Podcasts about o pioneers

Tonight, we'll read “O Pioneers!”  a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather. Set on the windswept prairies of Nebraska, “O Pioneers!” tells the story of Alexandra Bergson, a determined young woman of Swedish-American descent who takes over her family's farm.  Cather's quiet, poetic prose captures both the hardships and beauty of prairie life at the turn of the twentieth century, and Alexandra's journey reflects broader themes of endurance, transformation, and connection to the land. The novel marked the beginning of Cather's Great Plains Trilogy, which also includes The Song of the Lark and My Ántonia. Though she wrote this trilogy while living in New York City, Cather drew inspiration from her own upbringing in Nebraska and from the lives of immigrants who shaped the American Midwest. — read by 'V' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Dorian, Frances, and Rebecca as they discuss O PIONEERS! by Willa Cather, and chat about their current reading. For our next episode, we will discuss The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in early June. Want to support the show? Visit us at Bookshop.org or click on the links below and buy some books! Books mentioned: • O Pioneers! by Willa Cather • My Antonia by Willa Cather • The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather • A Lost Lady by Willa Cather • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman • Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin • Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin • Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin • Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood • The Selected Letters of Willa Cather • Chasing Bright Medusas by Benjamin Taylor • Willa Cather: Double Lives by Hermione Lee • The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett You might also be interested in "The Peace When It Settled: Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional" by Rohan Maitzen. Further resources and links are available on our website at onebrightbook.com. Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org. Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail Find us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/ Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/ Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

You had questions; we did our best to answer them. It's the final episode on O Pioneers!, and we're sad to see it go. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Sean describes how he wasn't prepared for the ending of this book and we discuss the precision of the writing in some of the key scenes. Plus: Is it more tragic or comic (in the literary sense), what does the book have to say about justice, and much more. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

What do we make of Carl's choices (and semi-pursuit) of Alexandra? Does he have anything to offer her? What makes Marie such a compelling character? Plus, how Marie and Emil are counterpoints to Carl and Alexandra. This and much more are topics of discussion on this week's discussion of Willa Cather's modern classic. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to One Bright Book! Join our hosts Rebecca, Dorian, and Frances as they discuss THE TREES by Percival Everett, and chat about their current reading. For our next episode, we will discuss O PIONEERS! by Willa Cather. We would love to have you read along with us, and join us for our conversation coming to you in late April. Books mentioned: The Trees by Percival Everett James by Percival Everett Erasure by Percival Everett God's Country by Percival Everett Sonnets for a Missing Key by Percival Everett The Sellout by Paul Beatty Scaffolding by Lauren Elkin On the Calculation of Volume, Volume 1 by Solvej Balle, translated from the Dutch by Barbara J. Haveland Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated from the Romanian by Sean Cotter Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa, translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami, translated from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda Eurotrash by Christian Kracht, translated from the German by Daniel Bowles On a Woman's Madness by Astrid Roemer, translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott Herman Melville: A Biography, Volume 1, 1819-1851 by Hershel Parker Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie The Parisian by Isabella Hammad O Pioneers! By Willa Cather You might also be interested in: I'm Getting Out of Her by Leo Robson - https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n21/leo-robson/i-m-getting-out-of-here TomorrowTalks with Percival Everett: The Trees - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irzJhamPVJw Further resources and links are available on our website at onebrightbook.com. Browse our bookshelves at Bookshop.org. Comments? Write us at onebrightmail at gmail Find us on Bluesky at https://bsky.app/profile/onebrightbook.bsky.social Frances: https://bsky.app/profile/nonsuchbook.bsky.social Dorian: https://bsky.app/profile/ds228.bsky.social Rebecca: https://bsky.app/profile/ofbooksandbikes.bsky.social Dorian's blog: https://eigermonchjungfrau.blog/ Rebecca's newsletter: https://readingindie.substack.com/ Our theme music was composed and performed by Owen Maitzen. You can find more of his music here: https://soundcloud.com/omaitzen.

