Celebrate Creativity

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Hall of Imagination for an episode with William Shakespeare called words become music. And here is Master Shakespeare himself as as he explains one of the most commonly used rhetorical devices of them all. Mr. Bartley: Master Shakespeare, there is a word that continues to appear whenever people discuss your writing. That word is “parallelism.” Master Shakespeare: A...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Hall of Imagination - this episode is called Opposites! Tonight’s rhetorical device is antithesis. You might say that the rhetorical device of ANTITHESIS is a perfect “Shakespeare in conversation” device because he loves thinking in opposites.  And this episode is going to deal with antithesis or balancing contrasting ideas in parallel structure.  Two examples are i...

Send us Fan Mail This podcast is Celebrate Creativity and this series is Hall of Imagination.  My name is George Bartley. GEORGE (Host): Now—quick note for listeners: today we’re talking a little bit more about a rhetorical device that Shakespeare would've learned in school. Don’t run away. “Rhetorical device” simply means a tool a writer uses to make language more memorable, more persuasive,...

Send us Fan Mail And this person here must be shakespeare’s teacher.- Hic Latīnē tantum loquimur. Pardon me. I said that we only speak Latin here. But I don't know Latin. Could you speak in English? Well, yes, ordinarily all of the class is communicated using Latin. But I assume I can make one exception for you now since you do seem to be an English speaking person. Thank you very much. But f...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Hall of Imagination–and this is the first in a series of episodes about William Shakespeare. And here we have a wax figure of the BARD himself. And personally, let me say as an actor that I am really excited about the prospect of learning more about what makes William Shakespeare so great!  Oh here you are! Mr. Shakespeare, I am really excited about this series of podca...

Send us Fan Mail Mr. Presley, I'd like to begin in Tupelo, move through Sun Records and the explosion of the 1950s, and then spend time with Vegas ., the   pills, the isolation, and the wreckage. Mr. Bartley, it seems that you really knew about my life. Mr. Bartley, I was born January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, into poverty and instability. MY twin brother, Jesse Garon, was stillborn. T...

Send us Fan Mail Permit me to tell a very short story about something that really happened. Years ago, I saw Chuck Berry live at the Paramount Theatre in Manhattan.  I later learned that a few years after that, the Paramount Theater was completely shut down.  Anyway, that night Chuck Berry was on a bill with The Animals and The Dixie Cups—a lineup that already told you how fast the musical world w...

Send us Fan Mail I'd like to begin the final part of this two part series regarding Michael Jackson by looking at late 1993. Yes, Mr. Bartley, in 1993, I proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. We were married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May of 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Álvarez Pérez. I would imagine that the tabloid media would have a fi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the hall of imagination, and I can't believe what I'm seeing. This is the first time that I have ever seen a wax figure who is now deceased that I saw in real life. Yes, I am Michael Jackson, and you say that you have seen me before? Yes, I saw you with your brothers at a concert in Washington DC. AH, Mr. Bartley, I believe that I remember that concert very we...

Send us Fan Mail Christ said to feed the hungry, not to give them food poisoning! This will all make sense in September. You see, In early September, I'll be sharing a special series called The 2000 Pound Pineapple. I am announcing it now because the events that comprise The 2000 Pound Pineapple are taking place right now, and should be over by September. I wanna be able to look at them in pe...

Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, we walked with Walt Whitman down the open roads of America, hearing the chorus of ordinary lives. Whitman’s poetry celebrated the sweep of America, the chorus of countless lives, and the boundless possibilities of freedom. Across the ocean and slightly later in time, Dostoevsky turned his gaze inward, exploring the shadowed recesses of the human heart. Whe...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Hall of Imagination. - in your previous episode I mentioned my suspicions that I would be having some more episodes dealing with Walt Whitman very soon. Well that time has come, and I'd love to talk a little bit more with the wax figure of Walt Whitman Walt, are you prepared to speak to me tonight?\ Certainly George, you know it can get rather boring up here on thi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the hall of imagination. Tonight I was looking up at the wax figure of the writer Walt Whitman– And I was not surprised in the least when he looked down at me and began speaking. George, I was most commonly known as "Walt" among friends, family, and in much of my correspondence, rather than as "Mr. Whitman." My parents shortened my given name from Wa...

