Jacke Wilson

March 21, 2016

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

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

bijou roy, elizabeth alexander, karen hesse, lal ded, lalla, ranjit hoskote, ron fricke, ronica dhar, samsara, takuan soho

March 20, 2016

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

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

bijou roy, history of literature, ronica dhar, sneak preview

March 14, 2016

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

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature, Podcast

a grief observed, c.s. lewis, Death, grief, jorge luis borges, loss, mourning, sir george martin, umberto eco

March 7, 2016

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

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

Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna, Oppenheimer, Thoreau, Gandhi, Mahabharata, Krishna, sanskrit, epic poem

March 5, 2016

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

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, Writing

cliffhanger, thomas hardy

March 3, 2016

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

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

debut novels, literary conversation

March 2, 2016

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

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, Uncategorized, Writing

proust graphic novel

February 29, 2016

HoL Episode 31: Secret Societies!

We thought we were done with conspiracies and conspiracy theories – but that was before we heard more about Justice Scalia’s bizarre final days. What hold do secret societies have over our imagination? Why do people join them? And what are we to make of those who do? Jacke Wilson takes another dive into the rabbit Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

antonin scalia, bizarre news, dick cheney, hunting, international order of st. hubertus, secret society, supreme court

February 26, 2016

Paul McCartney and the Love Mojis

Ah, well, what do you do after you’ve conquered the music industry on vinyl, CDs, and digital downloads; mastered the rock-and-roll film; released an oratorio; recorded a James Bond theme; composed the most covered song of all time; and completely dominated the making-mashed-potatoes-video genre? What does one do after climbing Everest AND landing on the moon Continue reading

Arts, Uncategorized

paul mccartney, skype mojis

February 25, 2016

Virginia Woolf Speaks

Ah, this is EXACTLY what I would have guessed her voice sounds like. This extended metaphor is a little long, but it earns its length. Enjoy! Happy Thursday! Continue reading

Arts, Authors, Writing

incarnadine, literary genius, recording, Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, words