Welcome to a new series on another great novel, Willa Cather's O Pioneers!. This week we're discussing Cather's instinctive yet precise writing, the book's contemplation of imagination and vocation, the relationship between the characterization and the land, and much more. Plus we discuss our 2025 literary bracket. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

In Willa Cather's novel “O Pioneers!” a sister and brother never forget the beautiful afternoon when they saw a wild duck playing in the river. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.  Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ojai's newest performing venue will be the site of a special benefit for veterans, "Heroes Healing: Songs from the Wilderness," on November 2 from 3 to 7 pm. It's being organized by Open Circle Foundation and Heroes Healing Homestead in Homer, Alaska, to provide a wilderness therapy experience for veterans suffering from service-related PTSD. Joining us on the podcast are Open Circle's founder Miriam Jones and Heroes Healing's Atz Kilcher. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Kilcher was the star of Discovery Channel's "Alaska: The Last Frontier," for 12 seasons. He is also the father of Jewel, the singer-songwriter who has sold 30 million albums. She got her Grammy-nominated start as a young child playing in a duo with her father, who is a well-known songwriter and yodeler in his own right. Kilcher has several connections to Ojai. His mother spent several months here when he was a teenager, leaving him to "hold down the fort" at the family homestead in Kachemak Bay in Homer, Alaska, and he is well acquainted with the numerous contingent of Ojai residents who also homesteaded in Homer (see Mark Lewis' story "O Pioneers!" in the Fall 2019 issue of Ojai Quarterly). The November 2nd concert will take place at the brand-new Topa Bowl in upper Ojai at the Topa Institute. Also on the bill are Andrew Wiscombe, Stephen Covell, and Kate & Secily Anderson. The event will also feature storytelling, crafts, food and more. Operation Encore is another key organizer for this event, helping develop veterans who are musicians through performances and recording opportunities. Open Circle connects veterans and other at-need people with the wilderness for restoring purpose and a sense of community. Kilcher and Jones talked about how this event came together through a fortuitous encounter with Jones and her co-founder in Alaska, Kilcher's Vietnam experiences, why tje wilderness is essential for mental health, what it's like to live on a rugged homestead while being filmed for more than a decade, and their various journeys that led up to this moment. We did not talk about Aztec death whistles, mah jongg or the Japanese royal family. For more information on this event and the organizers check out ... https://www.foundation.weareopencircle.com/ or https://www.homeralaska.org/listing/heroes-healing-homestead/2654/

Willa Cather - "Oh Pioneers!" is a novel, first published in 1913. The story is set in the fictional town of Hanover, Nebraska, at the turn of the 20th century, and follows the life of Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of Swedish immigrants. After her father's death, Alexandra takes charge of the family farm and works tirelessly to transform it into a prosperous enterprise. The novel explores themes of perseverance, the relationship between humans and the land, and the immigrant experience in America. Cather's rich descriptions of the Nebraska landscape and her nuanced portrayal of pioneer life make O Pioneers! a classic of American literature.

Welcome to the third episode of Storybounders! Join hosts Jayme and Steve as they delve into the captivating adventures of "Little Britches" by Ralph Moody and "The Great Brain" by John D. Fitzgerald. These timeless tales feature young protagonists who navigate the challenges of the American frontier with wit, resilience, and integrity. In this episode, Jayme and Steve explore the themes of perseverance, family bonds, and the pioneering spirit that defined an era. They discuss the life lessons imparted by these stories and how they continue to resonate across generations. Tune in to discover how these cherished books offer humor, profound insights, and inspiration for readers of all ages. Highlights: Insights into the backgrounds and characters of "Little Britches" and "The Great Brain." Exploration of themes such as resilience, family, and the pioneering spirit. Reflections on the life lessons and values imparted by these stories. Discussions on the enduring relevance and appeal of these books. Encouragement to find inspiration and joy in timeless tales. Join us as we uncover the stories that inspire and move us, light up our imaginations, and fill us with hope. Find your story and change the world with Storybounders! Sources and Further Reading: Aldrich, Bess Streeter. A Lantern in Her Hand. D. Appleton-Century, 1928. Cather, Willa. O Pioneers!. Houghton Mifflin, 1913. Fitzgerald, John D. The Great Brain. Dial Press, 1967. Lozada, Carlos. "The Great Brain." The New York Times, 20 June 2023, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/20/opinion/carlos-lozada-the-great-brain.html. Moody, Ralph. Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers. University of Nebraska Press, 1950.

With Bryan Alvarez currently producing a children's dinner theater production of O Pioneers!, Lance Storm joins Mike Sempervive to talk about the world of professional wrestling. We discuss updates in the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinitis and WWE. WWE's attempt to block the Texas Attorney General from publically releasing its 2023 Royal Rumble bid. Plus, we took a look at last night's AEW Dynamite, the silliness of Oklahoma banning Nyla Rose, Asuka talks about her knee injury, and more. A fun show as always, so check it out~!

