The History of Literature

Best known for her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was a woman of many talents and accomplishments. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and works of this incredible singer, dancer, songwriter, activist, poet, actor, director, documentary producer, and of course, memoirist.Additional listening: Learn more about one of Angelou's inspirations in Episode 300 Frederick Douglass and Episode 311 Frederick Douglass Learns to Read. Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin joined us last year for a great discussion about her book in Episode 358 The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature. We looked at the debate between James Baldwin (who later encouraged Angelou to write her autobiography) and William Faulkner in Baldwin v. Faulkner. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

Perhaps contemporary critic James Wood put it best: "Novelists," he wrote, "should thank Flaubert the way poets thank spring." In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and major works of Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), the Frenchman from Rouen who redefined what realism - and prose fiction - could do.Additional listening: For the story of Jacke's trip through Tibet, with Emma Bovary as his trusty companion, try Episode 79 Music That Melts the Stars - Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. To wallow in the muck with Flaubert's birth-year brother, check out Episode 274 Baudelaire and the Flowers of Evil or Episode 352 Charles Baudelaire (with Aaron Poochigian). To distinguish yourself with some of Flaubert's illustrious predecessors, try Episode 390 Victor Hugo, Episode 152 George Sand, or Episode 420 Honoré de Balzac (with Carlos Allende). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

Happy Halloween! In this episode, producer Emma selects a classic Victorian ghost story for Jacke to read: "Eveline's Visitant" by the publishing powerhouse Mary Elizabeth Braddon.Additional listening suggestions: 270 "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe 450 "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe 116 Ghost Stories! Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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 Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant about her journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist and two classic works from the 1960s that helped inspire her: The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley) and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.Be sure to check out Dr. Wynn-Grant's podcast Going Wild, brought to you by PBS Nature. Journey deep into the heart of the world’s most remote jungles, savannas, tundras, mountains, and deserts with wildlife biologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant as she studies wild animals in their natural habitats. Rae and her teams spend years studying these animals – in order to protect their futures. Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant takes you inside their hidden worlds – and the action-packed, suspense-filled adventures of the wildlife conservationists who track them. Hear what it takes to find and save some of the world’s most intriguing and endangered creatures. Explore more at www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/podcasts/going-wild/.DR. RAE WYNN-GRANT received her B.S. in Environmental Studies from Emory University, her M.S. in Environmental Studies from Yale University, and her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from Columbia University. She completed a Conservation Science Research and Teaching Postdoctoral fellowship with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History. She is currently a Research Faculty member at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management leading carnivore research on the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. She maintains a Research Fellow position with National Geographic Society focusing on carnivore conservation in partnership with the American Prairie Reserve and a Visiting Scientist position at the American Museum of Natural History.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

In this episode, Jacke takes a look at two topics. First, the story of Charles and Mary Lamb, whose children's book Tales from Shakespeare (1807) was published more than two hundred years ago and has never been out of print. Part of the literary circle that included Romantic-era luminaries like Hazlitt, Wordsworth, and Coleridge, the siblings dedicated their lives to looking after one another, even as they each experienced periods of madness that led, one horrific night, to the murder of their mother. After that, Jacke talks to bestselling author Carolyn Hays about her new book A Girlhood: Letter To My Transgender Daughter, which tells the story of raising a transgender child in today's highly politicized environment.Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

For more than two centuries, the author Mary Shelley (1797-1851) has been eclipsed by others: her famous parents William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, her even more famous husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, and even her own creations, the "modern Prometheus" Victor Frankenstein and the creature that often (and erroneously) bears his name. But Mary Shelley deserves more attention than just as the young woman who married a Romantic poet and happened to write an indelible novel. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and career of one of the great literary figures of her era.Additional listening suggestions: 446 Percy Bysshe Shelley - The Early Years 351 Mary Wollstonecraft (with Samantha Silva) 65 Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (with Professor James Chandler) Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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 October! Time for dead leaves, spooky twilight, and little goblins running around in search of candy. And of course, the OG Mr. October, Edgar Allan Poe. In this episode, Jacke (finally!) accommodates the voluminous requests for an episode on Poe's classic story of guilt, madness, and horror, "The Tell-Tale Heart." Additional listening suggestions: 278 The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe (with Evie Lee) 276 Edgar Allan Poe Invents the Detective Story | "The Purloined Letter" 270 Edgar Allan Poe - "The Black Cat" Music Credits: “⁠Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba⁠” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the ⁠Free Music Archive⁠ / ⁠CC by SA⁠). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

We all talk about actors who use the Method, but do we really understand what that means? And how exactly has the Method changed the way we take in drama? In this episode, Jacke talks to theater expert Isaac Butler about his book The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act. And in a special bonus, Isaac also tells Jacke about the Shakespeare variant known as "Bad Hamlet."Additional listening suggestions: 338 Finding Yourself in Hollywood (with Meg Tilly) 288 The Triumph of Broadway (with Michael Riedel) 374 Ancient Plays and Contemporary Theater - A New Version of Sophocles' Oedipus Trilogy (with Bryan Doerries) The Best of the Bard: Top 10 Greatest Lines in Shakespeare Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

Although best known for his classic children's books involving Alice and her Wonderland adventures, Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) was a man of many talents and interests. In this episode, Jacke talks to Carrollinian scholar and biographer Charlie Lovett about his new book, Lewis Carroll: Formed by Faith.Additional listening suggestions: Beatrix Potter C.S. Lewis 373 Roald Dahl Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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

D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) started a firestorm with his 1928 novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, which was quickly banned around the world. But the novel eventually found its way into print, after winning numerous obscenity trials in the 1950s and 60s, and today it's widely available (if not always widely read). In this episode, Jacke talks to Indian novelist Saikat Majumdar (The Middle Finger, Silverfish) about Saikat's childhood, his journey to becoming a writer, and his admiration for Lawrence's classic novel. Additional listening suggestions: 87 Man in Love: the Passions of D.H. Lawrence 381 C. Subramania Bharati (with Mira T Sundara Rajan) 338 Finding Yourself in Hollywood (with Meg Tilly) Music Credits: “⁠Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba⁠” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the ⁠Free Music Archive⁠ / ⁠CC by SA⁠). Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. 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