Writing

December 2, 2015

Writers Laughing: A Jacke Wilson Gallery

Peace on earth, good will to all…and a photo gallery of great writers caught in the act of laughing. Happy holidays! Join us on the History of Literature podcast or at the Jacke Wilson blog for more literary delights. Get the History of Literature podcast: iTunes | Android | RSS | More Subscribe Options Try the latest History… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature, novelists, Writing

Alice Munro, anita desai, Flannery O’Connor, Gabriel García Márquez, garrett hongo, georges simenon, Henry Miller, j.r.r. tolkien, James Baldwin, Jean-Paul Sartre, john irving, joseph brodsky, kiran desai, kurt vonnegut, lorrie moore, margaret atwood, mary beard, norman mailer, pablo neruda, phillip roth, Ray Bradbury, Samuel Beckett, sandra cisneros, scott fitzgerald, seamus heaney, sherman alexie, Simone de Beauvoir, Stephen King, truman capote, w.e.b. dubois, Writers laughing, Zelda Fitzgerald, zora neale hurston
November 30, 2015

The History of Literature Episode 5 – Greek Tragedy (Part One)

How was tragedy invented? Why was it so popular in Ancient Greece, and what power does it have for us today? Using the discussion of tragedy in Aristotle’s Poetics, author Jacke Wilson takes a look at tragedies from ancient times to Shakespeare and Breaking Bad. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:53 —… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

aeschylus, ancient greece, Breaking Bad, oedipus, Shakespeare, tragedy, tragic hero, Writing Tips
November 28, 2015

Buster Keaton and The Art of Showing (Not Telling)

Every aspiring creative writer hears it at some point:. It’s one of those great phrases that sound cryptic and meaningful and take a while to puzzle out. Yes, yes, young grasshopper, I see you’ve written some words on the page here, and I see you’re trying to do something like write fiction, a craft I myself… Continue reading

Arts, Writing

buster keaton, show don’t tell, visual comedy, Writing Advice
November 26, 2015

A Jacke Wilson Thanksgiving. What Could Possibly Go Wrong…?

Good morning, everyone! Today is a day for thanks. I’ll get to that in a minute. So I had to run through some old 100 Objects posts for a potential new publishing project. I know I’m not the first to say that it’s not easy rereading your old writing. I’m a writer, it comes with… Continue reading

Writing

audience appreciation, burger car, charlie brown, football, life, parenthood, thanksgiving
November 25, 2015

Restless Mind Show #7 – Literature and Loneliness

On the eve of a holiday, author and host of the History of Literature podcast Jacke Wilson considers the consolations that total immersion in literature can provide. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:29 — 19.9MB) Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS | More Subscribe Options Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature, novelists, Podcast, restless mind show, Writing

dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Holidays, kerouac, Literature, loneliness, Writers
November 24, 2015

Sensual Sappho

Wow, what a great response to the Sappho episode of the History of Literature podcast. An all-time record for downloads in a day! You can catch up on the Sappho episode (or any other episode) by subscribing on iTunes or Android or Stitcher, or just typing “History of Literature” into whatever podcast app you use.… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

ancient greece, cinema paradiso, edith hall, Poetry, The New York Review of Books
November 21, 2015

Sappho’s Ghost in Western Washington

Hello! We’re hard at work getting ready for the Sappho episode of the History of Literature podcast, which we’ll release on Monday. Brilliant reader MAM posted this comment: Did you know that Sappho influenced the name of what is now a ghost town in Western Washington in the late 1800’s? Whaaaaaat!? There was a community… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Writing

ghost town, Podcast, Poetry, poets, rogue pioneers, sappho, Seattle, washington
November 18, 2015

Is This What Sappho Sounded Like?

Next Monday on the History of Literature podcast, we’ll be taking a look at Sappho. (It’s very interesting to contrast her with her near contemporary Homer, whom we looked at last time.) One of the great tragedies of literature is how much of Sappho we’ve lost: not just the poetry but ALL of the accompanying music. What… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature, Writing

Podcast, Poetry, preview, sappho, songs
November 17, 2015

On Protecting the Creative Process

Brilliant Reader (and hard-at-work novelist) CH considers our offer to share her first line and responds: Although I’ve decided not to share my opening sentence here, I’m grateful for your post, Jacke. 18 K-plus words later, I honestly couldn’t remember what my first sentence was. Today was one of those days when I wondered if… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, Writing

contest, Creativity, first lines, nanowrimo, Writing
November 16, 2015

History of Literature Episode 3A: Odysseus Leaves Calypso

Responding to a listener email, author Jacke Wilson takes a deeper look at one of the Odyssey’s most famous passages. Why does Odysseus leave Calypso, and what does it tell us about Homer and his genius? And is it fair to compare Achilles and Odysseus with Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny? Podcast: Play in new… Continue reading

Arts, Authors, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

achilles, bugs bunny, calypso, Homer, odysseus, Poetry, yosemite sam