Today it's Whitman (and Dylan) on the march of progress. Get full access to The Daily Poem Podcast at dailypoempod.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Andrew Holter takes us into the extraordinary world of Helen Keller, in her own words; and Peter Maber hails a magnificent retrospective of Yoko Ono's radical art and music.'Autobiographies and Other Writings', by Helen Keller'Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind', Tate Modern, London, until 1 September 2024Produced by Charlotte Pardy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not too long ago, but in a place far away in the rolling prairies of Nebraska, a young girl named Willa Cather grew up under the vast, open skies. Her life was not just a story of growing up in the American heartland, but a journey into the heart of storytelling itself.   Willa's early days were filled with the kind of adventures that would one day find their way into her books. She often wandered through the fields, her imagination as boundless as the prairies themselves. These wanderings were not just walks through grass and wildflowers, but journeys through time and space in her mind. She would imagine pioneers and adventurers, much like the characters in her future book, "O Pioneers!"

"The town mouse and the country mouse. Distress and agitation of the town mouse." Aurelius. True story about coffee with the "town mouse" and Willa Cather on town versus country. 3 book recs, 1 film rec, The Music in Prose of O Pioneers! and wordnerd special.

Host Meg Wolitzer helps a great documentarian celebrate a great American author.  Cather, author of novels like My Antonia and O Pioneers! just had her sesquicentennial—her 150th birthday. And Burns hosted a live evening of her shorter works.  On this program, we feature “The Way of the World,” in which an imaginary town's young “citizens” are rife with romance and rivalry.  The reader is Sonia Manzano.   And a weary farmer's wife recaptures her long-dormant passion for music at “A Wagner Matinee,” read by David Strathairn.

On this week's Friday LIVE Nov. 10 from Nebraska Public Media, Genevieve Randall and guests have lively conversations about: Brad Colerick at the Benson Theatre in Omaha; the historical movie “Comenius: Life and Legacy of John Amos Comenius” in Kearney; concerts by Nebraska Chamber Players in Lincoln; "Artist From Outside; Take a Breath" exhibition in Hastings; UNL Outdoor Adventures' "No Man's Land Film Festival" in Lincoln; and "O Pioneers!" in Lincoln. Also, more poetry from Kimberly Reyes and a look at the next Omaha Symphony concert.

On this week's Friday LIVE Nov. 10 from Nebraska Public Media, Genevieve Randall and guests have lively conversations about: Brad Colerick at the Benson Theatre in Omaha; the historical movie “Comenius: Life and Legacy of John Amos Comenius” in Kearney; concerts by Nebraska Chamber Players in Lincoln; "Artist From Outside; Take a Breath" exhibition in Hastings; UNL Outdoor Adventures' "No Man's Land Film Festival" in Lincoln; and "O Pioneers!" in Lincoln. Also, more poetry from Kimberly Reyes and a look at the next Omaha Symphony concert.

Welcome to Trust Me I'm an Influencer with Korinna Howie. where we delve into the lives and stories of fascinating individuals who have made a mark in the world of social media.Joining Korinna on this episode is YouTuber and award-winning BBC radio presenter - Jo GoodShe's an award-winning breakfast show host and journalist for the BBC and now the late night weekend, Fridays and Saturdays, All England BBC Local Radio presenter taking in 40+ BBC radio stations. Jo discusses the issues that England is talking about, Barking At The Moon and the very popular late-night meditation.Every Sunday she drops her lifestyle vlog on youtube.com covering her big passions that are fashion, beauty, London lifestyle and life. The vlog's cast include the larger than life characters; Jo's mum Mutty, bull dog Myrtle, Dave the cabbie and Sandra the caretaker. Jo also hosts chat and fashion shows and shoots for the likes of Rixo, O Pioneers and SheerLuxe. She lives in Marylebone with Myrtle and can often be found twirling around onMarylebone High Street in her favourite new dress. Join the fun and follow Joon Instagram at middleagedminxLinks from Episode Jo Good BBC RadioBe sure to Like, Follow and Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like what you've listened to then please share or review. Follow Trust Me I'm an Influencer on InstaGet In TouchEmail : Lucy@trustmeimaninfluencer.comTrust Me I'm an Influencer is Produced by Your Voice Here Podcast Productions. Need a Podcast? You need Your Voice Here

On this week's Friday LIVE Oct. 13 at 9:59 a.m. Central from The Mill in Lincoln's Historic Haymarket, Genevieve Randall and guests have lively conversations about: “O Pioneers” statewide tour; Old West Days & Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Valentine; 13th Annual Prairie Pride Film Festival; The Fall Platte River Art Show; Calidore String Quartet concert; and a preview of the State Arts Awards and Mayor's Arts Awards. Also, some more poetry from Carolina Hotchandani and a song from Evan Bartels, who'll be in Hastings for a concert.

