Close Reads Podcast

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include the strange mystery of reading, the similarities between Charity and Larry, Stegner's playful approach to subverting archetypes, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include Sally's characterization, the likability of the various characters, Charity's overbearing nature and Sid's vows to her, the archetypes in the boat scene, and much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

This first episode of The Play's the Thing is a preview. For future episodes, please subscribe to The Play's the Thing's own feed. Welcome to the premier episode of The Play's the Thing, a podcast dedicated to an ongoing examination and celebration of Shakespeare's entire canon. In this episode, David Kern, Matt Bianco, and Tim McIntosh dive into act I of King Lear, focusing primarily on scene I. Topics of conversation include: the Mount Rushmore of Shakespeare's plays, what makes a good Shakespearean tragedy so good, whether Lear should have divided his kingdom the way he did, how to read Cordelia's response, and much, much more. If you like this podcast, Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include the kind of emotional responses this book elicits, what we mean when we say a book "feels well-crafted," the way Stegner plays with memory in the first person voice of the narrator, how much we should "believe" Larry's recollections, and much more.Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

It's Wallace Stegner time! Join David, Heidi, Angelina, and Stegner aficionado, Graeme Pitman, as they kick off a conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include Stegner's poetic prose and unique metaphors, the way the story introduces and explores characters, Stegner's literary impact, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Join David Kern, Tim McIntosh, and special guest Adam Andrews as they explore Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery.' They discuss the initial response, Jackson's critique of contemporary life, teaching strategies, and the mystery behind the brutal tradition. The hosts also touch on Shakespeare's King Lear, symbolism in the story, sin and redemption, the significance of the black circle, the ironic nature of ritual, and a debate on an underrated American novel.

Guest Jonathan Rogers, a literature expert, joins the hosts to discuss William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily.' They explore the pedagogy of teaching literature, Faulkner's obtuseness, Southern culture, the tragic nature of the main character, and the relationship between American literature and God.

Join David Kern, Angelina Stanford, and Heidi White, for an exploration of Susan Glaspell's short story, "A Jury of Her Peers." Topics include the possible feminist ideas in the story, the question (or non-question) of justice, how the men in the story should be read, the private vs public lives of the women in the story, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Join David Kern, Angelina Stanford, and Heidi White, for an exploration of Kate Chopin's short story, Desiree's Baby. Topics include the story's fairy tale nature, the way it touches on matters of race and gender, its structural genius, and much, much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Join David Kern, Tim McIntosh, and very special guest Jonathan Rogers (author of The Wilderking Trilogy and The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor, among other books), for a deep-dive into Ambrose Bierce's famous short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Discussion touches on whether Bierce's "gotcha" moment is a flaw in the story, the idea of the unreliable narrator, Bierce's wild biography, where his skill most shows up in the story, and more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe