The History of Literature

The History of Literature


Latest Episodes

596 The Power of Stories (with J Edward Chamberlin) | Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson | Flannery O'Connor (with Mike Palindrome) | My Last Book with Shin Yu Pai
March 18, 2024

It's a literary smorgasbord! First, Jacke dives into the recent news of the surprising connection between Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson. Next, he welcomes Mike Palindrome, President of the Literature Supporters Club, for a discussion of why Mike has be

595 Machiavelli (with Gabriele Pedulla) | My Last Book with Sarah Ruden
March 11, 2024

For centuries, Machiavelli has been viewed as everything from an insightful pragmatist to the mouthpiece of Satan. In this episode, Jacke talks to Italian scholar Gabriele Pedull about his book On Niccol Machiavelli: The Bonds of Politics, which offers

594 Samuel Taylor Coleridge
March 04, 2024

The Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) has been called the last person to have read everything. He is also one of the greatest poet-critics in the history of literature, known for works like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Kubla Khan,"

593 Vladimir Propp (with Mike Palindrome) | The Russian Gothic (with Valeria Sobol) | My Last Book with Vanessa Riley
February 26, 2024

It's a multi-course literary feast at the History of Literature Podcast! Today we serve up some thoughts on books and the arts from Galileo Galilei; Mike Palindrome and his decades of reading Russian folktale theorist Vladimir Propp; Professor Valeria Sob

592 Virgil (with Sarah Ruden) | Darwin and Gaskell | My Last Book with Tom Holland
February 19, 2024

Virgil (or Vergil) was the most celebrated poet of Ancient Rome - and also one of the most enigmatic. In this episode, Jacke talks to biographer and translator Sarah Ruden about her book Vergil: A Poet's Life. PLUS some thoughts on Charles Darwin's last b

591 William Wordsworth
February 12, 2024

Jacke takes a look at the life and works of Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850). Help support the show atpatreon.com/literatureorhistoryofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomera

590 Blotted Lines (with Adhaar Noor Desai) | My Last Book with Lara Vetter
February 08, 2024

How do geniuses compose their poetry and prose? Do they carefully and laboriously revise until they achieve perfection? Or does perfection just flow out of them - as it reportedly did for Shakespeare? In this episode, Adhaar Noor Desai (Blotted Lines: Ear

589 Dante and Friendship (with Elizabeth Coggeshall) | My Last Book with Dr Tara Bynum
February 05, 2024

We know - or we think we know - what friendship is today, but what did it mean to Dante? In this episode, Jacke travels back to the Middle Ages with Professor Elizabeth Coggeshall (On Amist: Negotiating Friendship in Dante's Italy) to discuss how Dante a

588 China in African Literature (with Duncan Yoon) | My Last Book with Katherine Howe
February 01, 2024

Many readers today are familiar with the impact that Western countries have had on Africa, as told through the eyes of writers in both Africa and the West. But what about China and its growing influence in Africa? How have twentieth- and twenty-first-cent

587 Byron's Letters (with Andrew Stauffer) | My Last Book with Jonathan van Belle
January 29, 2024

Few writers have achieved the celebrity of the notorious Romantic poet Lord Byron. But what was he like in private? In this episode, Jacke talks to Andrew Stauffer about his new book, Byron: A Life in Ten Letters. PLUS Jonathan van Belle (Henry at Work: T