Professing Literature
David Anderson and Eric Williams
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Why do great novels, poems and plays move us and excite us? How can they change the way we look at ourselves and the world? What do these authors have to teach us? Why do they matter? There are no better answers to these questions than those provided by the authors themselves. We want to let them speak. Professing Literature is not a broad summary of major works. Instead, it will zero in on one or two key passages, looking at them closely in order to figure out what is at stake. The goal will be to appreciate an author’s brilliance by seeing him or her in action. We will unpack key phrases, images and metaphors and we will consider the techniques the writer uses to make ideas come alive.
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Top 10 Professing Literature Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Professing Literature episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Professing Literature for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Professing Literature episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
EP07 - The Archer with the Bow | Beowulf
Professing Literature
11/15/21 • 78 min
Beowulf. A shining young warrior has crossed the water and saved the Danish people from a dreadful monster and his scarcely less dreadful mother. As the Danes honour Beowulf with feasting, gifts and music their aged king offers him some counsel. Hrothgar has ruled the Danes for fifty years, in times of triumph and adversity, and he wants to make sure his young friend can profit from his own hard-won wisdom.
Professing Literature is back! We'd love to hear what you think about this episode or any of the others. Please send questions, comments, or otherwise to [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Passage Music: "The White Birch" by Moorland Songs
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
2 Listeners
EP01 - In the Middle of a Murder | Shakespeare, "Macbeth"
Professing Literature
04/22/21 • 65 min
Macbeth, Act Two, Scene Two. In the inaugural episode of Professing Literature we examine a conversation held in the aftermath of one of literature’s most famous murders. Macbeth has just stabbed a king to gain a throne he will never sit upon securely. His tense exchange of words with Lady Macbeth discloses the moral and psychological stakes of the act, and hints at the consequences that will follow.
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
1 Listener
EP08 - Prufrock Among the Women | Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Part One)
Professing Literature
12/24/21 • 85 min
T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (Part One). This is the first of two episodes devoted to one of the most famous poems of the twentieth century, wherein Eliot’s enigmatic speaker invites us on an evening stroll through his memories, his fears and his inhibitions.
We'd love to hear what you think about this episode or any of the others. Please send questions, comments, or otherwise to [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Passage Music: “If My Companion” by John Dowland, performed by Jon Sayles
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
1 Listener
EP06 - Memories of Jane | Salinger, "The Catcher in the Rye"
Professing Literature
07/26/21 • 73 min
J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 11. Jane Gallagher had been the sort of girl who kept her kings in the back row. Is she still? As sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield unravels over the course of a few days in Manhattan his thoughts often return to Jane, who haunts his memory and is connected to so many of his most pressing obsessions: sex, vulnerability, change and authenticity.
As always, thanks for listening. Please send us your questions, comments, or otherwise to [email protected]. We love hearing from listeners!
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
1 Listener
EP17 – Bred in the Bone | Auden, September 1, 1939
Professing Literature
03/20/24 • 79 min
On the day the Nazis invade Poland, beginning the Second World War, a poet nurses a drink in a New York bar. The unwarlike Auden has just immigrated to the United States from England, yet he feels a shadow rising behind him in the east that no one will be able to escape. Auden looks without and within, contemplating the primordial destructive urge that seems to be in control of the nations, the way modern life exacerbates it, and the only possible solution.
We love hearing from all of you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Segment Music: "les rues la nuit seul" by Renderings
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
EP22 - Until the World Is Mended | A Reflection On J.R.R. Tolkien
Professing Literature
06/24/24 • 93 min
J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is one of the most beloved writers in the English tradition, though that popularity is a source of frustration to many supposedly sophisticated critics and scholars. However, his fans and his detractors alike often miss not just how carefully constructed his fiction is but how seriously it explores perennial human concerns: death, change, sacrifice, guilt, creation. Above all, his writing reflects a profound sense that though the world is broken it is beautiful and good and destined for ultimate renewal.
We love hearing from all of you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Segment Music: "The Birth of a Planet" by Falls
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
EP19 - Into the Storm | Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes” (Part Two)
Professing Literature
05/15/24 • 60 min
John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes,” (Part Two). Today we conclude our examination of Keats’ poem, looking at three pairs of stanzas that describe the strange courtship of Porphyro and Madeline and their escape from the castle.
We love hearing from all of you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Segment Music: "Careful Consideration" by John Bjork
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
EP16 - Family Breakfast | O’Connor, The Lame Shall Enter First
Professing Literature
08/21/23 • 97 min
Flannery O’Connor, The Lame Shall Enter First. Sheppard is a high-minded liberal. Norton is his disappointing young son, who seems indifferent to Sheppard’s moral crusades. In the opening paragraphs of this short story Flannery O’Connor presents the two of them at breakfast. Every detail of the depiction alludes to just what is wrong within this little family, highlighting Sheppard’s “telescopic philanthropism” which neglects what is right in front of him as he attempts to prove his goodness and fails utterly.
We love hearing from all of you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
Opening Segment Music: "Steep Climb" by Martin Klem
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
EP02 - Losing Your Way at a Picnic | Austen, "Emma"
Professing Literature
05/12/21 • 62 min
Emma, Vol 3, Chapter 7. A bright summer day in Surrey offers a sharp contrast to emotional storms. In this episode we discuss one of Jane Austen’s great set pieces, the picnic at Box Hill. Emma gets herself into deep trouble when she embarrasses an old friend, and the man who secretly loves her has to summon up the courage to tell her she was wrong.
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We started recording episodes about a year ago and are just now releasing them. We have a handful more of them to publish before we catch up. We hope you enjoy and thanks for listening!
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
EP15 – Take My Eyes | Shakespeare, King Lear (Part Two)
Professing Literature
06/20/23 • 89 min
William Shakespeare, King Lear, Act Four, Scene Five. Lear has lost his kingdom, his family, his security and his sanity. When he encounters his old friend the Earl of Gloucester, who has been savagely blinded, we witness one of the strangest and yet richest conversations in all of literature. Choked with both rage and guilt, Lear intercuts fantasies of revenge with flashes of moral clarity, and fumbles toward a profound articulation of what it means to suffer.
We love hearing from all of you. Please email us at [email protected].
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Theme Music: "Nobility" by Wicked Cinema
You can also send comments and questions to Professing Literature via Text Message. Click here!
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FAQ
How many episodes does Professing Literature have?
Professing Literature currently has 25 episodes available.
What topics does Professing Literature cover?
The podcast is about Poetry, Literature, Fiction, Classic Literature, Shakespeare, Podcasts, Books, Education and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Professing Literature?
The episode title 'EP07 - The Archer with the Bow | Beowulf' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Professing Literature?
The average episode length on Professing Literature is 74 minutes.
How often are episodes of Professing Literature released?
Episodes of Professing Literature are typically released every 39 days, 3 hours.
When was the first episode of Professing Literature?
The first episode of Professing Literature was released on Apr 22, 2021.
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