Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation
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.
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Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation
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.
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Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation

Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation

by Paula Marantz Cohen

Narrated by Coleen Marlo

Unabridged — 5 hours, 59 minutes

Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation

Talking Cure: An Essay on the Civilizing Power of Conversation

by Paula Marantz Cohen

Narrated by Coleen Marlo

Unabridged — 5 hours, 59 minutes

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Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

Choice Reviews

"Talking Cure is a thought-provoking read. Cohen skillfully leads the reader through a lively and adventurous exploration of conversation in a wide variety of settings and situations."

From the Publisher

"Like an agile museum guide, Cohen ushers us through a series of literary and historical exhibitions, not as a lecturer but as a conversation partner in prose. That is, Cohen artfully gives us a book that is itself a conversation about conversation in which the learned and the conversible are reunited. . . . Talking Cure is a beautifully expressed reminder of the joys, perils, and aspirations of conversation and its civilizing power."—-Todd Breyfogle, Law & Liberty

Product Details

BN ID: 2940178367490
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Publication date: 04/18/2023
Edition description: Unabridged
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