Close Reads Podcast

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

Join David Kern, Heidi White, 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 Washington Irving's famous short story, "Rip Van Winkle." Topics include the place of this story in the American literary tradition, Irving's craftsmanship, the conceit/framing device Irving employs, and a whole lot more. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. 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, Tim, and Heidi for some more lively discussion as they conclude their conversation about Tennessee Williams' award-winning and much-beloved play, The Glass Menagerie. Topics of conversation include the glass unicorn, the value of tragedies, the challenges of reading a play (vs. seeing it performed), and much, much more. Plus, David explains some exciting new changes for the Close Reads brand - and the short story the show will cover next week. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. 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, Tim, and Heidi (Angelina is away for work) for a lively discussion about Tennessee Williams' award-winning and much-beloved play, The Glass Menagerie. Topics of conversation include the differences (and unique challenges) between play writing and novel writing, who plays are written for, how to read plays, why this play has been so popular for so long, Williams' creative genius, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. 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, Tim, Angelina, and Heidi as they conclude their conversation about Wendell Berry's novel, Hannah Coulter, by answering listener questions. Topics include the Okinawa chapter, whether Berry is preachy, whether his work will be remembered in a few hundred years, and much more. 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