The History of Literature

Who was Homer? And why, all these years later, do we still read his Iliad? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Robin Lane Fox (Homer and His Iliad) about his lifelong passion for this classic ancient text. PLUS Katherine Howe, editor of The Penguin Book of Witches, stops by to deliver a Halloween-themed dose of witches in literature. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the early nineteenth century, and the moon is bright, the Hudson Valley forests are full of shadows, and a lonely schoolteacher heads home on his rickety horse. All those stories he's heard about a headless horseman are just stuff and nonsense...aren't they? In this episode, Jacke continues his look at early American writer Washington Irving (1783-1859) with a reading of Irving's classic 1820 Halloween story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." PLUS a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #236 ("Some - keep the Sabbath - going to church - ") Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke takes a look at "America's first Man of Letters," Washington Irving (1783-1859), most famous for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle." PLUS Joe Skinner of American Masters: Creative Spark chooses the last book he will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we humans experience nature? And how might we experience nature differently from one another? In this episode, Jacke talks to writer, film producer, arts and abolition organizer, cultural worker, and educator Erin Sharkey about a new book of essays she edited, A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars, in which "a constellation of luminary writers reflect on the significance of nature in their lived experience and on the role of nature in the lives of Black folks in the United States." PLUS Jacke continues his journey through the poetry of Emily Dickinson with a look at Poem 232 ("He forgot - and I - remembered -"). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The English novelist, playwright, and short story writer Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) lived a life as eventful as his prodigious literary output. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at Maugham's travels and travails, following Maugham across numerous continents as he sought material for his writing - and a safe resting place for himself and his various male companions. Then Jacke is joined by novelist Tan Twan Eng (The Gift of Rain, The Garden of Evening Mists) to discuss his new novel The House of Doors, which is based in part on Maugham's experiences on the Malay Peninsula. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born in 1820, the devout Quaker Anna Sewell was in her fifties - and terminally ill - when she decided to write a book that would change the way the public viewed and treated animals. Although her novel Black Beauty has since become a familiar classic, Sewell did not live to see its success, dying just five months after its publication. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Celia Brayfield (Writing Black Beauty: Anna Sewell and the Story of Animal Rights) about a remarkable book and its remarkable author. PLUS Jacke continues his stroll through the selected poems of Emily Dickinson with a look at Poem 224 ("An awful Tempest mashed the air -"). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shakespeare's plays and poetry are some of the most towering achievements in the history of humankind. What was Shakespeare the person like? How did he work? What made him laugh? In this episode, Jacke talks to Sir Stanley Wells about his new book What Was Shakespeare Really Like? Then David Ellis (Byron: A Critical Life) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. PLUS Jacke continues his journey through the selected poetry of Emily Dickinson, with a look at Poem 204 ("I'll tell you how the Sun rose -"). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poetry! Poetry! Poetry! After taking a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #1 94 ("Title divine - is mine!"), Jacke talks to Cambridge University's Jess Cotton, whose biography of John Ashbery (John Ashbery: A Critical Life) charts Ashbery's rise from a minor avant-garde figure to the most important poet of his generation. PLUS contemporary poet David van den Berg (Love Letters from an Arsonist) stops by to offer his choice for the last book he will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke takes a look at "A Haunted House," Virginia Woolf's modernist ghost story. PLUS Ford Madox Ford biographer Max Saunders (Ford Madox Ford: A Critical Life) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to novelist Shilpi Suneja about her childhood in India, her discovery of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, and her new novel House of Caravans, which offers its own fresh look at Indian Independence and its aftermath. Shilpi Sunejais the author ofHouse of Caravans. Born in India, her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and published inGuernica, McSweeney’s, Cognoscenti, and theMichigan Quarterly Review. Her writing has been supported by a National Endowment for the Arts literature fellowship, a Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowship, a Grub Street Novel Incubator Scholarship, and she was the Desai fellow at the Jack Jones Literary Arts Retreat. She holds an MA in English from New York University and an MFA in creative writing from Boston University, where she was awarded the Saul Bellow Prize. She lives in Cambridge, MA. Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more atwww.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices