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The History of Literature Podcast

@holpod.bsky.social
340 followers 80 following 574 posts

A podcast for lovers of literature since 2015. Find us at historyofliterature.com.

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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Malcolm Guite about his new book Galahad and the Grail, the first of a four-volume Arthuriad, which poetically retells the Arthurian legend of Galahad's quest to find the Holy Grail. #books #literature #arthurianlegend
historyofliterature.com
833 Galahad and the Grail (with Malcolm Guite)
Everywhere we look, we see the benefits of the modern world. But what have we lost? In this episode, Jacke talks to Malcolm Guite about his new book Galahad and the…
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
In Monstrous Bitch, Eleanor Johnson masterfully reclaims the term “bitch,” transforming the narrative that portrayed women as monsters into a celebration of their power. Take the quiz to discover what you might have been labelled in the past & reclaim the admirable qualities of each archetype:
buff.ly
What kind of Monstrous Bitch are you?
Through history and through story, women have been demonized and transformed into a plethora of mythical and monstrous creatures, from demons to vampires, and called everything from goddess to crazy…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"For I have known them all already, known them all: Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons" – T. S. Eliot #botd #books #literature #poetry
Book cover. T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land and Other PoemsAuthor photo. T. S. Eliot
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders." – William Faulkner, Light in August For more about Faulkner, check out @jackewilson.bsky.social's talk with author Carl Rollyson. #botd #books #literature #faulkner @uvapress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
488 William Faulkner (with Carl Rollyson)
Jacke talks to "serial biographer" Carl Rollyson about his new two-volume biography of William Faulkner, The Life of William Faulkner: The Past Is Never Dead, 1897-…
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swell @swellschultz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Heroes Among Us
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"When Iola opened her school she took pains to get acquainted with the parents of the children, and she gained their confidence and co-operation. Her face was a passport to their hearts. Ignorant of books, human faces were the scrolls from which they had been reading for ages." – Frances E.W. Harper
Book cover. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Iola LeroyAuthor photo. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
F. Scott Fitzgerald, #botd "I want to write something new," Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to his editor, "something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." Months later, he presented the results: the novel that would eventually be titled The Great Gatsby. #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
687 Gatsby Turns 100 (with James West)
"I want to write something new," American author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to his editor, "something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricat…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
From the archives – In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social takes a look at the life and works of Stendhal, whose innovative novels The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma made him one of the greatest and most influential novelists of all time. #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
832 Stendhal [Revisited]
As we recently discussed with Hadley Suter, nineteenth-century French novelist Stendhal (1783-1842) came of age in an era when identity was up for grabs. So who was…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"May I not be denied the time once more to kiss the hands of the one who patiently and in step with me walked on and on and on and who loved most of all." – Jaroslav Seifert, "Autobiography" #books #literature #poetry #nobellaureate
Book cover. Jaroslav Seifert, The Early Poetry of Jaroslav SeifertAuthor photo. Jaroslav Seifert
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“Fools, educated or not, will resent you for what you know. A woman like me is mistrusted and despised for her cleverness, feared by you because your fear’s misplaced.” – Euripides, Medea #botd #books #literature #plays
Book cover. Euripides, MedeaAuthor statue (photo). Euripides
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"One could not stand and watch very long without becoming philosophical, without beginning to deal in symbols and similes, and to hear the hog squeal of the universe." – Upton Sinclair, b. Sept. 20, 1878 #books #literature
Book cover. Upton Sinclair, The JungleAuthor photo. Upton Sinclair
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no need of change." – H. G. Wells, The Time Machine #botd #books #literature
Book cover. H. G. Wells, The Time MachineAuthor photo. H. G. Wells
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In Episode 831, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to author Rachel Pastan about her novel We're So Lucky to Live Here, in which a woman copes with a tragic loss by staging a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in her childhood home. #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
