The History of Literature

Is this the greatest man vs. nature story ever? Hard to say. But it just might be the purest.Kicking off a new HOL feature, producer Emma chooses a short story for Jacke to read and discuss - Jack London's classic "To Build a Fire.". Get somewhere warm and let your mind drift to the snowy Yukon for this gripping tale of man vs. nature and man vs. himself.Additional listening suggestions: 101 Writers at Work 90 Mark Twain's Final Request Edith Wharton and "Roman Fever" 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

"All you have to do is write one true sentence," Ernest Hemingway said in A Moveable Feast. "Write the truest sentence that you know." And so he did: the man wrote thousands of sentences, all in search of "truth" of some kind. What does a "true sentence" mean for a fiction writer? What true sentences did Hemingway himself write? And how much of this is in the eye of the beholder?In this episode, Jacke is joined by Mark Cirino, the host of the One True Podcast and author of the book One True Sentence: Writers and Readers on Hemingway's Art, for a discussion of Hemingway, his quest for true sentences, and what that has meant for dozens of contemporary readers. (Special bonus: Mark and Jacke roam through Hemingway's works before choosing their own true sentences.)Additional listening suggestions: 47 Hemingway vs Fitzgerald (with Mike Palindrome) 162 Ernest Hemingway 275 Hemingway and the Truth (with Richard Bradford) 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

Very few writers have had the influence or importance of Langston Hughes (1902?-1967). Best known for poems like "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "I, Too," and "The Weary Blues," Hughes was also a widely read novelist, short story writer, and essayist - and his promotion of Black people and culture became central to the cultural explosion known as the Harlem Renaissance. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at Hughes's early years, including his childhood, adolescence, and the poems Hughes wrote in his teens and twenties, as he forged his identity as a writer in the face of often intense criticism.Additional listening suggestions: Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes (with Yuval Taylor) 88 The Harlem Renaissance 94 Smoke, Dusk, and Fire - The Jean Toomer Story 310 Lorraine Hansberry 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 a paradox that has bothered Shakespeare's fans for centuries: the man was as insightful into human beings as anyone whoever lived, and yet his own life is barely documented. This combination of literary genius plus biographical uncertainty has spun off a number of mysteries - including the question of how exactly Shakespeare came to know the things that he did.In this episode, Jacke talks to investigative journalist Michael Blanding, author of In Shakespeare's Shadow, about a renegade scholar named Dennis McCarthy's theory that Shakespeare may have drawn upon a previously unknown source - the lost plays of Sir Thomas North - and how Blanding himself joined the pursuit of searching for evidence to support McCarthy's theory.Additional listening suggestions: 360 FMK Shakespeare! (with Laurie Frankel) 70 Shakespeare's Julius Caesar 48 Hamlet 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 years, we've enjoyed talking to writers about the books they love best. In this "best of" episode, we go deep into the archive for three of our favorites: Jim Shepard and his youthful discovery of Bram Stoker's Dracula; Margot Livesey and her love for Ford Madox Ford's modernist classic The Good Soldier; and Charles Baxter telling us about his love for the poetry of James Wright. Enjoy!Additional listening suggestions: 96 Dracula, Lolita, and the Power of Volcanoes (with Jim Shepard) 63 Chekhov, Bellow, Wright (with Charles Baxter) 78 Jane Eyre, The Good Soldier, Giovanni's Room (with Margot Livesey) 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

Since the first publication of his six-volume magnum opus, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon (1734-1797) has been ranked among the greatest historians who ever lived. What made his work different? Does it hold up today? And what lessons can a modern-day historian draw from his example? In this episode, Jacke talks with author Zachary Karabell about Gibbon's inspiration, influence, and legacy.ZACHARY KARABELL is the author of numerous books, including Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power and The Leading Indicators: A Short History of the Numbers That Rule Our World. He is also the founder of the Progress Network at New America, the president of River Twice Capital, and the host of the podcast "What Could Go Right?"Additional listening suggestions: 321 Thucydides 285 Herodotus 36 Poetry and Empire (Virgil, Ovid, Horace, Petronius, Catullus) 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 our last episode, Jacke looked at the life of celebrated Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), the widely acknowledged master of haiku. In this episode, Jacke looks deeper into the nature of Bashō's best works, organizing them into some loose categories and offering some thoughts on haiku in Bashō's world and ours.Additional listening suggestions: 425 Matsuo Bashō, Haiku's Greatest Master 75 The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki 418 "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson 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 addition to being what is probably the most widely used poetic form, haiku is almost certainly the most often misunderstood. In this episode, Jacke examines the life and works of Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), haiku's greatest master, as he sorts through his thoughts on the uses (and potential misuses) of the haiku form. What makes much of it so bad? And how does that differ from what is truly great?Additional listening suggestions: 62 Bad Poetry 7A Proust, Pound, and Chinese Poetry 312 Yukio Mishima 423 Roger Ebert 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

Born Tomáš Sträussler, in what was then Czechoslovakia, celebrated playwright Tom Stoppard (1937- ) became one of the most famous British playwrights in the world. Known for his wit and humor, his facility with language, and the depth of his philosophical inquiries, he found success with plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Coast of Utopia, The Invention of Love, and The Real Thing. He has also been a successful writer for radio, television, and film, with scripts like Shakespeare in Love and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade benefiting from his eye for drama and ear for dialogue. In this episode, Jacke talks to television producer and playwright Scott Carter about his admiration for Tom Stoppard's life and works. Additional listening suggestions: Samuel Beckett 114 Christopher Marlowe 353 Oscar Wilde in Prison (with Scott Carter) 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

Czech novelist Karel Čapek (1890-1938) might be best known as the pioneering science fiction writer who first coined the term "robot." But readers have long appreciated the transcendent humanity of his works. "There was no writer like him," Arthur Miller once said, "prophetic assurance mixed with surrealistic humor and hard-edged social satire: a unique combination...a joy to read." In this episode, Jacke talks to podcast producer Ian Coss about the life of Karel Čapek, his contributions to literature, and how Čapek's celebrated novel War with the Newts inspired Ian's audio fiction series Newts, a farcical, yet deadly serious tale about an alternate history of the 1930s, in which the Western world discovers, exploits, educates, arms, and is ultimately overthrown by a species of highly intelligent, three-foot tall salamanders. SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT: We conclude the episode with a trailer for Newts.Additional listening suggestions: 160 Ray Bradbury (with Carolyn Cohagan) Margaret Atwood 282 Science Fiction Subscribe to Newts at the following links: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newts/id1621525265 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4K7X2gY9MwYFWuXEdpyFC7 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/newts Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcHJveHkuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS9uZXd0c3BvZGNhc3Q Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/5kerq5l8 Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/newts/PC:80522 RSS: https://feeds.feedburner.com/newtspodcast Help support the History of Literature Podcast 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