Fiction
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Halloween with Edgar Allan Poe (and Annette Jung)
Enjoy! And of course, don’t miss our own Edgar Allan Poe / Simpsons tribute. (No, not the one you’re thinking of. Think House of Usher, not The Raven.) Continue reading
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Greatest First Lines Ever – Contest Update!
Wow, the contest to win a free book by telling me your favorite first line is going really well. Thanks to everyone for your comments, emails, voicemails, and speakpipe recordings. The entries are fabulous, especially the ones I get to hear read in your own voice. And at the end I get to give away books –… Continue reading
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A Contest! Tell Me Your Favorite First Line and Win a Free Book
Here we go! We’ve spent enough time agonizing over whether Literature Is Dying. Let’s put that on hold for now. Instead, let’s celebrate the greatest geniuses and most powerful books we can imagine. And let’s do that by focusing on the Greatest First Lines of all time. What’s the criteria for a great first line? It’s up… Continue reading
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Is Literature Dying?
Okay, the new podcast is off to a great start! Many thanks to all the listeners, wherever you are, and whoever you may be. It seems that a lot of you have the same question I do: Is literature dying? I know what you’re thinking: sounds like a straw man! I get it, I get it.… Continue reading
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The Cane (A History of Jacke in 100 Objects #32)
He was of average height and build, with blond hair and a disconcerting smile: his mouth expanded, his teeth flashed white, but his eyes expressed no joy or excitement. At best they looked nervous and slightly desperate, like those of an animal caught in a trap. At worst they looked dulled over, like the animal resigned… Continue reading
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Gore Vidal’s Great Orson Welles Story
I’ve read a lot of Orson Welles stories, but somehow I missed many of the gems in this fantastic NYRB essay by Gore Vidal. Here’s one of my favorites, where Vidal and Welles are analyzing “like a pair of Talmudic scholars” a draft of Rudy Vallée’s memoirs, which Vidal has managed to get his hands on: As professional storytellers,… Continue reading
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The Trailer (A History of Jacke in 100 Objects #31)
It started with the rain. Tammy Wynette refused to perform on the uncovered stage, the foot traffic slowed to a trickle, and my boss Jerry couldn’t stop grumbling about the replacement band. “The Cheese Boys?” he muttered, as the sounds from Turtle Tap’s house band echoed through an empty grandstand. “This is the best those college idiots… Continue reading
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It’s The Jacke Wilson Show! Life’s Unanswerable Questions, Part 2 (Episode 2.2)
ONE…ONE ONE…ONE ONE… IT’S THE JACKE WILSON SHOW!!!!! Our quest for a more professional sheen to the podcast continues with Life’s Unanswerable Questions (Part 2) – Another play for Bryan Cranston and Kate Winslet, the untold story of Joseph the beleaguered father of Jesus, a look at why we love when we know it hurts… Continue reading
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The Fire Alarm (A History of Jacke in 100 Objects #30)
We were in the middle of a dorm war. Every morning between one and three a.m., a resident of some enemy dorm pulled our fire alarm. Presumably someone from our dorm was doing the same at some dorm across campus. In this war I was a mere civilian. A pacifist, a bystander, a protestor. And every night… Continue reading
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It’s The Jacke Wilson Show! Life’s Unanswerable Questions (Episode 2.1)
ONE…ONE ONE…ONE ONE… IT’S THE JACKE WILSON SHOW!!!!! Season Two! We’re off to a GREAT start with the new Jacke Wilson Show season. New producer, new studio…and a much more professional sheen. In episode 2.1 we cover Life’s Unanswerable Questions, as contributed by you, the listeners. Hope you enjoy the show! You can stream the… Continue reading
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