831 Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" (with Rachel Pastan) | My Las…
When times are tough, can literature help? After sharing an email from a listener, Jacke talks to author Rachel Pastan about her novel We're So Lucky to Live Here, …
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
For more about the book, take a listen to this History of Literature Podcast episode in which @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Phillip Lopate, author of A Washington Irving Sketchbook. #books #literature @princetonupress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
826 The Essayist's Essayist - Phillip Lopate on the Pleasures of…
At the time of Washington Irving's death, he was the most famous and widely praised American writer of his or any other era. But his reputation soon dwindled, and t…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practise." – Samuel Johnson #botd For more about Johnson's life and work, listen to this episode from the archives! #books #literature @livunipress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
600 Doctor Johnson! (with Phil Jones) | A Very Special My Last B…
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, t…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"What do we remember that was shaped as this thing is shaped? while their eyes fill with tears. By which and by the weak wash of crimson colors it, the rose is predicated" – William Carlos Williams #botd #books #literature #poetry #imagism #modernism
Book cover. William Carlos Williams, PatersonAuthor photo. William Carlos Williams
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"A touch of cold in the Autumn night— I walked abroad" – T. E. Hulme, "Autumn" Influential as poet and critic to the Imagist movement – Ezra Pound included a section in his book Ripostes to Hulme's poetry. #botd #poetry #literature #books #poetry #imagism #modernism
Author photo. T. E.  HulmeBook cover. Ezra Pound, Ripostes of Ezra Pound Whereto Are Appended the Complete Poetical Works of T. E. Hulme, with Prefatory Note
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
For more about the book, take a listen to this interview with author Marjorie Garber on the History of Literature Podcast. @jackewilson.bsky.social @yalepress.bsky.social #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
808 A Treacherous Secret Agent - How Literature Spoke Truth to P…
During the Cold War, hearings led by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy soon turned into a witch hunt, as paranoia and political opportunism destroyed the careers (and li…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity." – James Fenimore Cooper, The American Democrat #botd #books #literature
Book cover. James Fenimore Cooper, The Leatherstocking Tales I: The Pioneers, The Last of the Mohicans, The PrairieAuthor portrait. James Fenimore Cooper
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Project Gutenberg @gutenberg.org · 15/09/2026
"I can't imagine why everybody is always so keen for authors to talk about writing. I should have thought it was an author's business to write, not talk." Dead Man's Folly. ~Dame Agatha Christie #BOTD in 1890. Books by Agatha Christie at PG: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... #books #literature
Illustration from The American Magazine March 1933 printing of 13 For Dinner, a novel by Agatha Christie; this is the first of six issues that serialized the novel Lord Edgware Dies under this alternate title. The illustration presents a notable early depiction of Hercule Poirot, in the only Agatha Christie novel first printed in serialized form in The American Magazine.

Magazine page from The American Magazine, March 1933, featuring "13 for Dinner" (a.k.a. Lord Edgware Dies) by Agatha Christie, a Hercule Poirot mystery. Illustrations show a mustached Poirot, a woman in an orange gown, and a man in evening dress—colorful period illustrations by "W·T."
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“It is clear that the books owned the shop rather than the other way about. Everywhere they had run wild and taken possession of their habitat, breeding and multiplying, and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down.” – Agatha Christie, The Clocks #botd #mysteries #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
Agatha Christie (with Gillian Gill)
Agatha Christie is one of the most successful writers of all time - it's often said that sales of Christie's books are surpassed only by Shakespeare and the Bible. …
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to author Hadley Suter (Becoming Stendhal: The Performance of Authenticity and the Making of a Novelist) about the French novelist Stendhal and his classic realist novels The Charterhouse of Parma and The Red and the Black. #books @uvapress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
830 Becoming Stendhal (with Hadley Suter) | A Literary Tribute t…
We often say it's important for a person to be "authentic," but what does that mean? Why is that necessarily a good thing? In this episode, Jacke talks to author Ha…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Dropped off another box of Great Detective! books at @wonderlandbookss.bsky.social the other day. If you're in the DC area this weekend or next, stop by Wonderland Books to pick up a copy or just come and browse! Or visit press.historyofliterature.com to get a copy.
