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S3E54 Today, Ash is once again joined by Amanda Golden, to discuss her book Annotating Modernism, a study of the marginalia of Sylvia Plath, John Berryman, Anne Sexton and others.  Check out Amanda's work here:  https://www.agoldenphd.com/ And purchase a copy of her book here:  https://www.routledge.com/Annotating-Modernism-Marginalia-and-Pedagogy-from-Virginia-Woolf-to-the/Golden/p/book/978147241...

S3E53 'I shall never get you put together entirely,' begins 'The Colossus', which later became the title poem of Plath's collection published in 1960. Today Ash is joined by Amanda Golden, author of Annotating Modernism, to discuss the poem, and Plath's life at the time of writing.  Check out Amanda's work here:  https://www.agoldenphd.com/ And purchase a copy of her book here:  https://www.routle...

S3E52 Ash is joined once again by Mark Walker, who has written the first English verse translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Life of Merlin. Tune in for a conversation about the process of translation, eccentricity and the Latin Hobbit.  Check out Mark's translation and other publications here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Walker/e/B002BODMEY/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1 And check out our Pat...

S3E51 On today's episode we return to Geoffrey of Monmouth, and look at his narrative poem, The Life of Merlin.  Joining Ash on the podcast is Mark Walker, who has written the first English translation of the poem.  Check out Mark's translation and other publications here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mark-Walker/e/B002BODMEY/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1 And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear R...

S3E50 What did actors in Shakespeare's day sound like? To answer that question, Ash is once again joined by Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast and expert in the field of original pronunciation.  Check out Ben's work here:  http://www.bencrystal.com/   And find him on Twitter @bencrystal And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Dr...

S3E49 We have finally arrived at the end of Shakespeare's History plays, with the riotous Richard III. Joining Ash to discuss the play is Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast and specialist in the field of original pronunciation, which we'll be discussing more on tomorrow's extended interview.  Check out Ben's work here:  http://www.bencrystal.com/ And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear...

S3E48 Ash is once again joined by biographer Carl Rollyson to discuss his biographies of Sylvia Plath, and some of the challenges facing those who write about her. Find out more about Carl's work here:  Carl Rollyson - Works   Listen to 'A Life in Biography' on Spotify here:  https://open.spotify.com/show/30NNvRbagc74DpV44Eblip?si=YU1EBtCITvW987sZNNEqbg&dl_branch=1   And check out our Patreon page...

S3E47 Ash is joined by biographer Carl Rollyson to discuss the life of one of the greatest twentieth century poets, Sylvia Plath. Find out more about Carl's work here:  Carl Rollyson - Works   Listen to 'A Life in Biography' on Spotify here:  https://open.spotify.com/show/30NNvRbagc74DpV44Eblip?si=YU1EBtCITvW987sZNNEqbg&dl_branch=1   And check out our Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating...

S3E46 Ash is joined once again by Andrew Lycett to talk more about Arthur Conan Doyle - his spiritualism, his global politics and his round of golf with Rudyard Kipling. To find out more about Andrew's work click below:  Amazon.co.uk : andrew lycett   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebo...

S3E45 Conan Doyle's historical novel The White Company is today's subject of discussion; another of Edinburgh's most famous literary residents tackling material previously used by Shakespeare. A tale of a ragtag gang of archers in the Hundred Year's War, The White Company was once the most widely published historical novel after Ivanhoe. So why is it so rarely read today? Joining Ash to discuss Th...

S3E44 A fascinating conversation today that's a must-listen for all Stevenson enthusiasts. Ash talks more to Jeremy Hodges about Stevenson's time in Paris, the damaging influence of Victorian Edinburgh and the story of Katharine de Mattos. Katharine was Stevenson's cousin and fellow author, who Jeremy has written about in his latest book, Mrs Jekyll and Cousin Hyde.  You can read Jeremy's biograph...

S3E43 We're taking a break from Shakespeare but not from the Wars of the Roses. Today we look at another portrait of the civil war in Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow.  Joining Ash to talk about this lesser known novel by RLS is journalist and author Jeremy Hodges. Tune in next time to hear more about Jeremy's work. You can read his biography of Stevenson, Lamplit Vicious Fairyland, here:...