On this week's Friday LIVE Oct. 13 at 9:59 a.m. Central from The Mill in Lincoln's Historic Haymarket, Genevieve Randall and guests have lively conversations about: “O Pioneers” statewide tour; Old West Days & Nebraska Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Valentine; 13th Annual Prairie Pride Film Festival; The Fall Platte River Art Show; Calidore String Quartet concert; and a preview of the State Arts Awards and Mayor's Arts Awards. Also, some more poetry from Carolina Hotchandani and a song from Evan Bartels, who'll be in Hastings for a concert.

ON THIS EPISODE: Mary Cosby's comebacks. Jack Barlow's college deferral plan. O Pioneers! Should we stream it or skip it? DISENGAGING is on all major streaming platforms. Like, subscribe and share! • APPLE • SPOTIFY • POCKETCASTS Get full access to Meat 'n Three by Julia Ritchey at juliaritchey.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Saturday, July 8  See stars on your next getaway in Almost Heaven…Find your dream job in West Virginia…and a new documentary follows the lives of modern-day Appalachian pioneers…on today's daily304. #1 – From WV TOURISM – Home to one of the largest and darkest skysheds on the East Coast, West Virginia is the perfect spot to unwind and soak in the beauty of the star-studded skies. Just last year, Travel + Leisure dubbed the state as “the most under-the-radar stargazing destination in the U.S.”   Watoga State Park, Calvin Price State Forest, Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park have all been designated official Dark Sky parks by the International Dark Sky Association, and there are many other parks and areas throughout the state that offer prime stargazing opportunities.  Ready to escape the crowds and see for yourself? The West Virginia Department of Tourism can help you plan your trip. Find places to stay and explore dark sky deals and events in Almost Heaven. Learn more: https://wvtourism.com/stars/   #2 – From JOBS.WV –  West Virginia is hiring! Discover career opportunities in a wide variety of fields, including business development, engineering, information technology and more.  Find your dream job in Almost Heaven. Check out the listings and apply now! Learn more: https://www.jobs.wv.gov/   #3 – From THE INTER-MOUNTAIN –  A locally filmed West Virginia documentary will begin a national film festival tour later this summer. “O Pioneer,” directed and produced by Helvetia's Clara Lehmann and Jonathan Lacocque, will premiere at the Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival in San Jose, California, in August. The documentary will also be shown at the 12th annual Richmond International Film Festival in Richmond, Virginia, which runs from Sep. 26 to Oct 1.  “O Pioneer,” whose title is based on the Walt Whitman poem, “Pioneers! O Pioneers!”, is a documentary film featuring three West Virginians: Nellie Rose Gundersen Davis, a seamstress in Thomas; James Morley, a hospital chaplain in Bridgeport; and Tim Hibbs, a blacksmith and musician in Queens, West Virginia. Our films are meant to uplift West Virginian and Appalachian stories,” Lacocque said. “We want to work contrary to outside stereotypes.” View the trailer at www.opioneer.com. Read more: https://www.theintermountain.com/news/local-news/2023/06/documenting-our-area/   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

Zzz . . . Drift off to this sleepy reading of "O Pioneers!" by Willa Cather zzz Want to hear an ad-free version of Sleepy and support the show? Just go to patreon.com/sleepyradio and donate $2! Thanks, sweet dreams zzz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Jen and Lane dive into the classic novel O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. They discuss the character of Alexandra Bergson and how she defies gender norms and societal expectations to become a successful and respected farmer, even as an immigrant. Whether you're a fan of classic literature or just looking for a thought-provoking conversation, this episode is sure to leave you inspired and engaged. Tune in to hear how Jen draws an exciting comparison between the book and the hit TV show The Walking Dead! Episode Links: Buy the book:  O Pioneers! (Physical Copy) O Pioneers! (Audiobook) Show Links: Bards Alley Bookshop Website Podcast Book List - Bookshop.org Podcast Audiobook List – LibroFM

O Pioneers!

