Short Stories
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The History of Literature #347 – The Prisoner and His Prize – The Story of O Henry (with Jenny Minton Quigley)
William Sidney Porter (1862-1910) packed a lot of life into his 47 years, traveling from a childhood in North Carolina to work as a rancher and bank teller in Texas to a desperate escape to Honduras, where he hoped to avoid federal prosecution for embezzlement. Eventually he spent three years in prison, where he began Continue reading
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The History of Literature #346 – For Whom the Beast Leaps
John Marcher has been waiting all his life for something rare and strange to happen to him – something that will leap out of the darkness and attack him like a Beast in a Jungle. His friend May Bartram has agreed to wait with him. Together, the pair have been analyzing and enduring this unusual 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
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The History of Literature #337 – Oscar Wilde, Ovid, and the Myth of Narcissus (with A. Natasha Joukovsky)
Debut novelist A. Natasha Joukovsky (The Portrait of a Mirror) joins Jacke for a discussion of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ovid’s myth of Narcissus, the fascinating power of recursions, and a life lived in the worlds of literature, business, and art. THE PORTRAIT OF A MIRROR is a stunning reinvention of the myth Continue reading
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The History of Literature #296 – Nathaniel Hawthorne
In this episode, Jacke discusses the life and works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), including his major themes, the distinction he drew between “romances” and “novels,” his friendship with Herman Melville, his childhood in Salem, and his uneasy relationship with his Puritan ancestors. We also declare a Tweet of the Week (which fits right into our Continue reading
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The History of Literature #287 Marguerite de Navarre and The Heptameron
In her lifetime, Marguerite de Navarre (1492-1549) was known as a benevolent and capable leader, a protectress of free thinkers, and one of the most intelligent women in France. She was also the producer of great literature, as her collection of 72 stories known as The Heptameron picks up where Boccaccio’s Decameron leaves off. In Continue reading
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The History of Literature #270 Edgar Allan Poe – “The Black Cat”
In 1843, Edgar Allan Poe, desperate for money and terrified that his wife was about to die, “became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” Fueled by alcohol and despair, he fell into “fits of absolute unconsciousness”–and yet managed to write some of his greatest masterpieces, including “The Black Cat,” which has been shocking readers Continue reading
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The History of Literature #247 – Raymond Carver (with Tom Perrotta)
Novelist and screenwriter Tom Perrotta joins Jacke for a discussion of his blue collar New Jersey background, the cultural shock of attending Yale University, and the profound impact that Raymond Carver’s first collection of short stories, Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, had on him as an aspiring young writer trying to find his place Continue reading
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The History of Literature #245 – Joyce Carol Oates (with Evie Lee)
Friend of the podcast Evie Lee joins Jacke to take a look at Joyce Carol Oates’s classic short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” (1966). NOTE TO LISTENERS: This episode contains disturbing descriptions of an attempted abduction by a serial killer. Please exercise discretion in deciding whether to listen. Help support the Continue reading
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The History of Literature #242 – William Faulkner | Dry September
The fourth part of a three-part episode run! Jacke takes the advice of a listener and adds William Faulkner’s “Dry September” (1931) to the Baldwin-Faulkner consideration. NOTE FOR LISTENERS: This story (and our discussion of it) contains disturbing references to sexual violence, racial slurs, and race-based hate crimes. Please exercise discretion in listening or playing Continue reading
Jacke Wilson 