A reading from Pliny the Younger's letter, describing the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii, in the year 79; and Jack London's article describing the great earthquake of San Francisco, in 1906. I end with a reading of Laurie Sheck's poem "Pompeii," from her 2003 book, Black Series.

Pliny the Younger's letter can be read here; and Jack London's article can be read here; however, I only came across both of them together thanks to Lapham's Quarterly, which featured them in their Summer, 2008 issue called Book of Nature; you can buy the issue, or subscribe to the magazine, here. As I've said before, for those not independently wealthy or ensconced in academia, I know of no better resource for the discovery of voices from history.

Any comments, or suggestions for readings I should make in later episodes, can be emailed to [email protected].

I assume that the small amount of work presented in each episode constitutes fair use. Publishers, authors, or other copyright holders who would prefer to not have their work presented here can also email me at [email protected], and I will remove the episode immediately.