Literature
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The History of Literature #356 – Louisa May Alcott
“I could not write a girls’ story,” Louisa May Alcott protested after a publisher made a specific request that she do so, “knowing little about any but my own sisters and always preferring boys.” But she agreed to try, and the result was Little Women, an immediate bestseller and now a world-famous and well-loved classic. But… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #355 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Brilliant and contentious, the Swiss-born political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (`1712-1768) is one of the key figures of the Enlightenment, with a fame and influence that continues to this day. But although we know him best for his Social Contract, which influenced both the American Constitution writers and the French revolutionaries, in his own time he was… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #354 – Treasure Island Remixed (with C.B. Lee)
Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure Treasure Island gave the world a number of familiar pirate tropes, like parrots on shoulders and X marks the spot. But it also helped lock us into a somewhat limited view of life on the high seas. Pirates and piracy have existed in many eras in many different oceans–and not every would-be… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #353 – Oscar Wilde in Prison (with Scott Carter)
Even the best biographical depictions of Oscar Wilde often skip over the years he spent in prison, perhaps because the episode is so sad and painful. But in doing so, they miss the profundity of his life and writings. In this episode, Scott Carter, author of the new play Wilde Man, joins Jacke to talk about… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #352 – Charles Baudelaire (with Aaron Poochigian)
The American poet Dana Gioia calls Charles Baudelaire “the first modern poet,” adding “In both style and content, his provocative, alluring, and shockingly original work shaped and enlarged the imagination of later poets, not only in his native France but across Europe and the Americas.” In this episode, acclaimed translator and poet Aaron Poochigian joins… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #348 – Philip Roth (with Mike Palindrome)
As a child growing up in Newark, New Jersey in the 1930s and 40s, Philip Milton Roth (1933-2018) never thought about being a writer. By the time he died, he had become one of the most famous and celebrated figures in the literary world – though his writing and personal flaws attracted criticism as well… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #345 – Great Literary Centuries (with Mike Palindrome)
How’s literature doing these days? Does the twenty-first century look as good for literature as the nineteenth did? How about the seventeenth? And the twentieth was no slouch… In this episode, Mike Palindrome, the President of the Literature Supporters Club, joins Jacke for a discussion of the Top 10 Greatest Literary Centuries, starting from the… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #344 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Beast
A man has lived his life convinced that something rare and strange lies in wait for him – a monumental catastrophe that has never happened to anyone before. He shares his secret apprehension with one person, until his fear begins to dominate her life as well. What will happen to him? To her? To them? In… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #343 – The Feast in the Jungle
Squirrel-voiced waiter-host Jacke Wilson invites his listeners to a literary feast! In this episode, Jacke takes a look at Henry James’s long-short-story masterpiece, “The Beast in the Jungle.” (Don’t worry if you’ve never read the story or haven’t been able to find room in your heart for Henry James before–this episode is for anyone hungry… Continue reading
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The History of Literature #341 – Constance and Henry – The Story of “Miss Grief”
In the immediate aftermath of her death at the age of 53, Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840-1894) was considered one of the greatest writers of her day, but her reputation soon faded. A hundred years later, she was little more than a footnote in her friend Henry James’s biography, until scholars began to rediscover her life… Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 