It was Sam's Month in the Year of Our Lord 2023. We talked about Sam's songs. We ate Sam's eggs. And now Sam's Month comes to an end.  But first, an episode about Bomb the Music Industry! featuring Sam's friend and former bandmate Eric Solomon, from O Pioneers!!! and Night Owls merch company. Follow Night Owls https://twitter.com/nightowlsprint Give us money patreon.com/155pod  

O podcast! O books! O episodes about hard-scrabble immigrants eking out an existence on tough Nebraska land. Cather's work - rich in memorable prose and compelling characters - could stand to be better known, but it still has blind spots common in American frontier fiction. Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis. Advertise on OverdueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Due to internet issues, Dylan and Justin weren't able to record together. Justin is flying solo and using a number generator to pick songs for this episode of Punk Lotto Radio.patreon.com/punklottopodCall our voicemail line: 202-688-PUNKLeave us a review and rating.linktr.ee/punklottopodSongs featured:Violent Femmes - I Held Her In My ArmsLuther - The Glory BeesO Pioneers!!! - Enemies on Speed DialThe Lifesavors - Glamour GirlsWhirlpool - The SoundPegboy - DangermareNeon Horse - Strange TownThe Adverts - Television's OverSamiam - CleanPleasure Leftists - The Conversation

On this week's episode of the #mavpuckcast... Jason and Jon analyze the University of Nebraska Omaha Hockey team's split at Minnesota Duluth — including their picks for "Player of the Week." They discuss "teddy bear tosses" at hockey games, and ponder whether or not UNO should do them. They talk about "special occasion hockey jerseys" for Omaha, and give their rationale for why the Mavericks should include them in a more significant manner. They wrap up the episode with a preview of Omaha's upcoming series against the top ranked Denver Pioneers on Nov. 25-26 at Magness Arena. Join the rush, follow MavPuck.com online! https://www.mavpuck.com https://www.facebook.com/mavpuckpage https://www.twitter.com/mavpuck https://www.soundcloud.com/mavpuckcast https://www.youtube.com/mavpuckcast

Join Lindsey as she discusses books that changed her life, including "The Scapegoat," "Brideshead Revisited," O Pioneers!", "Persuasion," "And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II.," and "Anna Karenina." Bonus! Lindsey discusses the weird, hilarious poem that is "TThe Love-Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."(This episode was recorded in 2020.)

Tonight, we'll read O Pioneers! a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. It was her second published novel. The title is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman entitled "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" from “Leaves of Grass.”If you enjoy this episode, you can find an episode with another poem from Whitman's “Leaves of Grass” titled “Song of Myself” and published March 13, 2019. You can also find another episode from Willa Cather titled “My Antonia,” published September 19, 2019. — read by V — Listen Ad-Free on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

PLAYLIST 5/12/22 The Copyrights - "Two Lefty feet" - 'Learn the Hard Way' Dopamines – “The Dispatch” – st The Steinways - "Arena Rock" - 'Gorilla Marketing' (Cold Feet) Zatopeks - "Scum on The River" - split w/ Accelerators Parasite Diet – “Summer's Overrated” – ‘God Hates Parasite Diet' The Wimpy's – “Seventeen” – ‘Backseat Love' Sweet Faces – “On Top if That Girl” – ‘On Top of that Girl' The Varsity Weirdos – “Lost Control” – ‘High School Teen Party' Monikers - “Mine” - 'Wake Up' The Bananas - "New Animals" - 'New Animals' Team Stray - "Black & White" - 'Gender Studies' The Powerchords – “Think I'm Gonna” – '...Think I'm Gonna' Night Marchers – “Jump in the Fire” – ‘See You in Magic' The Goodnight loving – “Blank Day Parade” – st The Wellingtons - “Song for Kim” – 'Heading North for the Winter' Duncan Redmonds - "Guilty" – 'Bubble and Squeak' The Hextalls – “Unicorn Rider” – ‘Call it a Comeback' a The Guts – “Let It Go” – ‘Let It Go' The Anchor – “Truant Tensions” – Split w/ O Pioneers!!!! Airbag - “Comics y Posters” - 'Alto Disco' The Gusto - "OK" -'The Way it Is' Radio Days – “Waiting for You” – ‘Midnight Cemetery Rendezvous' The Yum Yums – “Get Ugly” – ‘Whatever Rhymes with Baby', The Cute Lepers - "It's Summertime, Baby" - 'Can't Stand Modern Music' The Impulse International – “The Real Kid” – 7” Sloppy Seconds - "Everybody Hates The United States" - 'Endless Bummer' The Hamiltons - "Class Operation" - 7" Special Thanks – “Summer Vacation” – ‘Seven Colors' The Measure (sa) - “Drunk by Noon” - 'Songs About People and Fruit and Shit' Teenage Bottlerocket – “Social Life” – ‘Warning Device' Rocket Reducers – “Sauce Wagon” – st

