The History of Literature podcast is a member of the Podglomerate Network and LitHub Radio.

The magic of us being here really lies in what we create. I find that, see, I don't really need superstition,

I don't really need believing in books like The Secret or something like that where you can order from the universe.

I don't really need that because I find it already incredible what we assume when we think about literature,

when we think about painting and I want to leave that open and I want this uncertainty.

It doesn't have to be, you know, people call it the muse, people call it the sublime, people call it whatever magical inspiration.

But I think just leaving it open, allowing for that gap and that's a scary thing, that's a scary thing in life,

allowing for that gap in a relationship as well, allowing for not fully understanding something that is in front of you.

And I find that a very comfortable place to be and I guess that's why I'm an artist because I think that's where interesting things happen

and I can accept that feeling of being a little bit queasy or being uncertain where the journey is going.

And that's where we have to room to contemplate interesting questions.

That's German artist Charlie Stein talking about the magic of art and where it can take us.

We live in the flicker, as Conrad said, and in my adaptation of that phrase I like to think of the flicker as the place where lightning splits the sky.

And our eyes see clearly both the inky darkness of night and a bright display of power.

With art, with literature, we contemplate the human mind at its finest and most complex.

And creators of art and literature go deep in that space to bring us news of mystery and miracle.

Charlie Stein, a painter, has combined the two, like an intellectual detective she and her partner Andy Best have gone into the minds of great writers to see what's there.

And instead of presenting their case to a police chief or a table full of dinner guests, setting out the logical this and that of a burglary or murder,

they've presented their findings on the canvas, expanding literary texts into works of visual art based on the clues and context of some of the world's greatest novels.

Heavy stuff. Don't worry people. Your humble podcaster Jack aka the lung head who's sprinting alongside these geniuses and trying to keep up is here to help.

Charlie Stein and her paintings about classics today on the history of literature.

Okay, here we go. Hello, everyone. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Jack Wilson. We are on a roll. The lung head is coming through.

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