Ear Read This

S3E101 Donald Smith takes us on a literary tour of Edinburgh's Old Town, touching on the stories of writers including Robert Louis Stevenson, J. K. Rowling, Naomi Mitchison, Robert Burns and many more.    To order a copy of Donald's book, Our Storied Town, click here:    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edinburgh-Storied-Town-Donald-Smith/dp/180425150X   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E100 Miles Leeson returns to the podcast to talk about Iris Murdoch, this time concentrating on her short collection of poems, A Year of Birds.    Miles and Ash discuss connections between Murdoch's poetry and philosophy, the critical reputation of her poems and some of the folklore tradition associated with her chosen birds.    To pre-order a copy of Poems from an Attic:  https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470920/poems-from-an-attic-by-murdoch-iris/9781784746124 And to listen to The Iris Murdoch podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-iris-murdoch-society-podcast/id1506230228   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E99 Today Ash looks at not one but three short poems composed by Robert Burns on the subject of his 'elder brother in the Muse', Robert Fergusson.    Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E98 Today's special episode of Ear Read This was recorded on location in Portobello Library, where Ash interviewed novelist Alice Thompson about artificial intelligence, the effect of Edinburgh on the imagination of a writer and the influence of Sylvia Plath.  For copies of books mentioned in the podcast please visit Salt Publishing:  https://www.saltpublishing.com/products/chimera-9781784632540?srsltid=AfmBOoqcVviTu-PSkktp9HMgUK6lSgCGgxLZ48NqRlu-2CDT-vU5Ab0J Or Portobello Bookshop:  https://www.theportobellobookshop.com/contributed-by/alice-thompson And to read my review of Alice's latest novel, Chimera:  https://glasgowreviewofbooks.com/2024/02/07/a-shipload-of-symbolic-freight-on-chimera-by-alice-thompson/ Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E97 Iconic Edinburgh poet Robert Fergusson is the subject of today's podcast, as Ash looks at his breakthrough poem, 'The Daft Days':  Now mirk December's dowie face Glowrs owr the rigs wi sour grimace, While, thro' his minimum of space, The bleer-ey'd sun, Wi blinkin light and stealing pace, His race doth run. From naked groves nae birdie sings, To shepherd's pipe nae hillock rings, The breeze nae od'rous flavour brings From Borean cave, And dwyning nature droops her wings, Wi visage grave. Mankind but scanty pleasure glean Frae snawy hill or barren plain, Whan winter, ‘midst his nipping train, Wi frozen spear, Sends drift owr a' his bleak domain, And guides the weir. Auld Reikie! thou'rt the canty hole, A bield for many caldrife soul, Wha snugly at thine ingle loll, Baith warm and couth, While round they gar the bicker roll To weet their mouth. When merry Yule-day comes, I trou, You'll scantlins find a hungry mou; Sma are our cares, our stamacks fou O' gusty gear, And kickshaws, strangers to our view, Sin fairn-year. Ye browster wives, now busk ye braw, And fling your sorrows far awa; Then come and gie's the tither blaw Of reaming ale, Mair precious than the well of Spa, Our hearts to heal. Then, tho' at odds wi a' the warl', Amang oursels we'll never quarrel; Tho' Discord gie a canker'd snarl To spoil our glee, As lang's there's pith into the barrel We'll drink and ‘gree. Fidlers, your pins in temper fix, And roset weel your fiddle-sticks; But banish vile Italian tricks Frae out your quorum, Not fortes wi pianos mix – Gie's Tulloch Gorum. For nought can cheer the heart sae weel As can a canty Highland reel; It even vivifies the heel To skip and dance: Lifeless is he wha canna feel Its influence. Let mirth abound, let social cheer Invest the dawning of the year; Let blithesome innocence appear To crown our joy; Nor envy wi sarcastic sneer Our bliss destroy. And thou, great god of Aqua Vitae! Wha sways the empire of this city, When fou we're sometimes capernoity, Be thou prepar'd To hedge us frae that black banditti, The City Guard.   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E96 On today's episode, Ash looks at a poem from Frieda Hughes' debut collection, Wooroloo, discussing Hughes' longstanding connection with birds, and how 'Kookaburra' relates to the poetry of her parents, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath.    Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E95 A belated Burns Night celebration, featuring one of Burns' lesser liked poems. But one of the only poems to inspire a toilet seat. Tune in for an exploration of Burns' time in Edinburgh, the Enlightenment's paradoxical attitude to Scottishness, and lots of rhyme-whining.    Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E94 As a Halloween treat, Ash talks with the author of Ominous Whoosh: A Wandering Mind Returns to Twin Peaks, John Thorne. Tune in for a in-depth conversation about Twin Peaks with one of the leading scholars of the show.  Follow John on Twitter here: @thornewip And purchase Ominous Whoosh: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ominous-Whoosh-Wandering-Returns-Peaks-ebook/dp/B0BCNXTCLJhttp://www.patriciagrisafi.com/about-1   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E93 Ash is again joined by Trish Grisafi to talk about her book Breaking Down Plath as well as Plath's relationship with feminism, the changing reputation of Plath and the "Plath phase".  Follow Trish on Twitter here: @PatriciaGrisafi And visit her website: http://www.patriciagrisafi.com/about-1   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E92 Ash is joined by Patricia Grisafi to discuss 'Stings' by Sylvia Plath, the third poem in her Bee Sequence. Tune in for a conversation about red comets, queen bees, and scapegoats. Follow Trish on Twitter here: @PatriciaGrisafi And visit her website: http://www.patriciagrisafi.com/about-1   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E91 On today's extended interview, Ash talks some more to Peter K. Steinberg, about his work as co-editor of the Collected Letters of Sylvia Plath and The Collected Writings of Assia Wevill. Follow Peter on Twitter here: @sylviaplathinfo And visit his website https://sylviaplathinfo.blogspot.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E90 Ash is joined again by Peter K. Steinberg to discuss Sylvia Plath's late poem 'The Swarm'. Tune in to hear about Plath's interest in Napoleon, her experiences bee-keeping and Peter's theory that The Swarm may contain coded references to Assia Wevill.  