Narrator Marnye Young inhabits J.C. Bidone's twisted thriller with flawless pacing and a compassionate tone. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile's Michele Cobb discuss this tense coming-of-age listen. Alexa leaves the claustrophobic care of her parents to take a job and move to New York City. But something's wrong, and there's an ominous feeling suggested by Young's performance that deepens when Alexa is reunited with her estranged sister, Beth. Young adds palpable tension as the story reveals a dark incident linking the siblings. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Greenleaf Book Group. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today's episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The first part of Willa Cather's Great Plains trilogy, O Pioneers! follows the tragedies and triumphs of Alexandra Bergson, a strong and independent young woman who inherits the family farm following the death of her father. Alexandra's passion and shrewd instinct guide her towards success as she resists the challenges imposed by the harsh Nebraskan prairie. Different challenges await her when a former love resurfaces and her brother becomes romantically involved with a married woman. Narrated by Laurel Lefkow, O Pioneers! is a compelling portrait of love versus duty, and the indomitable spirit of America's pioneer families. You can find it at NaxosAudioBooks.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1568 Birth of Henry Wotton, English writer, diplomat, and politician. Henry celebrated our relationships with gardens and landscapes. He especially enjoyed gardens that made one think or offered a surprise. Henry served as an Ambassador to Venice, and during his time there, he fell in love with Italian gardens. Henry's concept of a "garden of surprise" was inspired by the gardens he saw in Italy. In his Elements of Architecture (1624), Henry discusses what it was like to walk through an Italian garden: I have seen a garden into which the first [entry point] was a high walk like a [terrace], from whence might be taken a general view of the whole plot below, but rather in a delightful confusion... From this the Beholder descending any steps, was afterwards conveyed again... to various entertainments of his [scent] and sight... every one of these diversities, was as if he had [been] magically transported to a new garden.   1844 Birth of Paul-Marie Verlaine, French poet.  He's remembered for his work with the Symbolist and Decadent movements. His poem, Clair de Lune, begins with the line, "Your soul is a sealed garden," and inspired Claude Debussy ("deh·byoo·see") to write his own 'Clair de lune, the work for which he is now most famous.  Paul once wrote, Here are fruits, flowers, leaves and branches, and here is my heart which beats only for you.   1853 Birth of Vincent van Gogh, Dutch post-impressionist painter.  After his death, he became a top-selling figure in the history of Western art. Bold colors and brushwork characterized his work. Vincent found inspiration in the natural world, and he once said,  If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere. Vincent was also a lover of flowers and gardens, and he also said, For one's health as you say, it is very necessary to work in the garden and see the flowers growing. At the end of his life, Van Gogh suffered from depression, an unsuccessful painting career, and poverty. He committed a slow and painful suicide at 37 by shooting himself in the chest.  He died two days later beside a stack of his sunflower canvases. He said his last words to his brother Theo, The sadness will last forever. The legacy of Van Gogh's 2,100 pieces of art was much brighter than he ever expected. In March of 1987, his painting titled Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers was sold by Sotheby's in London for $39.85 million, more than three times the highest price ever paid at the time for a painting at auction.   2003 On this day, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram shared an article called, What's in a name? Deciding the name of every plant could take decades and require a huge effort by Stephanie Simon. The article revealed that  the Missouri Botanical Garden is teaming up with botanists worldwide on a 10-year $100-million effort to standardize plant names. The article shared the forecast for finishing the project, saying the project's leaders' plans for... the database [is] “45 compiler years.” One note says “52 imager years.”  At the bottom there's a final tally: They will need a staff of 32 for at least a decade just to compile and input the information.  That's not counting the botanists who will do all the research Missouri scientists will be working in formal collaboration with the two other top botanical research centers in the world: the New York Botanical Garden and the Kew Botanical Gardens near London. Incredibly, the project was completed way ahead of schedule at the end of 2010. At the time, The Plant List included 1.25 million scientific plant names.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Writing Wild by Kathryn Aalto This book came out in the summer of 2020, and the subtitle is Women Poets, Ramblers, and Mavericks Who Shape How We See the Natural World. This is such a good book, and I've been waiting to recommend it on the show. Kathryn herself was inspired to write this book after stumbling on a book written with all-male voices. Kathryn wanted to find the female voices and add their perspective on the natural world. In all, there are about 75 women that are talked about in Kathryn's book. Now, the goal behind curating all of these pieces was to help us deepen our connection to and understanding of the natural world. Some of these writers are some of my old favorites, like Mary Oliver, Vita Sackville West, Mary Austin, Susan Fenimore Cooper. But then there are also new voices like Helen MacDonald, Andrea Wulf, Amy Liptrot, and