books
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The History of Literature #247 – Raymond Carver (with Tom Perrotta)
Novelist and screenwriter Tom Perrotta joins Jacke for a discussion of his blue collar New Jersey background, the cultural shock of attending Yale University, and the profound impact that Raymond Carver’s first collection of short stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, had on him as an aspiring young writer trying to find his place… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #242 – William Faulkner | Dry September
The fourth part of a three-part episode run! Jacke takes the advice of a listener and adds William Faulkner’s “Dry September” (1931) to the Baldwin-Faulkner consideration. NOTE FOR LISTENERS: This story (and our discussion of it) contains disturbing references to sexual violence, racial slurs, and race-based hate crimes. Please exercise discretion in listening or playing… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #223 – Speech Sounds by Octavia Butler
Imagine a plague that ravages the world and impairs the ability of humans to communicate with one another. What kind of society would we have? Who would take power and how would they hold it? What would the world be like for the powerless? How would children adapt and survive? In “Speech Sounds,” Octavia E.… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #221 – The Distance of the Moon by Italo Calvino | The African Library Project
Another special quarantine edition! In this action-packed episode, Jacke talks to Robyn Speed and Tatiana Santos of the African Library Project (africanlibraryproject.org), an organization that has helped create or improve more than three thousand libraries in Africa. He then turns to the great Italo Calvino and his short story masterpiece, “The Distance of the Moon”… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #219 – After Rain by William Trevor
William Trevor was born in Ireland in 1928. When he was 26, he moved to England, where for the next 62 years he quietly became one of the most celebrated writers in the English-speaking world. In today’s History of Literature episode, Jacke takes a look at one of his greatest short stories, “After Rain.” Help… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #218 – John Steinbeck
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6UBDGB0IHW4QW4KwRRvgUS?si=ld3nHcqLT6-5SwaELwwLCA John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was an American author known for what the Nobel Committee, who awarded Steinbeck its Prize for Literature in 1962, called “his realistic and imaginative writings, [which combine] sympathetic humor and keen social perception.” Among his 33 books include the novella Of Mice and Men and the novels The Grapes of Wrath… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #214 – Kipling, Kingsley, and Conan Doyle – When Writers Go to War
In early 1900, the paths of three British writers – Rudyard Kipling, Mary Kingsley, and Arthur Conan Doyle – crossed in South Africa, during what has become known as Britain’s last imperial war. In this episode, Sarah LeFanu, author of the new book Something of Themselves: Kipling, Kingsley, Conan Doyle and the Anglo-Boer War, joins… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #213 – Special Quarantine Edition – Gusev by Anton Chekhov
More bonus content! For those of you living in isolation (and those of you who aren’t), Jacke explores the depths of the human condition – as well as its ultimate beauty – with the help of Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) and his short story masterpiece, “Gusev.” Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #212 – Special Quarantine Edition – Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter
As the world deals with a pandemic, we turn to one of America’s greatest (and least appreciated) writers, Katherine Anne Porter, and her masterpiece, Pale Horse, Pale Rider, a short novel that tells the story of Miranda, a newspaper woman who falls ill during the 1918 flu pandemic (also known as the “Spanish flu”), and… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #211 – Edith Wharton
“There are only three or four American novelists who can be thought of as ‘major’,” said Gore Vidal. “And Edith Wharton is one.” In this episode, Jacke and Mike take a look at the life and works of Edith Wharton (1862-1937), author of The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth, with a special… Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 