s masterpiece, Eugene Onegin, which he wrote over the course of eight years. The adventure is underway.

So, put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation. I am your host Rebecca Budd and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

A Russian Affair, Elisabeth Van Der Meer

“With this challenge I hope to add something extra to your reading experience that will make it more interesting, intense, attentive, and (even more) enjoyable. I will be eating, dreaming, thinking, hearing Eugene Onegin for the next four months and I can’t wait to find out what the end result will be!”

Elisabeth Van Der Meer

Julianna Wagar on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and The Lyon in Mourning Project – Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

S5 E12: Julianna Wagar on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and the Lyon in Mourning Project Sing me a song of a lad that is gone, Say, could that lad be I? Merry of soul he sailed on a day Over the sea to Skye.   Billow and breeze, islands and seas, Mountains of rain and sun, All that was good, all that was fair, All that was me is gone. Sing me a Song of a Lad that is Gone By Robert Louis Stevenson Vocals and music by Julianna WagerWelcome to Tea Toast & Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion has been romanticized in literature and media.  However, this was a difficult and complex period.  The stories of those who lived during this time have been captured in “The Lyon in Mourning” manuscript, which was compiled by Rev Robert Forbes.  The tragic Battle of Culloden shattered the hopes of restoring the Stuarts to the throne.  The communities and social structure of the Scottish Highlands were changed forever.   Dr. Leith Davis, Professor of English at Simon Fraser University and Director of Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Scottish Studies, is currently investigating and creating a Digital Humanities project on “The Lyon in Mourning”.   This project is a collaboration with the National Library of Scotland and SFU’s Digital Humanities Innovation Lab.  Today, I am joined by Julianna Wagar, Dr. Davis’s research assistant, to share her thoughts on the Lyon in Mourning project. Julianna recently completed her BA at Simon Fraser University in English, Gender, and Women’s Studies. She is currently working towards her MA in English at SFU. Her research interests include eighteenth-century Scottish literature, women’s literature, and Scottish women’s travel writing. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting dialogue on Tea Toast & Trivia. I invite you to meet up with Julianna and Dr. Leith Davis at the Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University. The Centre, located at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby campus, provides a focal point for faculty, students, and all who are interested in exploring Scottish history and culture and the connections between Scotland and Canada in the contemporary global landscape.  It is a place where the past reaches out to our time and reminds us to live boldly, with courage and hope. Until next time we meet, dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you. Music by Trabant 33 "Dreams of the Brave" Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/zhMobBG9tX/
  1. Julianna Wagar on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and The Lyon in Mourning Project
  2. Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene on Dead of Winter and Creating Epic Stories
  3. Brian on Transitions
  4. Macbeth’s Witches Chant with Shehanne Moore and Catherine Cavendish
  5. Rachel McAlpine A Poet’s Voice on Aging

By Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

8 replies on “Season 2 Episode 34: Elisabeth on The Eugene Onegin Challenge Part 2”

Aside from your “the trio” podcasts, this has to be one of the most wonderful podcasts, ever! I’m truly without words to describe my response but quickly went to edit my review of this novel at Goodreads. Immediately after finishing Eugene Onegin I gave a ‘shout out’ to Elisabeth but also just now added mention of your podcast with her. Thank you, Rebecca for bringing her excellent blog to everyone’s attention. And thank you Elisabeth! I can’t wait for our next book challenge. Perhaps Fathers and Sons since it has some relevant themes to our contemporary situations, e.g., consequences of idealism.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3214702522?book_show_action=false

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Mary Jo – thank you for your amazing support of The Eugene Onegin Challenge. Very very much appreciated. Elisabeth and I have a conversation planned to discuss the final chapter. In many ways, it is a happily ever after story. I would have never fully appreciated this narrative without Elisabeth as my guide. Her knowledge of Russian Literature is extensive, but her brilliance is found in her understanding of the human condition and her ability to communicate the nuances of the story to listeners/readers. I have an audio version of Fathers and Sons, which is a beginning. I must become more acquainted with Goodreads – it really is a wonderful community. Hugs and more hugs.

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Thank you, Dave – your comments are always encouraging and supportive. I would have never read Eugene Onegin if I hadn’t met Elisabeth. She opened a new adventure into Russian Literature. You have reminded me to revisit fiction, which is something that I never thought that would embrace with such vigor. I have gone back to my love of Greek mythology with my current read via Audible: Circe by Madeline Miller. It is a magnificent narrative. We meet kindred spirits along the way that give meaning and joy to our journey. Books have the best adventures!

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What particularly captured my attention in this discussion of Eugene Onegin, as well as the previous one, was Pushkin’s putting himself in the novel. I laughed out loud at the “cliff-hanger” ending of the chapter with, there’s more, but I’m just too tired to tell you right now. I’ve always gotten a kick out of the 19th-century trope of direct address to the “dear reader,’ although I find contemporary metafiction irritating.

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I have learned so much from reading Eugene Onegin. I had the audio version and the book version together, which added to the reading experience. There is so much to learn, to explore, to understand in literature. It is a never-ending treasure hunt – so glad that there are kindred spirits along the way to guide me.

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It’s so exciting how each book we read teaches us something new and a subsequent discussion with other readers teaches us even more. It just occured to me to wonder whether a really good reading experience releases endorphins for a “reader’s high”!

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You do send me off on the most marvelous research projects. I never thought about whether endorphins were released during reading. I know that I sometimes feel an adrenaline rush so I think you are on to something, Liz. I know that I feel more relaxed and in sync with my surroundings when I read. Let’s keep reading.

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