Elizabeth Rush. There are 25 of these women whose works are shared in full in this book. I love what Kathryn wrote in the introduction. She says, Much of this book was researched and penned outside - mountain climbing, mudlarking, canoeing, beachcombing, gardening, hiking, and birdwatching. I retraced the footsteps of those who have passed on, some of whom wrote anonymously or were chastised for daring to venture off without male chaperones. I walked and talked with living authors. I read original 19th-century journals, letters, essays, and books. I held tangible personal objects. I searched the faces and old photographs. I listened to historians, archivists, and experts. I attended live author readings and listened to recordings. I passed through 200 years of women's history through nature writing. Remarkable. Compilation books like this are excellent because Kathryn has done the heavy lifting for us. She has sifted through all of this nature writing, and she has brought us the best of the best - an excellent sampling of women writing about nature over the past two centuries. I simply have to share two beautiful quotes that Kathryn includes at the top of the book. The first is from Willa Cather in her 1913 book O Pioneers! She wrote,  Isn't it queer: there are only two or three human stories and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, that have been singing the same five notes for over thousands of years.  And then there's this beautiful quote by Emily Dickinson in an 1885 letter that she wrote to Eugenia Hall. I hope you love Birds too. It is economical. It saves going to heaven.  This book is chock full of great insights, quotes, and readings from women as marvelous as Willa Cather and Emily Dickinson. This book is 288 pages of women finding joy in nature and then writing about it and sharing it.  You can get a copy of Writing Wild by Kathryn Aalto and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $6.   Botanic Spark 1918 On this day, The Oregon Daily Journal out of Portland, Oregon, shared a front-page story with the headline, SLACKER IF HE PUTS BASEBALL STARTING TIME BACK ONE HOUR. President Pack of National War Garden Commission Severely Criticises [Baseball] Club Owner Who Plans to Add Extra Hour of Daylight That Could Be Used in Garden Work. Charles Lathrop-Pack was president of the national war garden commission and was against baseball teams who were planning to change the start time of their games to take advantage of the brand new daylight saving plan. Pack said, A move like this will take thousands of hours of time from gardens. It will doubtless mean many extra dollars in the box office, but it is certainly a violation of the spirit of the law. In other media, Charles reminded both leagues that,  [the] law was intended to increase the daylight usefulness in war work, and was not intended to give extra hours for recreation...  Slackers of the worst type is the brand placed upon baseball league owners or managers who plan to move down the scheduled time of starting games this Summer. But the historian Michael O'Malley noted in his book Keeping Watch (1996) that as president of the War Garden Commission, Charles Lathrop Pack was essentially the head of [a] lobbying organization for the makers of garden products—tools, seeds, fertilizers, canning, and preserving equipment... [and he] stood to gain dramatically from any increase in wartime gardening.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe to Quotomania on Simplecast or search for Quotomania on your favorite podcast app!The eldest of seven children, Willa Cather was born in Back Creek Valley, Virginia in 1873. When Cather was nine years old, her family moved to rural Webster County, Nebraska. After a year and a half, the family resettled in the county seat of Red Cloud, where Cather lived until beginning her college studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1890.After her graduation in 1895, Cather worked as a journalist and teacher, living first in Pittsburgh and later in New York City. Her first volume of poetry, April Twilights, was published by a vanity press in 1903, and in 1912 she was able to leave editorial work and live as a full-time writer and poet. Over the next several decades, Cather wrote prolifically; her works include Alexander's Bridge (1912), O Pioneers! (1913), My Ántonia (1918), and A Lost Lady (1923), all of which explored the pioneering experience on the Plains. In 1923, One of Ours (1922) received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Her other well-regarded works include The Professor's House (1925), My Mortal Enemy (1926), Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), Shadows on the Rock (1931), Lucy Gayheart (1935), and Sapphira and the Slave Girl (1940).As one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century, Willa Cather was gifted in conveying an intimate understanding of her characters in relation to their personal and cultural environments—environments that often derived from Red Cloud. Cather died from a cerebral hemorrhage on April 24, 1947 and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire. Engraved on her tombstone is this quotation from My Ántonia: “that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.” Complex and brilliant, Willa Cather lives on through her many devoted readers. Willa Cather is the author of 12 novels, 6 collections of short fiction, 2 editions of her book of poetry, April Twilights, and numerous works of nonfiction, collected journalism, speeches, and lettersFrom https://www.willacather.org/about-willa-cather. For more information about Willa Cather:The Song of the Lark: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/299686/the-song-of-the-lark-by-willa-cather-and-melissa-homestead/“The Willa Cather Archive”: https://cather.unl.edu“A Walk in Willa Cather's Prairie”: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/02/a-walk-in-willa-cathers-prairie

