London Review Bookshop Podcast

Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey, published in 2017, the first into English by a woman, was hailed as a ‘revelation’ by the New York Times and a ‘cultural landmark’ by the Guardian. With her translation of the Iliad, ten years in the making, she has given us a complete Homer for a new generation.Emily Wilson, professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is a regular contributor to the LRB and the host of one of our Close Readings series of podcasts, Among the Ancients. Wilson was joined in conversation by Edith Hall, professor at Durham University and the author of many acclaimed books on Ancient Greek culture and its influence on modernity. The event was chaired by Wilson’s Close Readings co-host, Thomas Jones, and passages from Wilson’s Iliad were read by acclaimed actors Juliet Stevenson and Tobias Menzies.Buy the book: lrb.me/wilsoniliadFind more events at the Bookshop: lrb.me/eventspodSubscribe to Close Readings:Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPqIn other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Jean Chan reads from their new collection, Bright Fear, and discuss it with Andrew McMillan.Chan’s debut, Fleche, won the Costa Book Award for Poetry in 2019. Bright Fear extends and develops that collection’s themes of identity, multilingualism and postcolonial legacy, while remaining deeply attuned to moments of tenderness, beauty and grace.Andrew McMillan’s most recent collection is pandemonium (Cape, 2021); a novel, Pity, is forthcoming in 2024. Together with Chan, he edited the landmark anthology 100 Queer Poems(Penguin). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who would you invite to a dinner party? In The Dinner Table, a delicious collection of great food writing from past and present, talented writer-chefs Kate Young and Ella Risbridger will introduce you to Samuel Pepys on the glories of parmesan, Shirley Jackson on washing up, Katherine Mansfield on party food, Nigella Lawson on mayonnaise, Michelle Zauner on kimchi and a great deal else besides.Buy the book: lrb.me/dinnertablepodFind more events at the Bookshop: lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part script, part novel, part manual, Sorcerer (Prototype) is the latest unclassifiable book written in collaboration between the artist and writer Ed Atkins and the poet and critic Steven Zultanski – a gentle, contemplative work about the pleasures of conversation, being with others, and being alone. ‘Unlike many narratives, Sorcerer does not put crisis and conflict at the centre of the story’, write Atkins and Zultanski, describing their theme as ‘the intractability of reality – both its resistance to clear meaning and its sweetness, weirdness.’ Atkins and Zultanski were in conversation with the art writer and journalist Emily LaBarge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Lean on Me: A Politics of Radical Care, Lynne Segal, Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies in the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, continues the radical exploration of how the personal and the political interact. As Baroness Helena Kennedy KC writes, ‘Both memoir and manifesto, this wonderful book charts a personal history of feminist socialism - and, with her usual humane wisdom, our author points the way to a better politics.’ She was joined in conversation by Amelia Horgan, author of Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism.Get a copy of Lean on Me: lrb.me/lynnesegalpodFind more events at the Bookshop: lrb.me/eventspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Stevenson & Tariq Ali discuss the myth of Britain as a global player and its subservience to the United States. They delve into topics such as Britain's relationship with the US, the actions of Israel and the US in Gaza and Iraq, the geopolitical importance of the Persian Gulf, and the decline of the British Empire. They also touch on foreign policy, the American decline, and domestic politics in the US.

Mathias Enard’s latest novel, The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild takes us to the marshlands of South West France in a Rabelaisian celebration of life, love and death. Juan Gabriel Vasquez writes of him ‘Every novel by Mathias Enard reminds me of the reasons why I read fiction. He is ambitious, erudite, full of life, and a wonderful stylist to boot. He is one of the great novelists of our time.' He reads from his book and talks about it with Chris Power. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her most personal book to date, Love and Money, Sex and Death (Verso) McKenzie Wark writes with her characteristic acuity about gender transition, communism, history, art, memory and the journey of discovering who one really wants to be.Wark talks about that journey with Lauren John Joseph, author of At Certain Points We Touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Reading Waidner is like plugging into an electric socket of language and ideas’ wrote Jude Cook in the Guardian, praising Isabel Waidner’s Sterling Karat Gold. Waidner reads from their latest novel Corey Fah Does Social Mobility, and talks about it with academic, performer and activist Diarmuid Hester, whose forthcoming book Nothing Ever Just Disappears Waidner has described as ‘insightful, delightful, and enlightening: an essential entrant into the queer canon.’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poet and editor of Bad Betty Press Amy Acre reads from and talks about her debut collection Mothersong (Bloomsbury). Poignant and powerful, her work explores motherhood, grief, trauma, recovery and what it means to be a female artist. She's in conversation with Joelle Taylor, author of the prize-winning poetry collection C+nto (Telegram), who has written of Mothersong: ‘Amy Acre is one of the best poets of her generation. Pure cinema, raw heart, and unparalleled technique. Read this.’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.