Fiction
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The History of Literature #517 — The Marquis de Sade
The Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) was more than just a rake or a cad – based on his egregious conduct, he clearly belonged in prison, and one sympathizes with the father who aimed a pistol at Sade’s chest and pulled the trigger, hoping to end the demon’s life. (The gun misfired.) But what about Sade’s Continue reading
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The History of Literature #491 — Elizabeth Bishop (with Megan Marshall)
Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979) was one of the twentieth century’s most accomplished and celebrated poets. In this episode, Jacke talks to Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Megan Marshall about her personal connection to Bishop, as well as her book Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast. MEGAN MARSHALL is the winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Biography for Margaret Fuller, Continue reading
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The History of Literature #482 — Moby Dick – 10 Essential Questions (Part Two)
Is Moby-Dick truly the Great American Novel? How did contemporary critics miss it? When (and how) was the book rediscovered? Jacke goes through all this and more, as he continues the countdown of Top 10 Essential Questions about Herman Melville’s 1851 masterpiece. Additional listening: Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member Continue reading
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The History of Literature #477 — Does Edith Wharton Hate You? (Part 2 – “The Vice of Reading”)
Does Edith Wharton hate us? That’s a provocative question – but perhaps one that Wharton herself provoked, with her essay on the readers who damaged literature and her fiction satirizing the same. In this two-part series, Jacke takes a look at the type of readers targeted by Wharton: not the readers of trash fiction, whom Continue reading
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The History of Literature #476 — Does Edith Wharton Hate You? (Part 1 – “Xingu”)
Does Edith Wharton hate us? That’s a provocative question – but perhaps one that Wharton herself provoked, with her essay on the readers who damaged literature and her fiction satirizing the same. In this two-part series, Jacke takes a look at the type of readers targeted by Wharton: not the readers of trash fiction, whom Continue reading
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The History of Literature #468 — Chekhov Becomes Chekhov (with Bob Blaisdell)
In 1886, the twenty-six-year-old Anton Chekhov was practicing medicine, supporting his family, falling in and out love, writing pieces for newspapers at a furious pace – and gradually becoming one of the greatest short story writers the world has ever seen. In this episode, Jacke talks to Bob Blaisdell, author of Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence Continue reading
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The History of Literature #466 — Kurt Vonnegut, Planetary Citizen (with Christina Jarvis)
When novelist Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007, the planet lost one of its most creative and compelling voices. In this episode, Jacke talks to Vonnegut scholar Christina Jarvis (Lucky Mud & Other Foma: A Field Guide to Kurt Vonnegut’s Environmentalism and Planetary Citizenship) about Vonnegut’s ethical, environmental, and planetary teachings. CHRISTINA JARVIS is Professor of English Continue reading
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The History of Literature #458 — Alexander Pushkin (with Robert Chandler)
For many Russian writers and readers, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) holds a special place: his position in Russian literature is often compared to Shakespeare’s in English, Dante’s in Italian, and Goethe’s in German. In this episode, Jacke talks to Pushkin translator Robert Chandler (Peter the Great’s African: Experiments in Prose) about the life and works of Continue reading
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The History of Literature #452 — Charles and Mary Lamb | A Letter To My Transgender Daughter (with Carolyn Hays)
In this episode, Jacke takes a look at two topics. First, the story of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose children’s book Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was published more than two hundred years ago and has never been out of print. Part of the literary circle that included Romantic-era luminaries like Hazlitt, Wordsworth, and Coleridge, the siblings dedicated Continue reading
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The History of Literature #444 — Thrillers on the Eve of War – Spy Novels in the 1930s (with Juliette Bretan)
The British spy novel was well established long before Ian Fleming’s creation of James Bond in the 1950s. And while it came to be identified with the Cold War, thanks to Fleming and subsequent writers like John le Carré, thriller aficionados continued to look back to earlier authors for novels with a different set of Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 