Follow Peter on Twitter here: @sylviaplathinfo And visit his website https://sylviaplathinfo.blogspot.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E89 Ash is joined by Peter K. Steinberg to discuss Sylvia Plath's fascinating poem, 'Electra on Azalea Path'. Tune in for a discussion about reckless psychoanalysis, bumblebees (and their ways) and... Tolkien?  Follow Peter on Twitter here: @sylviaplathinfo And visit his website https://sylviaplathinfo.blogspot.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E88 Ash is joined again by Kate Levey to talk more about her mother, Brigid Brophy: her work outside of writing, her relationship with Iris Murdoch and her reputation today.  Follow Kate on Twitter here: @brophylevey And visit her website www.brigidbrophy.com If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E87 "Mozart, sex and death" is in store today, as Ash and his guest Kate Levey discuss her mother's brilliant 1964 novel, The Snow Ball.  Follow Kate on Twitter here: @brophylevey And visit her website www.brigidbrophy.com If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E86 Following on from episodes on The Spanish Tragedy and The Birth of Merlin, Darren Freebury-Jones joins Ash once again, this time to talk about his own work on Thomas Kyd and early modern authorship studies.  Follow Darren on Twitter here: @Freeburian And order a copy of his book, Shakespeare's Tutor, here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526164742/ If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E85 Ash is joined again by Shakespearean scholar, Darren Freebury-Jones to discuss a rarely-performed Jacobean play, The Birth of Merlin or The Child Hath Found its Father. Their conversation takes in the play's controversial authorship question, the special effects of early modern theatre and Arthurian drama.  Follow Darren on Twitter here: @Freeburian And order a copy of his book, Shakespeare's Tutor, here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526164742/ If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E84 Ash is joined by Shakespearean scholar, Darren Freebury-Jones to discuss Thomas Kyd's hugely influential play, The Spanish Tragedy. As well as talking about Darren's specialist subject, the influence of Kyd on Shakespeare, in today's wide-ranging episode we talk about the genre of revenge, the contemporary religious crises in Kyd's England, and the playwright's own sufferings at the hands of the Elizabethan police state.  Follow Darren on Twitter here: @Freeburian And order a copy of his book, Shakespeare's Tutor, here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526164742/ If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E83 To celebrate Burns Night, Ash talks about Robert Burns' Now Westlin Winds, a song written at the very start of the Bard's career. Tune in for a discussion of the circumstances that inspired the song, and the long and fruitful afterlife it has had in the repertoire of folk-singers from Burns' day to our own.   Songs featured:   I Had A Horse and I Had Nae Mair by Katherine Campbell: https://youtu.be/5W3p3fpm-Cs   Now Westlin Winds (Port Gordon Version) by Andrew Calhoun:   Lady Keith Laments by Jock Tamsons Bairds: https://youtu.be/xzse2ZtKfQg     Ally Croker by Katherine Liley Lovaig: https://youtu.be/ACJyF94xpeM   Now Westlin Winds by Dick Gaughan: https://youtu.be/ZDB0P57nQds   Noe Westlin Winds at the Scottish Parliament, 2011: https://youtu.be/DmlNmuEl310  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E82 Ash is joined once again by poet Sarah Corbett to discuss her writing, both poetry and fiction, her vision for The Sylvia Plath Literary Festival and its accompanying anthology, After Sylvia. Follow the festival for updates on digital events here:  @plathfest And follow Sarah on Twitter:  @sarahcorbett70 If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E81 Poet, novelist and Plath Fest Director Sarah Corbett joins Ash to discuss Plath's November Graveyard; a poem about death, resurrection and the Yorkshire countryside.  Follow Sarah on Twitter:  @sarahcorbett70 If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E80 Donnie Secreast joins Ash again to talk more about Hardcastle Crags, environmental themes in Plath's work and her search for a 'universal element'.  Read Donnie's article here:  muse.jhu.edu/article/750706 And follow her on Twitter:  @donniesecreast If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E79 Donnie Secreast joins Ash to discuss Plath's nonchalantly brilliant poem, Hardcastle Crags. Set in the Yorkshire Dales, of great interest for its ecological themes and musical intricacy.  Read Donnie's article here:  muse.jhu.edu/article/750706 And follow her on Twitter:  @donniesecreast If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E78 Emily Van Duyne returns to talk about her upcoming book, Loving Sylvia Plath, and further explore some of the biographical themes mentioned in yesterday's episode on 'The Jailor'.  You can read some of Emily's work here: https://lithub.com/author/emily-van-duyne/ And follow her on Twitter:  @emilyvanduyne If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E77 Emily Van Duyne is Ash's special guest for today's episode on Sylvia Plath's poem, The Jailor. A portrait of abuse, gas-lighting and 'inescapable femininity', the poem has recently been studied by Plath scholars including Emily for its use of anti-black racist language.  You can read some of Emily's work here: https://lithub.com/author/emily-van-duyne/ And follow her on Twitter:  @emilyvanduyne If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E76 Today Ash discusses the first story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, in which we see the world created, and populated with its first inhabitants.  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E75 Today's exclusive episode takes us to home turf with this Edinburgh based story of resurrection men... If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E73 Today I'm finally talking about Olalla! The crazy Spanish vampire story of Stevenson's that's come up on the podcast at least once before... If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E72 We've reached the fifth Marlowe adventure, The Little Sister. Tune in to hear about what critics call Chandler's "Hollywood novel", and what the author himself called "a gaudy piece of sarcasm masquerading as a mystery". We discuss Chandler's comedy, his cantankerous mood at the time of writing and his brushes with film legends like Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock. If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E72 Ash discusses the fourth Marlowe novel, The Lady in the Lake. Tune in to hear about Arthurian references, Raymond Chandler's women, Marlowe's men and once again, fish. If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E71 In Philip Marlowe's third outing, he is on the trail of a missing Brasher Doubloon. Tracking down the coin, he unravels a dark family secret and a Beverly Hills murder.  