The Norton Library Podcast

In Part 1 of our discussion on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women , we welcome editor Sarah Blackwood to discuss the importance of Alcott's family background; her distinct authorial voice in books, journals, and letters; and how her time as a Civil War nurse led to her emergence into the publishing world.  Sarah Blackwood is Professor of English at Pace University, where she teaches course...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence , editor Sheila Liming returns to discuss challenges for first-time readers, the correlation between fluctuations in Wharton's reputation and historical literary (and political) trends, and whether or not The Age of Innocence is truly a love story.  Sheila Liming is Associate Professor at Champlain College in Burlington,...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence , we welcome editor Sheila Liming to discuss the author's friendship with Henry James, a culture of elitism in New York, and the ironic meaning of "innocence" in the novel.  Sheila Liming is Associate Professor at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. She is the author of What a Library Means to a Woman: Ed...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises , editor Verna Kale returns to discuss the vintage bullfighting posters that inspired the cover of the Norton Library edition, a "hot take" on the traditional hero of the book, and the loss of sentence-level writing in adaptations of the story.   Verna Kale is an Associate Research Professor of English at the Penns...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises , we welcome editor Verna Kale to discuss a young Hemingway's life experience leading up to writing the novel, his captivation with bullfighting and insider knowledge, the distinction between fairytale and reality, and the lack of a moral of the story.  Verna Kale is an Associate Research Professor of English at the Pen...

In Part 2 of our discussion on John Milton's Paradise Lost , editor Stephen B. Dobranski returns to discuss his own first encounter with Milton in a high school classroom, the experience of editing the Norton Library edition from historical source texts, and how students should build up their Milton muscles by reading other poetry before turning to Paradise Lost .  Stephen B. Dobranski is Dis...

In Part 1 of our discussion on John Milton's Paradise Lost , we welcome editor Stephen B. Dobranski to discuss Milton's life in the midst of religious and political controversy, pamphlet wars and the representation of failed revolution through writing, and Milton's characterization of Eve.  Stephen B. Dobranski is Distinguished University Professor of English at Georgia State Univer...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Ovid's Metamorphoses , translator Charles Martin returns to discuss his first encounter with Ovid, the potential to learn Greek and Roman mythology through reading Metamorphoses , and other scholars' work with the text in the twenty-first century.  Charles Martin was born in New York City in 1942. He earned a Ph. D. in English from the State University of N...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Ovid's Metamorphoses , we welcome translator Charles Martin to discuss Ovid's well-documented life and his exile, the popularity and subversiveness of Ovid's writings, and the creation of a new epic form through the lack of one epic hero.  Charles Martin was born in New York City in 1942. He earned a Ph. D. in English from the State University of New Y...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Sinclair's The Jungle , editor Kenneth W. Warren returns to talk about how the novel stopped him in his tracks while reading it for school, the compelling question of the relationship between literature and propaganda, and the continued relevance of The Jungle today.    Kenneth W. Warren is Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Eng...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Upton Sinclair's The Jungle , we welcome editor Kenneth W. Warren to discuss Sinclair's background, how his political commitments informed his literary endeavors, The Jungle 's effect on regulatory efforts in the United States, and the techniques the novel uses to achieve its engrossing effect. Kenneth W. Warren is Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Hobbes's Leviathan , editor David Johnston discusses his personal history with Hobbes and the Leviathan , common challenges first-time readers face, his favorite line from the book, his approach to teaching the work, the details of the book's famous engraved title page, and more. David Johnston teaches political philosophy at Columbia University, where he h...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan , we welcome editor David Johnston to discuss Hobbes's life and the historical context of Leviathan , the book's central thesis and argument, and its controversial reception through time. David Johnston teaches political philosophy at Columbia University, where he has served as Nell and Herbert M. Singer Professor of Contempor...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , editor Caroline Levine discusses the lasting cultural impact of the novella, common challenges to teaching it, some of additional short stories by Stevenson which she included in the Norton Library edition, and more. Caroline Levine is David and Kathleen Ryan Professor of the Humanities and P...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , we welcome editor Caroline Levine to discuss Stevenson's biography; some of the novella's philosophical, scientific, and psychological themes; and how it fits in with other trends in late-nineteenth-century British literature. Caroline Levine is David and Kathleen Ryan Professor of...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility , editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow discusses her own history with Austen, common misconceptions about the novel, her favorite line in the novel, a Sense and Sensibility -inspired playlist, and more. Stephanie Insley Hershinow is an associate professor of English at Baruch College, CUNY, where she specializes in novel theory a...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Austen's Sense and Sensibility , we welcome editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow to discuss Austen's biography, including some misconceptions about her; the place of Sense and Sensibility in Austen's bibliography; the meaning of the novel's title in its context; and some of the work's major characters. Stephanie Insley Hershinow is an associate...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Augustine's Confessions , translator Peter Constantine discusses his own history with the text and how he came to translate it, the stylistic accomplishment of the Confessions , his translation process, and more. Peter Constantine is the director of the Program in Literary Translation at the University of Connecticut, the publisher of World Poetry Books, and edi...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Augustine's Confessions , we welcome translator Peter Constantine to discuss the historical context in which Augustine of Hippo wrote the Confessions , the genre of the text, the lasting effect it has had on religious and secular intellectual traditions, and some of the touchstone episodes found in the work. Peter Constantine is the director of the Program in Li...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Dante's Inferno , translator Michael Palma discusses his own history with the poem and how he came to translate it, the terza rima rhyme scheme Dante employs, and in what ways the Divine Comedy is really a comedy.  Michael Palma is the award-winning translator of Diego Valeri and Guido Gozzano, among others. He has published four collections of his own verse: Th...

In Part 1 of our discussion on Dante's Inferno , we welcome translator Michael Palma to discuss Dante's life and the context in which he wrote the Inferno , the narrative structure of The Divine Comedy , and what makes the Inferno so durably compelling.   Michael Palma is the award-winning translator of Diego Valeri and Guido Gozzano, among others, and he has published four collections o...

In Part 2 of our discussion on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass , editor Joshua Bennett discusses the cover of the Norton Library edition, approaching the text as history and as literature, how Douglass teaches us to read, the musicality of the book, a Narrative -inspired playlist, and more! Joshua Bennett is a professor of literature at MIT. He is the author of five books of poetry, cr...

In Part 1 of our discussion on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass , we welcome editor Joshua Bennett to discuss Douglass's Narrative as a type of hero's journey, Douglass's political project in writing the book, and how Douglass closes the Narrative with a statement on true Christianity. Joshua Bennett is a professor of literature at MIT. He is the author of five books...

In Part 2 of our discussion on The Awakening, editor Laura Fisher tells us about her first encounter with the novel, discusses her approach to teaching it, explores her favorite line of the text, provides a killer Awakening playlist, and more! Laura R. Fisher is an associate professor of English at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the author of Reading for Reform: The Social Work of Literat...

In Part 1 of our discussion on The Awakening , we welcome editor Laura Fisher to discuss Kate Chopin's writing career, the novel's reception and themes, as well as some of its major characters. Laura R. Fisher is an associate professor of English at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is the author of Reading for Reform: The Social Work of Literature in the Progressive Era . To learn mo...