Close Reads

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina as they continue their conversation about Wallace Stegner's novel, Crossing to Safety. Topics of conversation include the difference between a personal and transcendent experience with art, the bottomlessness of Great Books and Good Books, a comparison between the first chapter of part one and the first chapter of part two, and much, much more. If you like this podcast make sure you've subscribed, rated, and reviewed. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include the strange mystery of reading, the similarities between Charity and Larry, Stegner's playful approach to subverting archetypes, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include Sally's characterization, the likability of the various characters, Charity's overbearing nature and Sid's vows to her, the archetypes in the boat scene, and much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This first episode of The Play's the Thing is a preview. For future episodes, please subscribe to The Play's the Thing's own feed. Welcome to the premier episode of The Play's the Thing, a podcast dedicated to an ongoing examination and celebration of Shakespeare's entire canon. In this episode, David Kern, Matt Bianco, and Tim McIntosh dive into act I of King Lear, focusing primarily on scene I. Topics of conversation include: the Mount Rushmore of Shakespeare's plays, what makes a good Shakespearean tragedy so good, whether Lear should have divided his kingdom the way he did, how to read Cordelia's response, and much, much more. If you like this podcast, Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Heidi, and Angelina, as they continue their conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include the kind of emotional responses this book elicits, what we mean when we say a book "feels well-crafted," the way Stegner plays with memory in the first person voice of the narrator, how much we should "believe" Larry's recollections, and much more.Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's Wallace Stegner time! Join David, Heidi, Angelina, and Stegner aficionado, Graeme Pitman, as they kick off a conversation about Stegner's modern classic, Crossing to Safety. Topics include Stegner's poetic prose and unique metaphors, the way the story introduces and explores characters, Stegner's literary impact, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Tim McIntosh, and special guest Adam Andrews (of Center for Lit) for an exploration of Shirley Jackson's harrowing short story, "The Lottery." Conversation touches on the crazy initial response the story received, the way Jackson manages to point her critique at contemporary life and not just the ancient pagans, best practices for teaching this story, why Jackson doesn't reveal the reason for the brutal tradition at the heart of the story, and much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Heidi White, and guest Jonathan Rogers for an exploration of William Faulkner's short story, "A Rose for Emily." Discussion touches on the pedagogy of teaching literature, Faulkner's customary obtuseness, the purity of the narrative of this story, what it says about Southern culture, and much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Angelina Stanford, and Heidi White, for an exploration of Susan Glaspell's short story, "A Jury of Her Peers." Topics include the possible feminist ideas in the story, the question (or non-question) of justice, how the men in the story should be read, the private vs public lives of the women in the story, and much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Angelina Stanford, and Heidi White, for an exploration of Kate Chopin's short story, Desiree's Baby. Topics include the story's fairy tale nature, the way it touches on matters of race and gender, its structural genius, and much, much, much more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Tim McIntosh, and very special guest Jonathan Rogers (author of The Wilderking Trilogy and The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor, among other books), for a deep-dive into Ambrose Bierce's famous short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." Discussion touches on whether Bierce's "gotcha" moment is a flaw in the story, the idea of the unreliable narrator, Bierce's wild biography, where his skill most shows up in the story, and more. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David Kern, Heidi White, and very special guest Jonathan Rogers (author of The Wilderking Trilogy and The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor, among other books), for a deep-dive into Washington Irving's famous short story, "Rip Van Winkle." Topics include the place of this story in the American literary tradition, Irving's craftsmanship, the conceit/framing device Irving employs, and a whole lot more. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, and Heidi for some more lively discussion as they conclude their conversation about Tennessee Williams' award-winning and much-beloved play, The Glass Menagerie. Topics of conversation include the glass unicorn, the value of tragedies, the challenges of reading a play (vs. seeing it performed), and much, much more. Plus, David explains some exciting new changes for the Close Reads brand - and the short story the show will cover next week. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, and Heidi (Angelina is away for work) for a lively discussion about Tennessee Williams' award-winning and much-beloved play, The Glass Menagerie. Topics of conversation include the differences (and unique challenges) between play writing and novel writing, who plays are written for, how to read plays, why this play has been so popular for so long, Williams' creative genius, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Augustine College in the US. Click here to sign up for the Close Reads email newsletter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, Angelina, and Heidi as they conclude their conversation about Wendell Berry's novel, Hannah Coulter, by answering listener questions. Topics include the Okinawa chapter, whether Berry is preachy, whether his work will be remembered in a few hundred years, and much more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, Angelina, and special guest Heidi White as they continue their discussion of Wendell Berry's 2003 novel, Hannah Coulter. They discuss the ways this book impacts each of them, the character of Hannah, why men love this book, and much, much more. If you enjoy this show, please support it on Patreon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, Angelina, and special guest Heidi White as they continue their discussion of Wendell Berry's 2003 novel, Hannah Coulter. Conversation touches on Berry's emphasis on the values of rural life, whether Berry's ideals can be applied anywhere, Nathan Coulter and Burley Coulter as embodiment of those ideals, and much more. If you enjoy this show, please support it on Patreon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, Angelina, and special guest Heidi White as they begin their discussion of Wendell Berry's 2003 novel, Hannah Coulter. Conversation touches on first impressions, the book's epitaph, Hannah's unique voice, the poetic rhythms of Berry's writing, whether this is a sad book, and much, much more. If you enjoy this show, please support it on Patreon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David, Tim, and Angelina as they conclude their conversation of P.G. Wodehouse's novel, The Code of the Woosters, by answering listener questions. Topics include Bertie's thickness, Jeeves' genius, the percentage of allusions that the hosts got when reading this book, and much more. If you enjoy this show, please consider supporting it on Patreon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join David and Angelina as they continue their conversation of P.G. Wodehouse's novel, The Code of the Woosters. This week - sans Tim - discussion touches on, well, the code of the Woosters. Plus, Graeme Pitman makes an appearance and conversation goes far afield. If you enjoy this show, please consider supporting it on Patreon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.