Hold That Thought

Many of the biggest literary successes in the past decade have involved elements of the fantastic, and we have seen these stories come to life on both the small and big screens: Harry Potter, True Blood, The Walking Dead, dare we mention Twilight? This is to say nothing of the various primetime TV shows that reimagine fairy tales, or the ghost story franchises from The Ring to Paranormal Activity. What draws us to these stories of the supernatural? How do they relate to our real lives while relying on the unbelievable? Acclaimed author of magical realism, Kelly Link, explores the pleasure of surprising readers when using traditional story tropes, and discusses the archetypes of the genre. In the second half of the episode, William McKelvy, associate professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, explains the hallmarks and legacy of Gothic literature.

In addition to the interview, you can find a reading selection from the short story, "The Hortlak," from Kelly's collection, Magic for Beginners in a second podcast.

Kelly Link, acclaimed writer of fabulist fiction and a 2013 Visiting Hurst Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, reads a selection from her short story "The Hortlak" which appeared in her collection, Magic for Beginners.

Nonfiction, simply put, is anything that isn't fiction. Easy enough, right? However, in recent years, several controversies have arisen as supposed factual memoirs are revealed to be nothing but a string of exaggerations or, well, fiction. But how well does any nonfiction writer capture "The Truth?" Numerous psychological studies have shown that if multiple people witness the same event, it's possible for all of them to walk away with very different stories of what happened. Edward McPherson, essayist and assistant professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, explores truth and memory in nonfiction. We also discuss how a place's identity can be shaped by fiction as easily as reality in his essay, "Dallas: From Afar."

In addition to the interview, you can find a reading selection from his essay in a second podcast.

Edward McPherson, essayist and assistant professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, reads a selection from his essay, "Dallas: From Afar," which appeared in the Paris Review in December 2012.

In literature classes, we often turn back to study "classics" that are hundreds of years old, and while the core message of these works remain intact, the once-contemporary references to politics, the snide remarks about rivals, and the nuances of a word that has since taken on another meaning can go whizzing past our heads unless we are given notes and annotations to explain. How, then, can we make these texts as funny and engaging for modern audiences as they were for the original readers? Or should we allow these texts to become literary artifacts? Mary Jo Bang, poet and professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, explores the process she undertook in her recent translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, while Jessica Rosenfeld, medievalist and associate professor of English, explains why the Middle Ages are the origins of literature as we know it.

In addition to the interview, you can find a reading selection from "Inferno: A New Translation" in a second podcast

Mary Jo Bang, poet and professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, reads Canto 3 from her work "Inferno: A New Translation"

When tragedy strikes, we often comfort ourselves by saying "everything happens for a reason," and while the veracity of this statement in life is debated, it is always true in good literature. Every word is working toward building character, plot, setting, or layers of meaning. In this episode, Carl Phillips, poet and professor of English at Washington University, explores how life influences the creation of his poetry and the reoccurence of faith in his new collection, Silverchest. Timothy Moore, chair and professor of classics, then takes us back to ancient Greece where, even two thousand years ago, they searched for meaning in their lives and literature.

In addition to the interview, you can find a reading selection from Silverchest by Carl Phillips in a second track.

Carl Phillips, poet and professor of English at Washington University, reads from his new collection, Silverchest.

Adolescence is a difficult transition for many—a time when everything seems urgent and nothing seems certain, when we weigh our family and childhood values against who we are and who we want to become as adults. It's a period fraught with conflict, internal and otherwise, so it's no wonder authors like Anton DiSclafani, Washington University alumna and Writer in Residence, return to it in their work. In this episode, Anton examines the fundamentals of a coming-of-age story, the impact of place on identity, and the writing process she adopted for her acclaimed debut novel, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. In a second podcast, you can hear her read from her novel

Anton DiSclafani, Washington University alumna and Writer in Residence, reads from her acclaimed debut novel, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls.