Writing – Jacke Wilson

August 12, 2023

The History of Literature #490 — Writing Hit Songs, Rewriting Charles Dickens, and Murdering Your Employer (with Rupert Holmes)

Jacke talks to Edgar Award-winning novelist, Tony Award-winning playwright, and legendary story songwriter Rupert Holmes about writing pop song landmarks (“Escape (The Piña Colada Song)),” Broadway whodunit musicals (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), and his new book Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide. RUPERT HOLMES has received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books

Broadway musicals, History, mystery, Rupert Holmes, songwriting, Writing

September 9, 2022

The History of Literature #435 – The Story of the Hogarth Press Part 2 – The Virginia Woolf Story That Changed Everything

In our last episode, we looked at the decision by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard to purchase a printing press and run it out of their home. What began as a hobby – a relief from the strains of writing – soon turned into a genuine business, as The Hogarth Press met with success. Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, history of literature

History, Hogarth Press, Kew Gardens, Virginia Woolf, Writing

September 6, 2022

The History of Literature #432 – Hemingway’s One True Sentence (with Mark Cirino)

“All you have to do is write one true sentence,” Ernest Hemingway said in A Moveable Feast. “Write the truest sentence that you know.” And so he did: the man wrote thousands of sentences, all in search of “truth” of some kind. What does a “true sentence” mean for a fiction writer? What true sentences did Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway, Fiction, Literature, Mark Cirino, Writing

May 11, 2022

The History of Literature #404 – Kafka and Literary Oblivion (with Robin Hemley)

Author Robin Hemley joins Jacke for a discussion of Kafka, writerly ambition, and his new novel Oblivion: An After Autobiography, which tells the story of a midlist author who finds himself in the posthumous world where authors fade from obscurity into the world of Oblivion…unless they can manage to write their way out. Additional listening suggestions: Continue reading

Arts, Authors, books, Fiction, history of literature

Kafka, Literature, Robin Hemley, Writing

April 20, 2022

The History of Literature #391 – Mark Twain’s Publishing Fiasco | Great Literary Terms and Devices Part 2 (with Mike Palindrome)

Mark Twain was an enormously successful writer and a horrendous businessperson, with a weakness for gadgets and inventions that cost him a fortune. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at his efforts to start his own publishing company, which started off strong but quickly descended into bankruptcy and ruin. What was he trying to Continue reading

Arts, Authors, Fiction, history of literature, novelists

Fiction, Literature, Mark Twain, Writing

August 16, 2021

The History of Literature #338 – Finding Yourself in Hollywood (with Meg Tilly)

Jacke talks to actress and novelist Meg Tilly about her unusual childhood, her life as a ballet dancer and Hollywood star, and her current life writing thrillers in the peaceful Pacific Northwest. THE RUNAWAY HEIRESS is the pulse-pounding story of a brave woman who finds herself falling for a big-shot film director while trying to stay Continue reading

Authors, books, history of literature, Podcast

Arts, hollywood, meg tilly, movies, romance novels, the runaway heiress, Writing

August 15, 2021

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

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

A. Natasha Joukovsky, Fiction, myths, Narcissus, Oscar Wilde, ovid, Short Stories, The Portrait of a Mirror, Writing

August 13, 2021

The History of Literature #335 – Machado de Assis (with Cláudia Laitano)

Finally! At long last, Jacke responds to years of requests from his Brazilian listeners to take a closer look at Machado de Assis, the novelist whom critic Harold Bloom called simply “a miracle.” In this episode, author and Brazilian friend Claudia Laitano joins Jacke to discuss Machado’s life, works, and legacy. Enjoy! Help support the Continue reading

Authors, books, novelists

Claudia Laitano, Literature, Machado de Assis, Writing

August 8, 2021

The History of Literature #330 – Middlemarch (with Yang Huang)

Yang Huang, author of the new novel My Good Son, joins Jacke for a discussion of her childhood in China, how censorship restricted her ability to imagine stories, and how George Eliot’s Middlemarch helped her break free from these limitations. We also discuss her work as a novelist and what it’s like to be an Asian American during a Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

Fiction, Literature, Writing

July 12, 2021

The History of Literature #303 – The Search for Darcy – Jane Austen, Tom Lefroy, and the World of Pride and Prejudice

In our last episode, we examined the evidence of Jane Austen’s 1995-96 dalliance with her “Irish friend,” the gentlemanlike (but impoverished) young law student Tom Lefroy. Intriguingly, she began writing Pride and Prejudice, her classic novel of romance, love, and mixed messages, later that year. Might Tom have been the inspiration for the beloved Mr. Darcy? And Continue reading

history of literature, Podcast

Fiction, Literature, Writing