Talking Cure

An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation

De: Paula Marantz Cohen

Narrado por: Coleen Marlo

Talking Cure is a timely and enticing excursion into the art of good conversation. Paula Marantz Cohen reveals how conversation connects us in ways that social media never can and explains why simply talking to each other freely and without guile may be the cure to what ails our troubled society.

Drawing on her lifelong immersion in literature and culture and her decades of experience as a teacher and critic, Cohen argues that we learn to converse in our families and then carry that knowledge into a broader world where we encounter diverse opinions and sensibilities. She discusses the role of food in encouraging conversation, the challenges of writing dialogue in fiction, the pros and cons of Zoom, the relationship of conversation to vaudeville acts, and the educational value of a good college seminar where students learn to talk about ideas. Cohen looks at some of the famous groups of writers and artists in history whose conversation fed their creativity, and details some of the habits that can result in bad conversation.

Blending the immediacy of a beautifully crafted memoir with the conviviality of an intimate gathering with friends, Talking Cure makes a persuasive case for the civilizing value of conversation and is essential listening for anyone interested in the chatter that fuels culture.

©2023 Princeton University Press (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Talking: the only way to cure

A very thoughtful theme for the “dark age” of public discourse. Mrs Cohen extensive knowledge guides us through the good literature (specially of England), visits the French, touches on philosophy but leaves behind conversationalists of importance in the cultures that she focuses in (where is Voltaire? Wilde?)… As for the reader, a fairly well done job … but for the French accent which is almost, unbearable!