603 Rethinking Ralph Waldo Emerson (with James Marcus)

She's been called Scandinavia's best loved author - but "author" only begins to describe Tove Jansson's genius. Famous worldwide as the creator of the Moomin stories, she balanced her talents as a painter, cartoonist, illustrator, and writer with an unusual lifestyle and an insistence on personal freedom. In this episode, Jacke talks to biographer Boel Westin (Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words) about the joyful and uncompromising approach that Tove Jansson brought to life, love, and her many creative pursuits. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov... the familiar Russian names are at the pinnacle of world literature. How did this happen? Was it merely a happy accident? Did events conspire to bring it about? In this episode, Jacke talks to Rolf Hellebust, author of How Russian Literature Became Great, about a golden age of historiography and nation-building - and the consequences for the history of literature. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Born more than two centuries ago, Ralph Waldo Emerson has long been recognized as a giant of nineteenth-century American letters. But what can he offer readers today? In this episode, Jacke talks to author James Marcus, author of the new book Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which reconsiders Emerson's reputation as a "starry-eyed prophet of self-reliance" in favor of a more complicated figure who spent a lifetime wrestling with injustice, philosophy, art, desire, and suffering. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We humans imprint ourselves on our surroundings - and they, in turn, have the power to affect us. In this episode, Jacke talks to Gareth Russell (The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court) about the building that Thomas Hardy famously called a "Spellbound Palace" in one of his finest poems. We'll hear about the building's history and why it holds a special place in literary history, including the planning of the King James Bible and as a site for early Shakespeare performances. PLUS Jess Cotton (John Ashbery: A Critical Life) selects her choice for the last book she will ever read. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the start of a new hundred episodes! Fresh off her tour for her new novel The Road from Belhaven, superguest Margot Livesey joins Jacke for a discussion of mistakes in the novels of Thomas Hardy. Then Jacke tells Margot the heartrending story of Hardy's fraught relationship with his first wife Emma - and how Emma's death unlocked some of his greatest poetry. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's another milestone for the History of Literature Podcast! Jacke celebrates the six hundredth episode of the podcast with a return to one of his old favorites, the "harmless drudge" himself, Dr. Johnson, with the help of Johnsonian expert Phil Jones (Reading Samuel Johnson: Reception and Representation, 1750-1970). PLUS Rupert Holmes (Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide) shares his choice for the last book he will ever read. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While avant-garde filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky might be most famous for the wildly ambitious version of Dune that never got made - in spite of having actors and artists like Orson Welles, Salvador Dalí, Mick Jagger, Pink Floyd, H.R. Giger, and Mœbius attached to the project - he was also the creative force behind several dynamic and influential films. In this episode, William Egginton (The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Kant, Heisenberg, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality) returns to discuss his new book, Alejandro Jodorowsky: Filmmaker and Philosopher. PLUS David Sterling Brown (Shakespeare's White Others) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charmian Kittredge London (1871-1955) may be best known as the wife of the famous American writer Jack London, but she was herself a literary trailblazer - and the epitome of a modern woman. In this episode, Jacke talks to biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle (Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer) about the intriguing life and inspirational career of an underappreciated literary figure. PLUS Mike Palindrome, President of the Literature Supporters Club, makes the case for the greatness of Christopher Isherwood, and Duncan Yoon (China in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century African Literature) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard (b. 1968) became known in his home country - or at least its literary circles - when he put out two well-received novels in the late 1990s. But it was the publication of his six-volume autobiographical series Min Kamp, or My Struggle, that turned him into a household name - and when the books were translated into English in 2012, he became a worldwide publishing phenomenon. In this episode, Jacke talks to editor Bob Blaisdell about his own reading of Knausgaard, the experience of interviewing him, and the editing of the new book Conversations with Karl Ove Knausgaard, which collects twenty-two interviews with Knausgaard, all conducted as this curious and controversial writer was gaining worldwide attention. PLUS author Nicholas Dames (The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 been reading Flannery O'Connor for so many years. Then storytelling expert J. Edward Chamberlin stops by to discuss his new book, Storylines: How Words Shape Our Worlds, which explores the power of stories to transform despair and disillusionment into hope and possibility. And finally, poet and podcaster Shin Yu Pai (Ten Thousand Things) selects the last book she will ever read. Smaklig måltid! 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 www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices