The History of Literature

He's best known as the author of The Catcher in the Rye, one of the great publishing and cultural successes of the twentieth century. But there was more to the Jerome David Salinger (1919-2010) story than a single book. In this episode, Jacke takes a look at Salinger's childhood and education, his youthful romance thwarted by an unlikely turn of events, his war and postwar experiences as a soldier and special intelligence investigator, his flurry of almost unbelievable success as a writer, and his years of self-imposed seclusion. PLUS an excerpt from the little-known story that first featured Holden Caulfield's first-person voice. Additional listening: 119 The Catcher in the Rye (with Mike Palindrome) 32 The Best Debut Novels of All Time (with Mike Palindrome) 162 Ernest Hemingway 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

Jacke talks to award-winning novelist and short story writer Charles Baxter about his new book, Blood Test: A Comedy, which the New York Times says "provides a snapshot of a troubled America, disguised as a speculative comedy...a quiet masterpiece." PLUS Bill Eville (Washed Ashore: Family, Fatherhood, and Finding Home on Martha's Vineyard) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. Additional listening: 63 Chekhov, Bellow, Wright, and Fox (with Charles Baxter) 612 Family Matters (with Bill Eville) 429 Books I Have Loved (with Charles Baxter, Margot Livesey, and Jim Shepard) 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

In 1949, Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces posited the existence of a "monomyth," a universal pattern that formed the basis of heroic tales in every culture. But although he maintained that more often than not the young heroes followed an archetypal journey--which in addition to ancient myths can be seen in everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter--Campbell acknowledged that heroines seemed to have a different story arc, but not one that he had taxonomies. In other words, female heroes could go on the same journey that male heroes did--but often they seemed to be doing something different. They too had a narrative arc, but it didn't quite fit the typical storytelling pattern. In this episode, Jacke talks to author Douglas Burton about his book The Heroine's Labyrinth: Archetypal Designs in Heroine-Led Fiction, which offers up a groundbreaking new paradigm for anyone interested in stories and how they're made. PLUS Doug sticks around to discuss 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

Written in the early 1300s, Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy has been an essential component of Western literature for more than 700 years. In this episode, Jacke talks to Joseph Luzzi about his book, Dante's Divine Comedy: A Biography, which gives an intimate portrait of the work that has challenged and inspired generations of readers. Additional listening: 131 Dante in Love (with Professor Ellen Nerenberg and Anthony Valerie) 589 Dante and Friendship (with Elizabeth Coggeshall) 327 Natalia Ginzburg 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

It's a Literary Feast Day at the History of Literature Podcast! First, Jacke talks to old friend Mike Palindrome about his love for A Moveable Feast, Hemingway's late-in-life recollection of his salad days (Pernod days?) in Paris. Then Collin Jennings (Enlightenment Links: Theories of Mind and Media in Eighteenth-Century Britain) explains how his application of computational methods to eighteenth-century fiction, history, and poetry shed new light on the Enlightenment - and what it means for readers in a digital age. And finally, David L. Cooper (The Czech Manuscripts: Forgery, Translation, and National Myth) discusses his choice for the last book he will ever read. Additional listening suggestions: 355 Jean-Jacques Rousseau 525 Don DeLillo (with Jesse Kavadlo) 586 The Czech Manuscripts Hoax (with David Cooper)   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