

Ear Read This
Ash Caton
Edinburgh based book podcast. Critical appreciations of classic and modern literature. Interviews with academics, authors and perfomers.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 7, 2023 • 1h 28min
The Spanish Tragedy (1587) by Thomas Kyd
S3E84 Ash is joined by Shakespearean scholar, Darren Freebury-Jones to discuss Thomas Kyd's hugely influential play, The Spanish Tragedy. As well as talking about Darren's specialist subject, the influence of Kyd on Shakespeare, in today's wide-ranging episode we talk about the genre of revenge, the contemporary religious crises in Kyd's England, and the playwright's own sufferings at the hands of the Elizabethan police state.
Follow Darren on Twitter here: @Freeburian
And order a copy of his book, Shakespeare's Tutor, here:
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526164742/
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Jan 26, 2023 • 31min
Now Westlin Winds (1785) by Robert Burns
S3E83 To celebrate Burns Night, Ash talks about Robert Burns' Now Westlin Winds, a song written at the very start of the Bard's career. Tune in for a discussion of the circumstances that inspired the song, and the long and fruitful afterlife it has had in the repertoire of folk-singers from Burns' day to our own.
Songs featured:
I Had A Horse and I Had Nae Mair by Katherine Campbell:
https://youtu.be/5W3p3fpm-Cs
Now Westlin Winds (Port Gordon Version) by Andrew Calhoun:
Lady Keith Laments by Jock Tamsons Bairds:
https://youtu.be/xzse2ZtKfQg
Ally Croker by Katherine Liley Lovaig:
https://youtu.be/ACJyF94xpeM
Now Westlin Winds by Dick Gaughan:
https://youtu.be/ZDB0P57nQds
Noe Westlin Winds at the Scottish Parliament, 2011:
https://youtu.be/DmlNmuEl310
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Dec 5, 2022 • 24min
“A Festival that Focuses on Female Voices”: Sarah Corbett on Directing Plath Fest
S3E82 Ash is joined once again by poet Sarah Corbett to discuss her writing, both poetry and fiction, her vision for The Sylvia Plath Literary Festival and its accompanying anthology, After Sylvia. Follow the festival for updates on digital events here:
@plathfest
And follow Sarah on Twitter:
@sarahcorbett70
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Dec 2, 2022 • 36min
‘November Graveyard’ (1956) by Sylvia Plath
S3E81 Poet, novelist and Plath Fest Director Sarah Corbett joins Ash to discuss Plath's November Graveyard; a poem about death, resurrection and the Yorkshire countryside.
Follow Sarah on Twitter:
@sarahcorbett70
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Jun 26, 2022 • 36min
“This Tender Substance”: Donnie Secreast on Plath’s Universal Element
S3E80 Donnie Secreast joins Ash again to talk more about Hardcastle Crags, environmental themes in Plath's work and her search for a 'universal element'.
Read Donnie's article here:
muse.jhu.edu/article/750706
And follow her on Twitter:
@donniesecreast
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Jun 24, 2022 • 43min
‘Hardcastle Crags’ (1958) by Sylvia Plath
S3E79 Donnie Secreast joins Ash to discuss Plath's nonchalantly brilliant poem, Hardcastle Crags. Set in the Yorkshire Dales, of great interest for its ecological themes and musical intricacy.
Read Donnie's article here:
muse.jhu.edu/article/750706
And follow her on Twitter:
@donniesecreast
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

May 21, 2022 • 59min
”It’s a Rigorous Demand”: Emily Van Duyne on Loving Sylvia Plath
S3E78 Emily Van Duyne returns to talk about her upcoming book, Loving Sylvia Plath, and further explore some of the biographical themes mentioned in yesterday's episode on 'The Jailor'.
You can read some of Emily's work here:
https://lithub.com/author/emily-van-duyne/
And follow her on Twitter:
@emilyvanduyne
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

May 20, 2022 • 43min
‘The Jailor’ (1962) by Sylvia Plath
S3E77 Emily Van Duyne is Ash's special guest for today's episode on Sylvia Plath's poem, The Jailor. A portrait of abuse, gas-lighting and 'inescapable femininity', the poem has recently been studied by Plath scholars including Emily for its use of anti-black racist language.
You can read some of Emily's work here:
https://lithub.com/author/emily-van-duyne/
And follow her on Twitter:
@emilyvanduyne
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

May 2, 2022 • 29min
Creation (8 AD) by Ovid (The Metamorphoses, Book 1)
S3E76 Today Ash discusses the first story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, in which we see the world created, and populated with its first inhabitants.
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis

Apr 30, 2022 • 28min
The Body Snatcher (1884) by Robert Louis Stevenson
S3E75 Today's exclusive episode takes us to home turf with this Edinburgh based story of resurrection men...
If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here:
https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis
Merchandise!
https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/
Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.
@earreadthis
earreadthis@gmail.com
facebook.com/earreadthis


