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"We make idols of our concepts but wisdom is born of wonder." Host Katie Marquette takes listeners on a sound-rich, audio adventure for your ears, exploring beauty, aesthetics, theology, literature, and art. www.bornofwonder.com
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Today on the podcast we are joined by Grace E. Kelley, mother, farmer, and poet. She is the author of a debut poetry collection, As the Sparrow Flies. On this episode, Grace and Katie discuss farming, Shakespeare, healing, art, not being embarrassed by our teenage poetry, and why some things may just never be okay this side of Heaven. This is a hopeful, empowering discussion on how art can help us 'name the ache' and seek healing and wholeness in our lives.
*There is discussion of sexual abuse and birth trauma in this episode.
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Grace E. Kelley is a follower of Jesus, a wife, and mother of five small children, including a set of twins. She writes poetry and stories—both fictional and non-fictional. She is also a farmer, a foodie, an unrepentant mug addict, and a deep believer that incredible beauty can come from the compost heap. As the Sparrow Flies, is her debut poetry publication.
You can buy her first book of poetry here, or on Amazon, or wherever you buy books.
Tuesday May 14, 2024
Tuesday May 14, 2024
A 'check in' hello episode from Katie - with some life things she's really enjoying - including discovering a smartphone middle ground that allows you to disconnect (without giving up all the smartphone conveniences - it's not airplane mode!). Discussions on embracing eccentricities, the things that bring you joy (and how that brings joy to others), and how to get a 'new house' feeling without the new house. Beautiful music (straight from the vinyl!) to close us out! Happy Spring!
Recommendation: Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony
Stay tuned for upcoming episode with Grace E. Kelley!
Find her on substack: https://substack.com/@graceekelley
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Tuesday May 07, 2024
Tuesday May 07, 2024
Les Miserables is one of those profound stories that somehow encompasses the full depth of human experience. We have birth, death, falling in love, disappointment, justice, despair, young revolutionary zeal, forgiveness, and heavenly hope.
From Valjean’s first encounter with the Bishop - who forgives him, undeservedly so - to Valjean’s own forgiveness of Javert (and Javert’s inability to accept his mercy) - this a story of love offered, received, and sometimes (tragically) rejected. It is a story that promises the often miserable human condition always has the hope of redemption, if not in this life, “somewhere beyond the barricade.”
Today on the podcast I am joined by Maddie Dobrowski to discuss the tension between justice and mercy in Les Miserables, both in the musical and in the novel. We explore how it is only in the love between people that God’s redemption is allowed expression on Earth. Though this story ends in a death (and little justice Earth-side), it is a triumphant, hopeful ending. The hope of Heaven, and the Joy of Love given and received is enough. It has to be.
Maddie Dobrowski is a Catholic author, literature teacher, and student. She resides in Spokane, WA with her husband, Matt where she enjoys hiking, writing, reading, and gardening. She is currently studying for her MA in Thomistic philosophy and in her free time, she teaches classic literature and writes the Arts & Culture column for her diocese's quarterly magazine. Her first book, The Lord of the Rings and Catholicism, was published in December 2023 with En Route Books and Media. You can also find her writing on Substack (Love of Literature), where she shares essays on finding goodness, truth, and beauty in literature and art.
Her two essays on Les Miserables:
“He is not Here. He Has Risen.”
*Special thank you to my husband, Chris, for his piano renditions of some of my favorite Les Mis melodies throughout this episode.
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Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
When you first encounter the liturgical year, it can be completely overwhelming. There is a saint's feast day every day! What season are we in again? Is it Eastertide? Ordinary Time? Who can keep track?
Here to help us make sense of all this - and inspire us to live a rooted, embodied, seasonal, in-tune, life - is Kristin Haakenson, the writer and artist behind the sacred-seasonal liturgical living missive Hearthstone Fables. Kristin is a beautiful writer, rooted in story and history, and she beautifully weaves the rhythms of the agrarian year with the rhythms of the Church. She makes connections we may never have thought of (stay tuned for the discussion on the nativities of Christ and St. John the Baptist!) and brings a genuine joy to the liturgical year that makes the discovery of feast days and ancient traditions seem not overwhelming, but exciting, - delightful! A treasure trove to be explored.
