Jacke Wilson

June 13, 2016

The History of Literature #46: The Poetry of the T’ang Dynasty

China’s T’ang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) valued poets and poetry like no other culture before or since. In this episode, Jacke Wilson takes a look at what may have been the greatest flourishing of poetry in the history of the world. Poets discussed include Ezra Pound (1885-1972), T’ao Ch’ien (365-427), Wang Wei (ca. 699-761), Li Bai (Li Po) (701-762), and Tu Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

chinese characters, chinese poetry, Ezra Pound, ideograms, li bai, li po, Poetry, tang dynasty, tao chien, tu fu, wang wei
June 6, 2016

The History of Literature #45 – Augustine and The Confessions (pt 2)

Continuing the journey with a deeper look at the incredible achievements of St. Augustine (354 – 430 A.D.), a luminary of the early Catholic church, one of the most profound thinkers in Western culture, and the author of a work the likes of which the world had never seen, The Confessions. Host Jacke Wilson identifies five Continue reading

Authors, books, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

autobiography, catholic church, confessions, saint augustine
May 31, 2016

St. Augustine in Translation

We’re getting a lot of great feedback on our latest History of Literature episode, #44 – The Confessions of St. Augustine. One of the great things about Augustine is how readable it is: even though the arguments are deep, the prose is never dense, especially in a very good translation. Several of you have asked Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Writing

augustine, maria boulding, penguin editions, Podcast, Translation
May 30, 2016

The History of Literature #44 – The Confessions of St. Augustine

The journey continues! Host Jacke Wilson takes a look at one of the deepest thinkers in the Western tradition, St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.), and the literary form he pioneered and perfected. Who was Augustine? What led him to produce one of the most influential books ever written? And what can we gain from reading The Confessions Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Podcast, Writing

augustine, autobiography, catholic church, christian, confessions, literary form, nietzsche
May 29, 2016

Augustine and the Art of Not Yet

“I had been putting off the moment when by spurning earthly happiness I would clear space in my life to search for wisdom; yet even to seek it, let alone find it, would have been more rewarding than discovery of treasure or possession of all the world’s kingdoms, or having every bodily pleasure at my Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Uncategorized, Writing

augustine, autobiography, chastity, christianity, God, greek tragedy, new testament, nietzsche, not yet, Podcast
May 23, 2016

History of Literature Episode 43 – Seeing Evil (with Professor Rebecca Messbarger)

What is evil? Is it a force that lives outside us? Or something that dwells within? And how do we recognize it? Professor Rebecca Messbarger joins Jacke to discuss the problems of seeing evil and the particular ways that post-Fascist Italian writers dealt with the dilemma. We also hear the story of how a mild-mannered Italian Continue reading

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

alabama moon, anna morandi manzolini, carlo gadda, family sayings, italian enlightenment, italian post-fascist detective fiction, italo calvino, lady anatomist, leonardo sciascia, mr palomar, natalia ginzburg, rebecca messbarger, recognizing evil, that awful mess on the via merulana, todo modo, watt key
May 17, 2016

Prince!

Having a great Prince week here on the Jacke blog. This is extraordinary: What a man – although as I say in the podcast, it was sometimes a little hard to think of him as a person. He was so gifted, and such a star, that he seemed to belong to some ethereal realm all of his Continue reading

Arts

lyrics, prince, unplugged
May 16, 2016

History of Literature Episode 42 – Was Prince a Poet?

He was a supremely talented musician and composer – but was he the voice of his generation? Jacke and Mike take a look at the life and lyrics of Prince. Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:07 — 31.3MB) Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS | More Subscribe Options Show Notes: You can Continue reading

Arts, history of literature, Podcast

lyrics, Poetry, prince, voice of a generation
May 9, 2016

The History of Literature Episode 41 – The New Testament (with Professor Kyle Keefer)

Charles Dickens called the New Testament “the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.” Thomas Paine complained that it was a story “most wretchedly told,” and argued that anyone who could tell a story about a ghost or even just a man walking around could have written it Continue reading

books, history of literature, Podcast, Uncategorized

Flannery O’Connor, jesus, kenneth burke, kyle keefer, letters of paul, Literature, new testament, Religion, revelation
May 5, 2016

New to Podcasts? Here’s How to Listen on Your Phone

HOW TO LISTEN TO A PODCAST ON YOUR PHONE. (YES. DO IT.) I know, I know. It’s hard – technology is a pain. You like technology, you respect it, you admire its power…but man… how many rabbit holes does one have time for? So there you are, reading this and that on the Jacke blog… Continue reading

Podcast, Uncategorized

how-to, listening to podcasts on your phone