Send us Fan Mail Hello this is George Bartley, and I was walking through the wax museum when I ran across the figure of John Milton. Naturally I had to stop, and I watched him as he came to life and began speaking. Mr. Milton, this is indeed an honor! Do you mind if I speak with you tonight? Certainly not. I would definitely appreciate the company. And and what is your name? My name is George Bart...

Send us Fan Mail In the previous episode, I talked about an exhibit of the inklings– Token, Williams, and Barfield. But I would like to devote this entire episode to an individual who is arguably the most well-known of the inklings–CS Lewis.  Mr. Lewis, how do you believe the inklings influenced you as a writer. Ah, Mr. Bartley, I began as a rationalist atheist, but the Inklings helped me blend lo...

Send us Fan Mail What Were the Inklings? Today’s episode deals with four people instead of one individual.  They are often classified as one group because they were a band of university friends who argued, challenged, and inspired each other—the Inklings.”  You see, the Inklings were largely a group of Oxford professors, writers, and thinkers who met to read aloud, debate, and challenge one anothe...

Send us Fan Mail I sincerely hope that you are enjoying the episodes that make up the Hall of Imagination. A wax museum is a wonderful metaphor. During the day, the figures are silent exhibits. At night, they become people again. That gives me tremendous freedom to let them explain themselves, argue, laugh, and even admit uncertainty—all while hopefully making it clear to my audience that they&apo...

Send us Fan Mail Mr. Douglas, I think it would be very interesting for our listeners if you could relate the part of your life when you finally succeeded in making your escape from slavery. But before narrating any of the peculiar circumstances, I deem it proper to make known my intention not to state all the facts connected with the transaction. My reasons for pursuing this course may be understo...

Send us Fan Mail Could you describe your voyage to Baltimore? Frederick Douglas: We sailed out of Miles River for Baltimore on a Saturday morning. I remember only the day of the week, for at that time I had no knowledge of the days of the month, nor the months of the year. On setting sail, I walked aft, and gave to Colonel Lloyd’s plantation what I hoped would be the last look. I then spent the re...

Send us Fan Mail Did these apparently incoherent songs mean anything to you? I did not, when a slave, understand the deep meaning of these songs. These songs told a tale of woe which was then altogether beyond my feeble comprehension; they were tones loud, long, and deep; they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the bitterest anguish. Every tone was a testimony against sla...

Send us Fan Mail Now I was walking in the hallway through the wax museum when I looked up at the wax figure of an Afro-American individual. He looked down at me, and his features came to life as he said–As I hope you realize, my name is Frederick Douglass, and I want to tell you about my life. That would definitely be an honor.  I tell you what–I am going to get out of the way and let you start ta...

Send us Fan Mail Night watchman: Welcome to another night at the wax museum– Or Hall of wonder–step sound–and  what do we have here. It looks like the wax figure of a Chinese person, and the identifying plaque says that his name is TI Lon Mr. Bartley: pardon me for coming to life, but that name is tsigh loon–think of sigh& the bird loon–SIGH LOON Night watchmen: And pardon me, but I am not fam...

Send us Fan Mail Before we begin, let me emphasize that today I'll be talking with a wax figure that never existed– In this case, a figure from literature that was never flesh and bone, but the author of the literary work from which she came created a character that is extremely lifelike, and teaches us a great deal about human nature. I know that in the early 21st century, a group of 100 pro...

Send us Fan Mail The museum was unusually quiet. The lights glowed softly across the polished floor. I made my rounds through the gallery of scientists. There stood Isaac Newton. There stood Marie Curie. And there, at the far end of the room, stood a familiar figure with wild white hair and kind eyes. Albert Einstein. As midnight approached, I noticed something. His eyes seemed to twinkle. A momen...

Send us Fan Mail Night watchman: you would be astonished by many aspects of the modern university that you founded with the University of Virginia. Jefferson: That is most fascinating. "How many students attend today?" Night Watchman: "Mr. Jefferson, the University of Virginia now has roughly twenty-five thousand students, including undergraduate and graduate students." Jeffers...