books
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The History of Literature Episode 35 – A Conversation with Ronica Dhar
In this episode, Jacke welcomes special guest Ronica Dhar, who presents Five Books (or actually Four Books and a Movie) To Lower Your Blood Pressure. Highlights include a poem by Ronica’s former teacher and mentor, letters to a samurai written by a zen master who invented a type of pickle, and a fourteenth-century Kashmiri mystic who wrestled with… Continue reading
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Sneak Preview: A Conversation with Ronica Dhar
This is awesome! Tomorrow on the History of Literature podcast we’ll be posting my conversation with Ronica Dhar, who selects Five Works to Lower Your Blood Pressure. In the meantime, you should all check out Ronica’s novel, Bijou Roy, a simply beautiful book. From Amazon.com: “Ronica Dhar captures the struggles of family and cultural identity… Continue reading
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The History of Literature Episode 34 – Borges and the Search for Meaning
When times are tough, what does literature have for us? Jacke takes a break from the history of literature to reflect on a death in his family, the loss of Sir George Martin, and some thoughts on the meaning of life from Umberto Eco and Jorge Luis Borges. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration:… Continue reading
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History of Literature Episode 33 – The Bhagavad Gita
Written over the span of 800 years from ca. 400 B.C. to ca. 400 A.D, the Mahabharata tells a riveting tale of disputed kingship and warring families. But just as the action-packed narrative reaches its climax, the story pauses to convey a dialogue between the reluctant warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna, who dramatically reveals himself as… Continue reading
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A Literary Quiz: Who Invented the Cliffhanger?
To which author does this sentence refer? The term “cliffhanger” is considered to have originated with the serialised version of this early novel, in which Henry Knight, one of the protagonists, is left literally hanging off a cliff. Edgar Allan Poe Bram Stoker Wilkie Collins Thomas Hardy The answer is #4. Thomas Hardy. I did not know he… Continue reading
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HoL 32 The Best Debut Novels of All Time (A Conversation with the President of the Literature Supporters’ Club)
What makes a great first novel? Which do we prefer: the freshness of a new style (even if it contains mistakes), or the demonstration of competence (even if it breaks no new ground)? Does it matter if the book is the best (or only) novel by that author? Or do we prefer the debuts that initiated a long, distinguished… Continue reading
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Proust as a Graphic Novel
Is Proust on your bucket list? Do you suspect he’ll stay there forever? Maybe this is the answer… That’s right – Swann’s Way as a graphic novel. Here’s a sample in French: And here’s one from the translated version: Is it as good as the original? Well, of course not. But if you can’t make it to… Continue reading
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HoL Episode 30 – More Conspiracy!
What do Edgar Allan Poe, J.K. Rowling, William Shakespeare, Stephen King, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Justice Antonin Scalia have in common? Jacke Wilson connects the dots with another look at conspiracy literature, literary conspiracies, and the people who love them. (Part 2 of 2.) Continue reading
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History of Literature Episode 28 – The Ramayana
It’s been called “the greatest of all Indian epics – and one of the world’s supreme masterpieces of storytelling.” Nobody can deny the power of this ancient tale of Rama, a warrior king in exile, and his beloved wife Sita. Combining intense action scenes with keen insights into spiritual and psychological motivations, the Ramayana continues to… Continue reading
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Coming Soon: The Ramayana!
I’m really enjoying the research on our next History of Literature episode… “There is really no Western counterpart in the Hellenic or Hebraic tradition to the influence that this originally secular story, transmitted orally through many centuries, has exerted over millions of people. The Iliad and The Odyssey are, primarily, literary texts, but not even… Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 