The History of Literature

In this episode, Jacke and Mike discuss Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee's stunning 1999 novel about sex, violence, salvation, and ruin in post-apartheid South Africa. Telling the story of David Lurie, a fiftysomething professor who has fallen from grace after a sexual misconduct case involving one of his students, the novel explores themes of guilt, isolation, and the inescapability of history. PLUS a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #129 ("Our lives are Swiss").Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rome! The Eternal City! It's a place for celebrating lives both present and past - and in addition to all the art and culture and architecture and food, it's a place to think deeply about the meaning of life. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Scott Samuelson about his new book Rome as a Guide to the Good Life: A Philosophical Grand Tour, which offers a thinking person's guide to the pleasures of Rome.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke begins with a look at Emily Dickinson's poem #122, then continues (and concludes) his reading and analysis of the Henry James masterpiece, "The Altar of the Dead."Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exploring the theme of loss and forgiveness, delving into Henry James's personal experiences with grief, and how he incorporated them into his fiction. A discussion on the impact of death in a person's life and a transformative court case in American history. The protagonist's annual pilgrimage to the grave of his deceased fiancee and the bitterness he feels towards his once closest friend. A mysterious encounter at a shrine leading to contemplation on mortality and shared devotion to the dead. Uncertainty about the future as their connection is shattered. A discussion of 'The Altar of the Dead' by Henry James and an introduction to 'The Collective' podcast.

Jacke kicks things off with a look at Emily Dickinson's Poem #90, then welcomes author Vanessa Riley for a discussion of her new historical novel Queen of Exiles, which tells the story of Haiti's Queen Marie-Louise Christophe. PLUS author Jolene Hubbs selects her choice for the last book she will ever read.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hosts explore F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterpiece, Tender Is the Night, comparing it to The Great Gatsby. They discuss his complicated marriage with Zelda and how it influenced his writing. The overwhelming nature of the doctor-patient relationship in the novel is explored, along with the portrayal of doomed lives and worlds. The themes, characters, and reception of 'Tender is the Night' are discussed, including the allure of freedom and the complexity of love and class. Rosemary's character development and the significance of Nicole are analyzed, and Fitzgerald's drinking habits are defended.

Jacke continues his Emily Dickinson series with a reading of Poem #32. Then Professor Patrick Whitmarsh stops by for a discussion of his new book Writing Our Extinction: Anthropocene Fiction and Vertical Science, which examines works by Don DeLillo, Karen Tei Yamashita, Reza Negarestani, and Colson Whitehead (among others) to see how post-Oppenheimer authors have responded to the existential crises of climate change and the nuclear age. And finally, Kurt Vonnegut's biographer Christina Jarvis selects two books to be the last ones she will ever read.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacke talks to Professor Hamid Dabashi about his new book The Persian Prince: The Rise and Resurrection of an Imperial Archetype, which replaces Machiavelli's Il Principe with a bold new figurative ideal. Drawing on works from Classical Antiquity to postcolonial literature, Dabashi reveals an archetype of a Persian Prince - leader, rebel, prophet, and poet - deeply rooted in the collective memories of multiple nations, Muslim empires, and the wider Mediterranean world. PLUS Jacke starts a new series reading his way through the poems of Emily Dickinson, beginning with Poem #23.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a trip to the Big Easy! The city of New Orleans is so famous for its music, its food, and its Mardi Gras mentality that it's sometimes overlooked as a magnet for writers like Walt Whitman, Zora Neale Hurston, and William Faulkner. In this episode, Jacke talks to New Orleans scholar T.R. Johnson, author of the new book New Orleans: A Writer's City, about the neighborhoods of New Orleans and the writers who've been inspired by them. PLUS Len Webb and Vincent Williams, hosts of the podcasts The Class of 1989 and The Micheaux Mission, stop by to select the last book they will ever read.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australia! After promising listeners an episode about Australia for years, Jacke FINALLY gets his act together - and luckily he has the perfect guest to help him out. In this episode, Australian novelist Pip Williams, who achieved international bestsellerdom with her debut novel The Dictionary of Lost Words, joins Jacke for a discussion of literary culture in Australia, her life as a reader and writer, and her new novel The Bookbinder.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices