Want to become more Stoic? Join us and other Stoics this October: Stoicism Applied by Caleb Ontiveros and Michael Tremblay on Maven
“The central theme of Seneca’s tragedies is how to endure a world in which there is no justice, no safety, no guarantees—political or divine—of human dignity.”
For this episode, I went to Sonoma County, California to speak with the poet Dana Gioia.
Seneca was a brilliant philosopher and statesman, but not many know he was also a world-class playwright. Dana Gioia is changing that.
Our conversation focuses on Dana’s translation of Seneca’s The Madness of Hercules but also covers Dana’s story, Stoicism, and much more.
(02:19) Dana's Story
(13:29) Choosing Art Over Material Success
(19:30) Seneca Enters the Picture
(32:02) The Madness of Hercules
(38:25) The Value in Seneca's Violence
(44:44) Reading The Play
(51:21) Reading vs Listening vs Seeing
(57:59) Bacchus
(59:55) Seneca the Playwright vs Seneca the Philosopher
(01:07:31) Seneca on Anger
(01:14:26) Stoicism Today
(01:21:11) Fasting
(01:29:05) Final Words
Note: I had use backup audio for 1:02 to 1:08. You’ll notice a slight decline in audio quality for those 6 minutes.
***
Subscribe to The Stoa Letter for weekly meditations, actions, and links to the best Stoic resources: www.stoaletter.com/subscribe
Download the Stoa app (it’s a free download): stoameditation.com/pod
If you try the Stoa app and find it useful, but truly cannot afford it, email us and we'll set you up with a free account.
Listen to more episodes and learn more here: https://stoameditation.com/blog/stoa-conversations/
Thanks to Michael Levy for graciously letting us use his music in the conversations: https://ancientlyre.com/