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
D.H. Lawrence, b. Sept. 11, 1885 From the archives – in this episode @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to biographer David Ellis (D.H. Lawrence: A Critical Life) about the struggle to capture and convey the essence of Lawrence's life and works. #botd #books #literature @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
703 D.H. Lawrence (with David Ellis) | My Last Book with Dorian …
D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) is one of the most famous novelists of his era - and one of the most difficult to pin down. Was he a tasteless, avant-garde pornographer? …
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ready to embark on a literary adventure for two?! Visit press.historyofliterature.com to order the book set or if you're in the DC area, stop by Wonderland Books to get your copy today! #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
Reading Great Detective! An Adventure for Two People
Ready to embark on a literary adventure for two?! Visit press.historyofliterature.com to order your copy of Great Detective! by Jacke Wilson, host of the History o…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"and my spirit with its loss knows this; though small against the black, small against the formless rocks, hell must break before I am lost" – H.D., "Eurydice" #botd #books #literature #poetry @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
564 H.D. (with Lara Vetter)
Jacke talks to scholar and biographer Lara Vetter (H.D. (Hilda Doolittle)) about the life and works of modernist poet and avant-garde woman Hilda Doolittle, better …
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Susan Dunne about her new book Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell: Their Lives, Friendship and Writings, which tells the deeper story of the friendship between the two women. #books #literature #biography @penandswordbooks.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
829 Charlotte Brontë and Her Biographer Elizabeth Gaskell (with …
Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell, two of the leading novelists of the 19th century, shared a remarkable literary friendship. After Charlotte's death, Gaskell'…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Leo Tolstoy, #botd For Virginia Woolf, Leo Tolstoy was "the greatest of all novelists," and her argument was simple: "[W]hat else can we call the author of War and Peace?" From the archives –  @jackewilson.bsky.social takes a look at Tolstoy's original plans for the novel. #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
621 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
For Virginia Woolf, Leo Tolstoy was "the greatest of all novelists," and her argument was simple: "[W]hat else can we call the author of War and Peace?" In this epi…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
For more about her book, take a listen to Shelley Fisher Fishkin's conversation with @jackewilson.bsky.social in Episode 718 of the History of Literature Podcast. #books #literature #podcast @yalepress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
718 Jim - The Life and Afterlives of Huckleberry Finn's Comrade …
In this episode, Jacke talks to eminent Twain scholar Shelley Fisher Fishkin (Was Huck Black?: Mark Twain and African-American Voices) about her new book Jim: The L…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
"Thus borne from bad to worse, without a rein, I cannot the unbridled beast arrest; Who makes me see I to destruction haste, That I more bitterness in death may taste." – Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso #botd #books #literature #poetry
Book cover. Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, Part OneBook cover. Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, Part Two
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
What do we know about the Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius? In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Confucian scholar Mark Csikszentmihalyi about his book Confucius: A New Tradition. #books #philosophy @reaktionbooks.bsky.social @markcsik.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
828 Confucius (with Mark Csikszentmihalyi) | Celia Bookshop! (wi…
What do we know about the Chinese philosopher and teacher Confucius? Although people have written biographies of Confucius for over 2,000 years, a recent discovery …
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
For more about a history of the kiss, take a listen to @jackewilson.bsky.social's conversation with author Katie Barclay. #books #literature @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
821 A History of the Kiss (with Katie Barclay) | Wonderland Book…
The kiss! What could be more romantic? And yet, as historian Katie Barclay discovered when writing her book The Kiss: A History of Passion and Power, she found non-…
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Reaktion Books @reaktionbooks.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
What’s in a kiss? A millennium of mixed messages 📌 spectator.com/article/what... [£] 📚 reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/the-kiss
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
In Episode 828, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks with Rachel Pastan about her role as literary director of the recently opened independent bookstore Celia Bookshop in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. #books #literature #independentbookstores
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Richard Wright, b. September 4, 1908. From the archives - In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and works of novelist and poet Richard Wright, author of Uncle Tom's Children, Native Son, Black Boy, and thousands of haiku. #botd #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
645 Richard Wright
"Wright was one of those people," said poet Amiri Baraka, "who made me conscious of the need to struggle." In this episode, Jacke takes a look at the life and wo…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"When one really knows a village like this and its surroundings, it is like becoming acquainted with a single person. The process of falling in love at first sight is as final as it is swift in such a case, but the growth of true friendship may be a lifelong affair." – Sarah Orne Jewett #botd #books
Book cover. Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other StoriesAuthor photo. Sarah Orne Jewett
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
“Democracy is the most fragile thing on earth, for what does it rest upon? You and me, and the fact that we agree to maintain it." – Allen Drury #botd #books #literature #politics
Book cover. Allen Drury, Advise and ConsentAuthor photo. Allen Drury
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"A crowd enfevered by the toil that pays Jostles and disappears down long passageways. The dim sun, in the roofs’ plumed confusion—it Is your Face soiled with spit." – Blaise Cendrars #botd #books #literature #poetry
Book cover. Blaise Cendrars, Complete PoemsAuthor photo. Blaise Cendrars
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Take a listen to @jackewilson.bsky.social's conversation with biographer Fiona Sampson to close out August by celebrating the birthday of Mary Shelley, b. August 30, 1797! #books #literature
historyofliterature.com
776 Mary Shelley in Bath (with Fiona Sampson) | My Last Book wit…
As fans of the novel know, Frankenstein began with a flash of insight during an ill-fated holiday near Geneva in the summer of 1816, when the young woman then known…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Theodore Martin about his book, American Literature's War on Crime: Novels and the Hidden History of Mass Incarceration, which explores the links between crime novels and the making of mass imprisonment in America. #books @columbiaup.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
827 American Literature's War on Crime (with Theodore Martin) | …
The second half of the twentieth century was marked by an extreme increase in America's prison population, from roughly 250,000 inmates in 1940 to well over two mil…
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University of Notre Dame Press @undpress.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
WILDNESS was featured on the #History of #Literature #Podcast. Tune in to hear a conversation with author Lydia Willsky-Ciollo about Henry David Thoreau’s #Theology of the wild. #Thoreau @holpod.bsky.social Listen at: www.historyofliterat...