S3E42 In the final Part of Henry VI, we see England descend fully into chaos. Today we discuss violence, ill-blowing winds and the rise of one of Shakespeare's most famous villains.  Joining Ash once again are Hailey Bachrach and Owen Horsley, who have worked on adaptations of the plays for the Globe and the RSC.  Selections for the play are read by actor Danielle Farrow. You can find more informa...

S3E41 Today, Ash talks more to his special guest for the Henry VI episodes, Owen Horsley, about adapting Shakespeare, cutting Henry VI, and working for the RSC. You can visit Owen's website here: https://www.owenhorsley.com And get a glimpse of the RSC's The Wars of the Roses here:  https://www.rsc.org.uk/the-wars-of-the-roses-part-1 And follow Owen on Twitter: @OwenHorsley   Title Music: 'Not Dru...

S3E40 It's Part 2 of Henry VI and things are going from bad to worse for King and country. Tune in to hear about witchcraft, beheadings, royal adultery and the beginning of the Wars of the Roses.  Joining Ash once again are Hailey Bachrach and Owen Horsley, who have worked on adaptations of the plays for the Globe and the RSC.  Selections for the play are read by actor Danielle Farrow. You can fin...

S3E39 Today, Ash talks more to his special guest for the Henry VI episodes, Hailey Bachrach, about adapting Shakespeare, diverse casting and the "protagonist vacuum" in Henry VI. You can visit Hailey's website here: https://haileybachrach.com/about/ Sign up to her newsletter, Dramatis Personae: shakespeare.substack.com And follow her on Twitter: @hbachrach   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Dro...

S3E38 Today, we begin an ambitious podcast trilogy on Shakespeare's earliest history plays - the three parts of Henry VI.  Picking up from where we left off, today's play opens with the funeral of Henry V. For his infant son, the first phase of his reign will be threatened by a French renaissance, and rumbles of civil war in his own country.   Joining Ash to discuss the Wars of the Roses and Joan...

S3E37 John Steinbeck’s The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights was published posthumously in 1976. Though unfinished, it is a fascinating record of a legendary American writer attempting to translate Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur into modern language. Tune in to learn all about Steinbeck’s process, his interpretation of Malory as a novelist and the mafia connection to King Arthur’s Knights. Ash...

S3E36 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court  is Mark Twain's rollicking attack on the Arthurian romances. Join us today as we discuss Twain, typewriters, and dynamiting wizards out of the water.  Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Sound Bite: The Simpsons.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis   R9...

S3E35 Today Ash is joined once again by special guest Aaron Sidwell to talk more about his recent performance of Henry V at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester, his YouTube Series Bard from the Barn and the future of theatre in a post-Covid world.  Watch Aaron's production here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynSpVRu_8kE Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound. ...

S3E34 We reach the end of Shakespeare's second cycle of English History plays with Henry V - the story of England's glorious King and his famous victories in France. Joining Ash to discuss the play is special guest Aaron Sidwell, who has recently played Henry in a production at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester.  Watch Aaron's production here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynSpVRu_8kE Title Music...

S3E33 Following on from our recent episode on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, today Ash talks more to Debbie Cannon about her solo show based on the poem, which premiered at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Find out more about Debbie's play Green Knight here: www.debbiecannon.org/ Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earre...

S3E32 Following on from yesterday's episode, today's podcast is an extended interview with Sir Stanley Wells, in which he tells us more about his recent publication All the Sonnets of Shakesepare, co-authored with Paul Edmondson.  You can buy yourself a copy here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Sonnets-Shakespeare-William/dp/1108490395/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S71PL6YL4C9I&dchild=1&keywords=all+the+sonnets+...

S3E31 In 1609, for the first time, all 154 of Shakespeare's Sonnets were published. Initially attracting little attention, in the centuries that followed they have been censored, rearranged and scrutinised by critics and cryptomaniacs alike. To discuss the reasons why, Ash is joined by a very special guest: Sir Stanley Wells, who has recently published with Paul Edmondson a new edition of the sonn...

S3E30 A new volume of foul papers featuring a newly found Ted Hughes recording, the fiendish murder of Fudge Lullaby, the return of Haggis McTouristboard and a very special mystery interviewee for Adam...  Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  www.patreon.com/earreadthis @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis