Her Half of History

I’m happy to announce Her Half of History is now part of the Into History podcast network, a brand-new subscription channel of podcasts made by history lovers for history lovers. You’ll get access to hundreds of ad-free episodes, plus exclusive curated feeds around a topic, a bookclub, a newsletter, and a community hub to keep the conversation going. In addition to Her Half of History, you will get outstanding podcasts such as History Daily, Wild West Extravaganza, American Elections: Wicked Game, History That Doesn’t Suck, Cold War Conversations, Shipwrecks and Seadogs, American Revolution, and more are being added! I’m probably out of date here already.

Her Half of History can still be found in all the usual places, no change there, but if you want to enjoy the perks of being an Into History subscriber, go to intohistory.supercast.com. And even better, get 50% off your first three months, now through July 31st! That’s the time sensitive part. Nine days, people, nine days for 50% off.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

I’m happy to announce Her Half of History is now part of the Into History podcast network, a brand-new subscription channel of podcasts made by history lovers for history lovers. You’ll get access to hundreds of ad-free episodes, plus exclusive curated feeds around a topic, a bookclub, a newsletter, and a community hub to keep the conversation going. In addition to Her Half of History, you will get outstanding podcasts such as History Daily, Wild West Extravaganza, American Elections: Wicked Game, History That Doesn’t Suck, Cold War Conversations, Shipwrecks and Seadogs, American Revolution, and more are being added! I’m probably out of date here already.

Her Half of History can still be found in all the usual places, no change there, but if you want to enjoy the perks of being an Into History subscriber, go to intohistory.supercast.com. And even better, get 50% off your first three months, now through July 31st! That’s the time sensitive part. Nine days, people, nine days for 50% off.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

Are you a Fridolatrist? A fan of Fridamania? An admirer of the unibrow, the surrealism, and the shocking way in which Frida Kahlo portrayed the most private parts of her life on canvas? This week's episode explores the life of a woman who has been claimed as a secular saint by artists, feminists, Chicanos, the disabled, and the LGBTQ+ communities. Whether you love her art or loathe it, she is truly one of a kind.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

Are you a Fridolatrist? A fan of Fridamania? An admirer of the unibrow, the surrealism, and the shocking way in which Frida Kahlo portrayed the most private parts of her life on canvas? This week's episode explores the life of a woman who has been claimed as a secular saint by artists, feminists, Chicanos, the disabled, and the LGBTQ+ communities. Whether you love her art or loathe it, she is truly one of a kind.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

One year to the day after Paula Modersohn-Becker died, her friend, the celebrated poet Rainer Maria Rilke, sat down to write a Requiem for her, and today’s episode is that requiem in translation. I suggest listening to last week's episode before this one because the poem has numerous references to Paula and her life: 

·       the amber necklace that appeared in many of her paintings, 

·       her pursuit of still life in which she arranged fruits in a way quite different from the traditional still life bounty, 

·       her pursuit of the nude genre, in which she portrayed women, not as desirable and available (that had been done), but as whole, complete, and creative, 

·       the restlessness with which she moved to and from Paris, to and from her family, to and from the traditional role for women, without fully settling wholeheartedly into any of them

·       and finally the tragic way in which she died in childbirth, age 31, when she had both a painting career and motherhood to look forward to, both of them suddenly cut short.

I will freely admit that I do not understand everything that Rilke has put in this poem. It’s fairly long, at least by my poetry standards, and maybe rambles a bit, but I think that’s intentional. It is an expression of grief, and like grief itself, it ebbs and flows, sometimes poignantly sharp, sometimes just a dull throb, and it goes on and on until it finds not resolution, but maybe resignation. 

Next week I will be back to my usual episodes with an episode on Frida Kahlo

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

One year to the day after Paula Modersohn-Becker died, her friend, the celebrated poet Rainer Maria Rilke, sat down to write a Requiem for her, and today’s episode is that requiem in translation. I suggest listening to last week's episode before this one because the poem has numerous references to Paula and her life: 

·       the amber necklace that appeared in many of her paintings, 

·       her pursuit of still life in which she arranged fruits in a way quite different from the traditional still life bounty, 

·       her pursuit of the nude genre, in which she portrayed women, not as desirable and available (that had been done), but as whole, complete, and creative, 

·       the restlessness with which she moved to and from Paris, to and from her family, to and from the traditional role for women, without fully settling wholeheartedly into any of them

·       and finally the tragic way in which she died in childbirth, age 31, when she had both a painting career and motherhood to look forward to, both of them suddenly cut short.

I will freely admit that I do not understand everything that Rilke has put in this poem. It’s fairly long, at least by my poetry standards, and maybe rambles a bit, but I think that’s intentional. It is an expression of grief, and like grief itself, it ebbs and flows, sometimes poignantly sharp, sometimes just a dull throb, and it goes on and on until it finds not resolution, but maybe resignation. 

Next week I will be back to my usual episodes with an episode on Frida Kahlo

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

If Paula Modersohn-Becker had lived as long as Picasso, you might know her name as well as you know his. That is the claim of multiple art historians who celebrate her for her use of color and her breaking open of the nude genre. Her work is startling for portraying women as real women, with absolutely no regard for the masculine gaze. Her life was a struggle to find her way between the demands of her career, the demands of her society, and the demands of her own heart. Unfortunately, she died in childbirth at the age of 31, and so we will never know what else she might have done, if she had lived.

The poll on the next series topic is still open! Just visit my Patreon site (link below). It's free, you don't need to be a supporter.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

If Paula Modersohn-Becker had lived as long as Picasso, you might know her name as well as you know his. That is the claim of multiple art historians who celebrate her for her use of color and her breaking open of the nude genre. Her work is startling for portraying women as real women, with absolutely no regard for the masculine gaze. Her life was a struggle to find her way between the demands of her career, the demands of her society, and the demands of her own heart. Unfortunately, she died in childbirth at the age of 31, and so we will never know what else she might have done, if she had lived.

The poll on the next series topic is still open! Just visit my Patreon site (link below). It's free, you don't need to be a supporter.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

In the early years of the 20th century, an obscure woman in Sweden invented abstract art to reflect her spiritualist views in which the physical world we know was only the lowest plane of existence. Despite her mixed efforts, few people knew about her art for decades until it was rediscovered in the 1980s to high critical acclaim.

Also, the poll for the topic of Series 11 is available on Patreon and it is free for anyone to vote.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.

In the early years of the 20th century, an obscure woman in Sweden invented abstract art to reflect her spiritualist views in which the physical world we know was only the lowest plane of existence. Despite her mixed efforts, few people knew about her art for decades until it was rediscovered in the 1980s to high critical acclaim.

Also, the poll for the topic of Series 11 is available on Patreon and it is free for anyone to vote.

Visit the website (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures.

Support the show on my Patreon page for bonus episodes, polls, and a general feeling of self-satisfaction.

Join Into History for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content.

Follow me on Twitter as @her_half. Or on Facebook or Instagram as Her Half of History.