The History of Literature

When we first started this podcast in 2015, we began with a simple premise: "We are human beings, and human beings tell stories." But how has that happened? What has that meant for humanity? And to what extent has technology transformed our relationship with stories? In today's episode, Jacke talks to MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton about his new book, The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art, which traces the history of human storytelling through eight great revolutions, helping us to see the power of stories and their importance to humankind. PLUS Ilya Vinitsky and James H. MacGavran III (The Graphomaniac: A Literary Historical Discussion of Dmitry Khvostov as a Reprieve from Teaching, the Vanity of Worldly Affairs, and Melancholy Reflections Brought On by the Loss of a Front Tooth, Together with the Current Cultural and Political Situation) stop by to discuss their choices for the last books they will ever read.

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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By the middle of the twentieth century, Robert Frost was widely regarded as America's most popular poet, beloved for the simple, sincere verses that took readers on journeys through the wooded roads of rural New England, accompanied by Frost's wry observations and hardscrabble truths. Just a few years after Frost's death, a scathing biography by Lawrance Thompson painted a different picture of the man, which led critic Helen Vendler to ask, in her review of the biography, whether it was possible to avoid the conclusion that Frost had actually been a "monster." In this episode, Jacke talks to critic and author Adam Plunkett about his new book, Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost's Poetry, a major new biography that challenges our understanding of Frost's life and poetic legacy. PLUS Ursula Buchan (Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she will ever read.

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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In preparation for next week's conversation with Adam Plunkett, author of a new major biography of Robert Frost (1874-1963), we revisit an earlier episode about the widely anthologized (and often misunderstood) New England poet.

In this episode, which first aired in 2017 as Episode 93, Jacke dives into a curious but compelling story from the years just before World War I, when a struggling Frost hastily packed up his family and moved to London in search of a friend. Although Frost’s efforts to ingratiate himself with W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound fizzled, he soon found a man, critic Edward Thomas (1878-1917), who championed Frost’s poetry and became one of Frost’s best friends. Frost in turn inspired Thomas to write his own poetry – until something happened on one of their walks in the woods that would forever change them both.

Professor Bill Hogan of Providence College joins Jacke to recount the full story of Frost and Thomas: their friendship, their falling out, and how one of Frost’s (and America’s) most famous poems, “The Road Not Taken,” inspired by Frost’s views of Thomas, has been widely misunderstood by generations of readers.

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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It's Memorial Day in the United States, a day devoted to remembering the soldiers who have died in service. Together, the society grieves, mourns, and attempts to unite. Similarly, communities can come together through actions like loving; giving; marrying; conversing; acting and doing; and speaking to one another. But what happens when individuals are blocked from the processes that bring a community together? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Sarah Beckwith about her book Shakespeare and Loss: The Late, Great Tragedies, which looks at Shakespeare's use of protagonists who are driven out (or drive themselves out) of family and society in plays like Hamlet, King Lear, Timon of Athens, Macbeth, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra. How (and why) does Shakespeare portray individuals who have lost their access to these vital concepts of human bonding? And what can we learn from Shakespeare's examples?

PLUS Caroline Lea (Love, Sex, and Frankenstein) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she will ever read.

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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The rise of Artificial Intelligence has sent shockwaves through the literary world, with the impact being felt by both publishers and creative types. In this episode, Jacke talks to writer and entrepreneur Eric Burgess about the rise of AI, what it means for authors, and his company Credtent, which looks for areas where AI and Creativity can work together--ethically, legally, and profitably. PLUS Jacke talks to Virginia Woolf expert Mark Hussey (Mrs Dalloway: Biography of a Novel) about his choice for the last book he will ever read.

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices