Steve Connor

In a lively discussion, Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler, advocates for leisure as a craft, while Polly Dickson explores doodling as a creative form of idleness. Katrien Devolder introduces concepts like justified effort management in a productivity-driven world. Doctor Gavin Francis connects idleness to health, revealing its role in convalescence. Cultural historian Steve Connor enriches the conversation with historical perspectives, highlighting the philosophical debates surrounding idleness as both a virtue and a societal stigma.

Steven Connor, Professor of English and Director of Research at King’s College London, discusses his new intellectual biography of Gaston Bachelard. He traces Bachelard’s path from rural postman to academic, the odd archival gaps that hindered biography, and the persistent tension between scientific rigor and imaginative poetics. Connor spotlights Bachelard’s methods, mesomorphic matter, and surprising legacies for artists and readers.