How do we justify reading? Do we justify reading?

Heights fifth grade teacher and published fiction author Joe Breslin chases away such questions. Though fiction can have utility, even moral impact—fiction at its best is an art created and received with wonder. In this fascinating conversation, Mr. Breslin reflects on writing, reading, and gets us to the heart of what it actually means to do something “for its own sake.”

3:50 Do we read for utility?

7:49 Fiction: pursued for its own sake

11:43 Whether fiction has a moral purpose

18:57 Fiction writing is not essay writing

23:03 Good art ends up reflecting God

26:09 Defining “good for its own sake”

28:23 The tension between education and encounter

34:04 A parent’s role in sharing fiction

38:07 The human impulse for literature

Hearts Uncanny: Tales of the Unquiet Spirit by Joe Breslin

Other Minds: 13 Tales of Wonder and Sorrow by Joe Breslin

joeybreslinwrites.com Joe Breslin’s author website

“Ethics of Elfland” by G. K. Chesterton

Leisure: The Basis of Culture Josef Pieper

“The Loss of the Creature” by Walker Percy

Men in the Making, Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles

What Should a Catholic University Be? at The Heights School (December 7, 2024)

The Forum Book Reviews, many written by Joe Breslin