Writing
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The History of Literature #149 – Raising Readers (aka The Power of Literature in an Imperfect World)
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL7657488110.mp3 Jacke and Mike respond to an email from a listener who is about to become a father and wondering about the role of literature in the life of a young child. Works and authors discussed include J.K. Rowling, Phillip Pullman, Andrew Motion, Dr. Seuss, Sandra Boynton, The Great Brain series, Bedtime for Frances,… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #148 – Great Literary Hoaxes
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL7458632764.mp3 What can we count on? What do we know is true? In this episode, host Jacke Wilson takes a look at a motley crew of inventive liars who set out to fool the literary world – and often did, at least for a while. From the ancient pseudo-Sappho to the escapee from a debauched… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #146 – Power Ranking the Nobel Prize for Literature
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL5546404287.mp3 The Nobel Prize for Literature has a special place in the literary landscape. We revere the prize and its winners – and yet we often find ourselves puzzled by the choices. The list of fantastic writers who never won a Nobel Prize is as long and distinguished as the list of those who did.… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #145 – Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know – The Story of Lord Byron
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL1016135217.mp3 The Later Romantic poet George Gordon Byron, once described by Lady Caroline Lamb as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” lived 36 years and became world famous, his astonishing career as a poet matched only by his astonishing record as a breaker of norms, an insatiable lover, a bizarre hedonist, a restless exile, a… Continue reading
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144 Food in Literature
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL1061991560.mp3 Food, glorious food! We all know its power for nourishment, pleasure, and comfort — and we’ve all felt the sharp pangs of its absence. How has this essential part of being alive made its way into novels, short stories, and poetry? Our guest Ronica Dhar, author of the novel Bijou Roy, joins us for a… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #141 – Kurt Vonnegut (with Mike Palindrome)
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL2248778305.mp3 “The year was 2081,” the story begins, “and everyone was finally equal.” In this episode of the History of Literature, Jacke and Mike take a look at Kurt Vonnegut’s classic short story, “Harrison Bergeron.” In this 1961 story, Vonnegut imagines a world of the perfectly average, where no one is allowed to be… Continue reading
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History of Literature Episode #137 – Haruki Murakami
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL4372276419.mp3 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS | More Haruki Murakami (b. 1949) is one of the rare writers who combines literary admiration with widespread appeal. Host Jacke Wilson is joined by lifelong Murakami fan Mike Palindrome to discuss what makes his novels so compelling, so mysterious, and so popular. Works discussed include The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore,… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #135 – Aristotle Goes to the Movies (with Brian Price)
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL2517676848.mp3 Hollywood screenwriter and professional script doctor Brian Price, author of Classical Storytelling and Contemporary Screenwriting: Aristotle and the Modern Scriptwriter, found everything he needed to know about screenwriting in a 2,500-year-old text, Aristotle’s Poetics. Brian and Jacke talk about how Aristotle’s study of Greek tragedy has unlocked the buried secrets of storytelling – and how those… Continue reading
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History of Literature #134 – The Greatest Night of Franz Kafka’s Life
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL7590405383.mp3 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS | More We use the term Kafkaesque to describe bureaucracies and other social institutions with nightmarishly complex, illogical, or bizarre qualities – and in most biographies of Franz Kafka (1883-1924) we find that his life often mirrored the strangeness in his fiction. In this episode, host Jacke Wilson examines the origins of Kafka’s particular sensibility,… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #133 – The Hidden Machinery – Discovering the Secrets of Fiction (with Margot Livesey)
http://traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL9154508206.mp3 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Play | Stitcher | RSS | More Ever wonder how fiction works? Or what great literature can teach us about writing? Novelist Margot Livesey returns to the show for a discussion of her book The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. Learn more about the show at historyofliterature.com or facebook.com/historyofliterature. Contact the host at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or @WriterJacke. Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 