On the podcast, Kristin discusses how to feel rooted, both in place and in faith, in a modern age opposed to both. Also discussions on how to find community, make the liturgical year a living reality, and how to celebrate with presence and tradition no matter whether you’re in an urban or agricultural setting.
An inspiring and convicting conversation to ground us in story, celebration, tradition, and art.
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Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Love her, hate her, you can't ignore her: Taylor Swift is a global phenomena. Today on the podcast, Katie is joined by Rachel Sherlock to discuss the power of girlhood, joy, dressing up, collective experience, and what the Eras Tour and Taylor Swift as an artist can offer a culture starved for meaning, unity, and good old fashioned fun. Plus - their favorite Swift songs, how they became fans, what era they are, and so many good deep dives for true Swift fans. If you're a Swiftie, this is a real treat, and if you're not, tune in and understand what all the fuss is about! (and get excited for her new album - dropping at the end of this week!)
*special shout-out to my husband Chris for his great piano covers of Taylor’s songs, “Wildest Dreams” and “You are in Love” on this episode!
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Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Today on the podcast Dr. Larry Chapp - former professor and current popular blogger, writer, theologian and founder of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm - joins us to talk all about Dorothy Day. We discuss her radical politics, her orthodox faith, and what she has to offer a world so at odds with itself. Dorothy Day saw her politics, and her love for the poor, as completely inseparable from her Christian faith - it informed everything she did and everything she stood for. We speak about how to return to a truly 'lived' Christianity, even when it makes us a bit 'weird.' What is the role of money? How much should we even have materially speaking? Is there a deep tension with serving the poor and also being a responsible parent? All this plus a practical discussion on how we can help others and follow Christ's foundational commandment to always care for those in need.
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Dr. Chapp's blog - https://gaudiumetspes22.com/
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm - https://dorothydaycwfarm.org/
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Happy 100 episodes! To celebrate, we're launching off into space - exploring that 'Love which moves the sun and other stars' - guided by Gustav Holst's epic 7 part orchestral suite 'The Planets.' We'll visit each planet and hear its accompanying musical movement while also learning some fascinating facts (how old are you in Mercury years? Did you know the sun rises twice on Venus in a day? etc). This is a chance to wonder and stand in awe of the world (and other worlds), reminding us of the vast mystery we are all a part of. We'll also hear a beautiful Les Miserables-inspired violin medley at the very end (courtesy of Lindsey Stirling - who has an asteroid named for her if you were wondering). Happy stargazing!
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Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Happy first day of Spring! Happy feast of St. Joseph! Today we'll hear the magical, sad, beautiful story of Persephone and how she became the wife of Hades, God of the Underworld. Persephone's yearly return to the Earth promises not only a good harvest and a blooming spring but the ultimate hope of resurrection and immortality. This episode is also filled with beautiful immersive music and you'll hear why Katie thinks classical music (and art generally) should always be open for reinterpretation and creative engagement.
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Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Happy St. Patrick's Day week! Today on the podcast we'll be exploring a medley of stories, with audio taken from the many episodes I've done in the past on Celtic legends and folklore, including the story of Oisin and Niamh and the land of Tir na Nog, the land of Eternal Youth, and Oisin's famed debate with St. Patrick. We'll learn about the abandoned Irish island of Blasket and get lost in some eerie beautiful Selkie stories. We will also explore the famous and outstandingly beautiful Book of Kells - what was once described as 'the work of angels, not of man.' We'll hear about one of Ireland's patron saints' St. Columbia and how he rebuked the Loch Ness Monster and at the end of the episode we'll enjoy some Yeats poetry readings.
If you'd like to really get in the Irish spirit, I hope you'll consider joining me and Christy Isinger in Ireland this coming October!
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
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"The Road to Lisdoonvarna and Scollay's" - Pinniped - Free Music Archive
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Why do we read? Is it for edification, intellectual stimulation, or even just 'to be a smart person?' How many of our reasons are linked to a real joy in reading - like when we were kids - the kind of reading that you had you flipping the pages at night, lying out on a blanket all afternoon, the kind that had you lost stories and falling in love with characters that became completely real to you? Today I'm sharing some practical tips about how to fall in love with reading again and how important reading is - for our kids, for our family, even for our physical and mental health. Three cheers for books!
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“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”