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The History of Literature — Arts
The History of Literature

Amateur enthusiast Jacke Wilson journeys through the history of literature, from ancient epics to contemporary classics. Episodes are not in chronological order and you don’t need to start at the beginning – feel free to jump in wherever you like! Find out more at historyofliterature.com and facebook.com/historyofliterature. Support the show by visiting patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. Contact the show at historyofliteraturepodcast@gmail.com.

Copyright: © Jacke Wilson, all rights reserved

Latest Episodes:

The History of Literature Presents: Missing Pages Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Today, we’d like to introduce you to the new podcast from The Podglomerate, Missing Pages. Missing Pages is an all-new investigative podcast hosted by world-renowned literary critic and publishing insider Bethanne Patrick.

In its first season, Missing Pages uncovers the power struggles, mistaken identities, and unfathomably bad behavior within the secretive world of book publishing. Learn about the untold story behind alleged Harvard plagiarist Kaavya Viswanathan and the web of lies told by the author of The Woman in the Window.

Each episode brings in authors, experts, publishing insiders, and a circus of NYC media elites to tell the real story; unfit for print. Missing Pages is available now. Listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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436 The Lorax by Dr Seuss (with Mesh Lakhani) Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

He was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904, but in the next 87 years, the world came to know and love him by his pen name, Dr. Seuss. Best known for his more than 60 books for children, including The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Green Eggs and Ham, and Hop on Pop, Dr. Seuss has sold more than 600 million books. In this episode, Jacke talks to Mesh Lakhani, CEO of Lola Media and co-host of the chart-topping podcast Better Call Paul, about his love of Dr. Seuss's 1971 classic work of environmentalism and empathy, The Lorax.

Additional listening suggestions:

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.

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435 The Story of the Hogarth Press Part 2 - The Virginia Woolf Story That Changed Everything Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

In our last episode, we looked at the decision by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard to purchase a printing press and run it out of their home. What began as a hobby - a relief from the strains of writing - soon turned into a genuine business, as The Hogarth Press met with success. And when Virginia published one of her most famous stories "Kew Gardens," the dam burst, and the Woolfs and their press had to prepare for a dramatic increase in sales. In this episode, Jacke continues and concludes the story of the Hogarth Press, including a close look at the story that changed the press's fortunes.

Additional listening suggestions:

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.

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434 The Story of the Hogarth Press Part 1 - Virginia Woolf's First Self-Published Story Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Virginia Woolf has long been celebrated as a supremely gifted novelist and essayist. Less well known, but important to understanding her life and contributions to literature, are her efforts as a publisher. In the decades that she and her husband operated the Hogarth Press - starting with a hand-operated printer they ran on their dining room table, cranking out one page at a time - they published some Modernist classics, including works by Virginia and The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the decision to buy the press, the effect it had on Virginia's life and writing career, and the very first book the Woolfs put out: Two Stories, featuring Leonard's short story "Three Jews" and Virginia's "The Mark on the Wall."

Additional listening suggestions:

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

433 Emma's Pick - "To Build a Fire" by Jack London Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

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:

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

432 Hemingway's One True Sentence (with Mark Cirino) Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

"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:

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

431 Langston Hughes Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

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:

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

430 In Shakespeare's Shadow (with Michael Blanding) Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

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:

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

429 Books I Have Loved (with Charles Baxter, Margot Livesey, and Jim Shepard) Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

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:

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

428 Edward Gibbon (with Zachary Karabell) Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

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:

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

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