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E70 The second Philip Marlowe adventure features the unforgettable Moose Malloy, bent Bay City cops and a dame to kill for.  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E69 It's back to Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses as Ash tells the story of a wrathful Jove, destroying mankind with a great flood. But what does Ovid's flood have in common with the flood found in the Book of Genesis? Is this genocide or editing? And what is left, once the waters have settled?  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E68 Today, I'm analysing Sylvia Plath's poem Full Fathom Five, written in 1958 and eventually collected in her book The Colossus. Taking its title from Shakespeare's The Tempest, Full Fathom Five is full of classic Plath imagery: the seldom-surfacing sea-god muse, the lost father and the seascape of her childhood.  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Merchandise!  https://ear-read-this.creator-spring.com/   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E67 Paul Edmondson joins Ash to talk about Shakespeare biography, re-evaluating the sonnets and recording a Shakespeare diary.  Listen to Open Your Shakespeares here:  https://soundcloud.com/pauledmondson/sets/open-your-shakespeares Find out more about Paul's work here:  https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/news-media/spokespeople/paul-edmondson/ If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E66 Such stuff! Joining Ash on an enchanted island is special guest Paul Edmondson to discuss Shakespeare's final solo-authored play, The Tempest.  Find out more about Paul's work here:  https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/news-media/spokespeople/paul-edmondson/ If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E65 Ash analyses Robert Burns' comical kirk-tirlin poem, "Address to the Deil".  If you enjoy my work and would like to support Ear Read This, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/earreadthis Tam o'Shanter episode on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpyEBQBGVIA&list=PLS0E9UVUeOexDjAUaFqz2Dju-j5HQCi6b&index=19&t=972s   Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E64 Miles Leeson joins Ash on the podcast to discuss the work of Iris Murdoch, as well as his own work at the Iris Murdoch Research Centre.  The Iris Murdoch Society Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m6iYZJIgHIuavTtZTevyD?si=2a53af4b74034d48 The Iris Murdoch Society: https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk The Iris Murdoch Research Centre:  https://www.chi.ac.uk/research/research-areas/humanities/the-iris-murdoch-research-centre/   Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Outro: Iris Murdoch in conversation with Frank Kermode @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E63 Ash discusses the 25th novel by Iris Murdoch with his special guest, Miles Leeson. Join us for a trip to Murdochland, for the story of a fumbled murder attempt, warring magicians and the quest for justice, all taking place in contemporary London.  The Iris Murdoch Society Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2m6iYZJIgHIuavTtZTevyD?si=2a53af4b74034d48 The Iris Murdoch Society: https://irismurdochsociety.org.uk The Iris Murdoch Research Centre:  https://www.chi.ac.uk/research/research-areas/humanities/the-iris-murdoch-research-centre/   Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Outro: Iris Murdoch in conversation with Frank Kermode @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E62 Today Ash discusses one of the most famous poems of the First World War, Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est. Tune in for an exploration of guilt and natural disorder in this "anti-souvenir" from the trenches.  Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: Christopher Hitchens reading "Dulce Et Decorum Est"  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E61 Today Ash is joined again by special guest Emily Ingram to discuss her play-in-progress, based on the life of Mary Shelley.  You can find out more about Emily's work and her theatre company, Some Kind of Theatre, here:  https://www.somekindoftheatre.co.uk/ Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Bell Jar (1979) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E60 Join us for a dissection of Mary Shelley's iconic novel, Frankenstein, the tale of an ambitious young Swiss scientist, who in the course of penetrating the deepest mysteries of nature, creates artificial life.  Ash's special guest this week is Emily Ingram, theatre practitioner and writer who is currently working on a play based on Shelley's life.  You can find out more about Emily's work and her theatre company, Some Kind of Theatre, here:  https://www.somekindoftheatre.co.uk/ Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Bell Jar (1979) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E59 Joining Ash to talk about Sylvia Plath is Dr. Gail Crowther, whose latest book, Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz looks at the rebellions of Plath and her fellow poet, Anne Sexton. If you'd like to buy a copy of the book, you can do so here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1982138394?linkCode=gs2&tag=siscuk-21 Alternatively you can find out more of Gail's work on her website:  https://gailcrowther.com/ Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Bell Jar (1979) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E58 Today, Ash is joined by Dr. Gail Crowther to discuss Sylvia Plath's iconic novel, The Bell Jar. Tune in for a conversation about the book's strange publication history, the perils of reading it as pure autobiography, and an exploration of some of Plath's often unsettling and grotesque imagery. Check back tomorrow for an extended interview with Gail, and in the mean time, find out more about her work here: https://gailcrowther.com/ Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Bell Jar (1979) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis

