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READING MCCARTHY is a podcast devoted to the consideration and discussion of the works of one of our greatest American writers, Cormac McCarthy.  Each episode calls upon different well-known Cormackian readers and scholars to help us explore different works and various essential aspects of McCarthy’s writing.  Scott Yarbrough is your host in these deep dives into the world of McCarthy. 

Episode 9 of Reading McCarthy welcomes back Dr. Steven Frye in a consideration of the influence of American author Herman Melville on Cormac McCarthy.  Steven Frye is professor and chair of English at California State University, Bakersfield and President of the Cormac McCarthy Society. He is the author of Understanding Cormac McCarthy (Univ. of South Carolina Press) and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Cormac McCarthy, and Cambridge UP’s Cormac McCarthy in Context. His book Unguessed Kinships: Naturalism and the Geography of Hope in Cormac McCarthy is near completion, and he has written numerous journal articles on Cormac McCarthy and other authors of the American Romance Tradition.  Additionally, he is the author of the recently published novel Dogwood Crossing, which I highly recommend.

Music for READING MCCARTHY is composed, performed, and produced by Thomas Frye.  The Intro is “The World to Come”; other music includes (16:46) “Running with Wolves,” (23:20) “Toadvine,” (43:26) “Much Like Yourself,” and the Outro, as always, is “Blues for Blevins.” 

The opinions of the host and his guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their institutions or the Cormac McCarthy Society. 

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New! A book adaptation of many of the episodes focusing on McCarthy's Southern novels is forthcoming in December, 2026.  Click the link for details on Reading Cormac McCarthy: Scholars Discuss the Southern Novels.

Starting in spring of 2023, the podcast began accepting minor sponsorship offers to offset the costs of the podcast.  This may cause a mild disconnect in earlier podcasts where the host asks for patrons in lieu of sponsorships.   But if we compare it to a very large and naked bald man in the middle of the desert who leads you to an extinct volcano to create gunpowder, it seems pretty minor...

As always, the views of the host and his guests do not constitute the views of the Cormac McCarthy society, or their employers or institutions, or their pets or favorite sporting teams.