Lit Century

The second part of a discussion between co-hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols about the first ten books discussed on Lit Century. How did suffering come to be seen as cool in the twentieth century? Is this related to the fact that most of the writers discussed had domestic help, and that the perspective of the people doing the cleaning is notably absent from their work? Learn more about you...

Co-hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols look back on the first ten books on Lit Century and what they tell us about the mindset of the 20th century. Why was the 20th century so obsessed with what is normal, and what is transgressive? How did normality become uncool? 20th century literature also tended to fetishize pain, particularly the pain of marginalized people. Why was this, and what does...

In this episode, writer, actor and director John Cotter joins hosts Catherine Nichols and Sandra Newman to discuss Wallace Shawn's 1996 play "The Designated Mourner," about the fate of intellectuals during an authoritarian coup in an unnamed country. John Cotter directed The Designated Mourner in Denver in 2013 & 2014. There's a chapter about one of the performances in his forthcoming memoir,Losin...

In this episode, Catherine Nichols and Sandra Newman continue their discussion of V. C. Andrews's Flowers in the Attic (1979) and the story behind the story—particularly the ableism Andrews encountered in how she was marketed to her readership, plus her strong opinions on gender that didn't stop her publisher from hiring a male ghostwriter to write under her name after her death in 1986. Learn mor...

In this episode, Catherine Nichols and Sandra Newman talk about V. C. Andrews's Flowers in the Attic (1979), focusing on how the book is an allegory for the treatment of people with disabilities; Andrews herself had a serious spinal injury and used a wheelchair for most of her life. The hosts also discuss the book's notoriously transgressive subject matter, and how it's been dismissed as trash, la...

In this episode, author and editor Benjamin Dreyer joins hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols to discuss the all-time great haunted house novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Benjamin Dreyer is the author of Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, a sharp, funny guide to style and grammar, which also happens to be a New York Times bestseller. He is als...

In this episode, author and editor Benjamin Dreyer joins hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols to discuss the all-time great haunted house novel The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Benjamin Dreyer is the author of Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, a sharp, funny guide to style and grammar, which also happens to be a. New York Times bestseller. He is al...

Isaac Butler joins hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols to discuss James Baldwin's play "Blues for Mister Charlie" (1964), written to address the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, In this episode we discuss the troubled performance history of the play. We also talk about how Baldwin approached the writing of a play (a genre he generally disliked), and his place in the history of African-Am...

In this episode, Isaac Butler joins hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols to discuss James' Baldwin's play "Blues for Mister Charlie" (1964). It was written to address the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, but Baldwin alters characters and events in surprising and significant ways, notably—and, at first glance, perversely—focusing the narrative on the moral struggles of a white lawyer. This...

In this episode about Sylvia Plath's 1965 poetry collection Ariel, writer and critic Elisa Gabbert joins the hosts to talk about the evolution of Plath's poetry and how her work turned into a cultural signal for "angry women" (see: Kat Stratford, 10 Things I Hate About You). Content note: Suicide and self-harm are discussed in this episode. Elisa Gabbert is the author of the poetry collections, L'...

In the second episode about Kristin Lavransdatter, the trilogy of historical novels that won Sigrid Undset the Nobel Prize, the hosts discuss the provincial politics of the early Nobel Prize with Timothy Paulson (whose great-grandfather was another winner), and talk about the novel's idiosyncratic treatment of Catholicism and paganism. You can find some supplementary reading about the book here an...

Welcome to Lit Century: 100 Years, 100 Books. Combining literary analysis with an in-depth look at historical context, hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols choose one book for each year of the 20th century, and—along with special guests—will take a deep dive into a hundred years of literature. On this episode, Sandra and Catherine discuss the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy by Sigrid Undset. Le...

In this episode, co-hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols invite guest Ellen Tarlow to discuss Arnold Lobel's classic Frog and Toad series, beginning with Frog and Toad Are Friends from 1970. Among other subjects, the episode discusses Lobel's preoccupation with solitude, his subtle handling of the minutiae of relationships, and how his work intersects with his personal biography (you can read...

In this week's episode, historian April Holm talks with co-hosts Nichols and Newman about Cheaper by the Dozen, a 1948 bestseller whose air of wholesome family fun has gradually shifted it into the children's literature category. Written by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, it's a comedy memoir of being raised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, pioneering time-motion study experts who a...

In this week's episode, historian April Holm talks with co-hosts Nichols and Newman about Cheaper by the Dozen, a 1948 bestseller whose air of wholesome family fun has gradually shifted it into the children's literature category. Written by Frank Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, it's a comedy memoir of being raised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, pioneering time-motion study experts who a...

In today's episode, Nichols and Newman discuss Nella Larsen's 1929 Harlem Renaissance classic Passing (1929) with novelist Kaitlyn Greenidge, focusing on the history and cultural significance of Black people passing as white, and how this and other issues are treated in the novel. Kaitlyn Greenidge is the author of We Love You, Charlie Freeman, which was chosen as one of the New York Times Critics...

In today's episode, Nichols and Newman discuss Nella Larsen's 1929 Harlem Renaissance classic Passing (1929) with guest Megan Abbott, focusing on its groundbreaking treatment of gender and sexuality. Megan Abbott is the bestselling author of many novels, including Give Me Your Hand, which won the Anthony Award, and the forthcoming The Turnout, (which you can pre-order here). She has also written f...

Hosts Catherine Nichols and Sandra Newman discuss the novel Nightwood, focusing in this episode on the extraordinary life and career of its author, Djuna Barnes, who lived among the most extreme personalities of 1920s Paris and was celebrated as one of Modernism's great writers, but then withdrew into total seclusion for the last 40 years of her life. For some background on this episode, here's Ro...

Hosts Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols discuss the Modernist classic Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, focusing on its treatment of eugenics and LGBT issues. For those who want to know more: here's some extra reading on lesbian legend Joe Carstairs; https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v20/n05/terry-castle/if-everybody-had-a-wadley And here's more on the pioneering work of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für...