S3E57 Ash is once again joined by Eilish Mulholland of the Plath and Co. podcast, to talk about Sylvia Plath. In a wide-ranging conversation they discuss Plath and Hughes' use of the occult, pandemic podcasting, the best biographies and fictional depictions of Plath and the hypnotising effect of hearing her voice.  You can find Eilish's podcast, Plath & Co, here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-611388248 Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: A Birthday Present (1963) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

S3E56 Ash is joined by writer, researcher and fellow podcaster Eilish Mulholland to discuss Sylvia Plath's late poem, A Birthday Present.  In it, a woman is taunted by a mysterious veiled gift, the significance of which is initially unclear.  You can find Eilish's podcast, Plath & Co, here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-611388248 Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: A Birthday Present (1963) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

S3E55 Gods, werewolves and giants abound as Ash takes a look at the story of Lycaon in Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphoses.  Access bonus content here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: An American Werewolf in London (1981) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

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/9781472410764   You can also find my Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

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.routledge.com/Annotating-Modernism-Marginalia-and-Pedagogy-from-Virginia-Woolf-to-the/Golden/p/book/9781472410764   You can also find my Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

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 Patreon page here:  Ear Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis  

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 Read This is creating Podcasts | Patreon Title Music: 'Not Drunk' by The Joy Drops. All other music by Epidemic Sound.  Intro: Excalibur (1981) @earreadthis earreadthis@gmail.com facebook.com/earreadthis