Cover for Willsky-Ciollo’s "Wildness". The author’s name and full title appear above a watercolor painting of tall green trees against a white background. The main title is in a handwritten cursive green font. To the right of the book: "'A rich, comprehensive, even lyrical introduction to Thoreau and Transcendentalism.' --Laura Dassow Walls"
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Revisiting Goethe #botd From the archives – @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to Ritchie Robertson, author of Goethe: A Very Short Introduction, about the life and works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. #books #poetry @oxfordunipress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
480 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (with Ritchie Robertson)
In 1878, critic Matthew Arnold wrote, "Goethe is the greatest poet of modern times... because having a very considerable gift for poetry, he was at the same time, i…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
In this episode, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to essayist Phillip Lopate about his book A Washington Irving Sketch Book: Reflections on an American Writer, in which Lopate pays tribute to the life and works of a nineteenth-century kindred spirit. #books #literature @princetonupress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
826 The Essayist's Essayist - Phillip Lopate on the Pleasures of…
At the time of Washington Irving's death, he was the most famous and widely praised American writer of his or any other era. But his reputation soon dwindled, and t…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
For more from Dabashi and his previous work The Persian Prince: The Rise and Resurrection of an Imperial Archetype, take a listen to his conversation with @jackewilson.bsky.social in Episode 537. #books #literature @stanfordpress.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
537 The Persian Prince (with Hamid Dabashi)
Jacke talks to Professor Hamid Dabashi about his new book The Persian Prince: The Rise and Resurrection of an Imperial Archetype, which replaces Machiavelli's Il Pr…
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Mark Krajnak @jerseystylephoto.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I just read A Single Man. Liked it. Need to listen to this episode. And, on the long drive to Vermont this weekend, I will.
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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 26/08/2026
Author of more than 100 books, dozens of short stories & poems, thousands of articles… Ursula Buchan explores her grandfather’s rich literary legacy, via @holpod.bsky.social 💙📚 5/9 www.historyofliterature.com/611-john-buc...
historyofliterature.com
611 John Buchan (with Ursula Buchan) | My Last Book with Marsha …
Scottish writer John Buchan is perhaps best known for his pioneering thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps, the source material for one of Alfred Hitchcock's first great f…
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"One should never write down or up to people, but out of yourself." – Christopher Isherwood #botd For more about Isherwood, take a listen to HOL Episode 724, in which @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to biographer Jake Poller. #books #literature @reaktionbooks.bsky.social
Book cover. Christopher Isherwood, The Berlin StoriesBook cover. Jack Poller, Critical Lives: Christopher Isherwood
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Daniel A. Olivas @danielolivas.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I have a long drive later today for an appointment, but I now have my HoL listening planned!
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
"If, of all words of tongue and pen, The saddest are, 'It might have been,' More sad are these we daily see: 'It is, but hadn't ought to be.'" – Bret Harte #botd #books #literature #poetry
Book cover. Bret Harte, The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other WritingsAuthor photo. Bret Harte
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The History of Literature Podcast @holpod.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
On the History of Literature Podcast, @jackewilson.bsky.social talks to playwright and screenwriter Morgan Lloyd Malcolm about her new adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, which has its world premiere at London's Arcola Theater in September. #literature #plays #theater @arcolatheatre.bsky.social
historyofliterature.com
825 Henry James's Ghosts (with Morgan Lloyd Malcolm) | My Last B…
In 1895, Henry James suffered through a terrible failure, as his play Guy Domville was greeted by hoots, jeers, and tomatoes being thrown at the play's author. Jame…
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