Ally and Mary stay up late to share their thoughts on O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.    

Mary reads the concluding chapters of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).    Read along here.

"If I didn't discipline myself to get up, have a shower, put on something nice, it was a spiral of despair". Clara Francis is an actor, co-founder of the dress company O Pioneers and a jewellery designer. She talks to host Laura Antonia Jordan about how getting dressed helped her through the darkest hours of grief when her daughter died, how she navigates dressing for the red carpet and confesses to her obsessive online shopping habits.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).    Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).    Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).    Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).  Read along here. 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).   Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).   Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913).    Read along here.

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913). 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913). 

Mary reads a few chapters a day of O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913). 

Class Discussion Focus Points…10th Grade American Literature

Willa Cather (1873-1947) went from a childhood in Nebraska to a career in publishing in New York City, where she became one of the most successful women in journalism. And then, after a period as an editor for one of the most famous magazines in America, she focused on writing novels about the hardscrabble lives of immigrants trying to tame the Midwestern prairie, including enduring classics like O Pioneers! and My Antonia. In this episode, Jacke is joined by Lauren Marino, author of Bookish Broads: Women Who Wrote Themselves Into History, to talk about the life and works of Willa Cather. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/shop. (We appreciate it!) Find out more at historyofliterature.com, jackewilson.com, or by following Jacke and Mike on Twitter at @thejackewilson and @literatureSC. Or send an email to jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com. New!!! Looking for an easy to way to buy Jacke a coffee? Now you can at paypal.me/jackewilson. Your generosity is much appreciated! The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at www.thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we celebrate the botanist who saved the Lewis and Clark specimen sheets. We'll also learn about the successful botanist and garden designer who introduced the navel orange. We’ll recognize the Conservatory stocked by the World’s Fair. We'll hear a charming verse about the mistletoe by a poet entomologist. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book featuring fifteen incredible private gardens in North America. And then we’ll wrap things up with the American writer who wrote about the natural world with simplicity and honesty.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org.   Curated News Is Mistletoe More Than Just An Excuse For A Kiss? | Kew | Michael F Fay   Facebook Group If you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community.   So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community, where you’d search for a friend… and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events December 7, 1817 Today is the birthday of the American botanist and professor Edward Tuckerman. A specialist of lichens and other Alpine plants, Edward helped found the Natural History Society of Boston. As a professor at Amherst College, Edward spent his spare time botanizing in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Today Tuckerman Ravine is named in honor of Edward Tuckerman. America owes a debt of gratitude to Edward for rescuing some of the Lewis and Clark specimens at an auction. It turns out that after the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a botanist named Frederic Pursh was hired by Meriwether Lewis to process the plants from their trip. After butting heads with his boss Benjamin Smith Barton and Meriwether’s apparent suicide, Frederick Pursh took the Lewis and Clark specimens and went to England. Once in England, Pursh reached out to botanists Sir James Edward Smith and Aylmer Lambert about putting together the Flora of North America. Ultimately, Aylmer became his botanical fairy godfather. Aylmer had a substantial personal botanical library, herbarium, and funding. Aylmer also forced Pursh to be productive. Frederick Pursh was kind of a rough and tough guy, and he was an alcoholic. Aylmer made a space for Frederick in the attic of his house. Once Aylmer got him up there, he would lock Frederick in for stretches at a time to keep him focused on the project. It was an extreme way to deal with Frederick’s demons, but it worked. It took Pursh two years to complete the Flora of North America, and the whole time he was racing against Thomas Nuttall, who was working on the same subject back in America. American botanists felt Frederick Pursh had pulled the rug out from under them when he took the expedition specimens to England. And this is where Edward Tuckerman enters the story. Somehow Edward learned that the Lewis and Clark specimens that Pursh had brought to England were going to auction. It turns out Aylmer had hung on to all of Pursh’s material, including the Lewis and Clark originals. In 1842, after Aylmer died, the Lewis and Clark specimens and papers were up for auction along as part of his estate. Somehow Edward realized the value and the important legacy of these botanical specimens and papers. After winning the items, Edward eventually donated all of the material to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.   December 7, 1822 Today is the birthday of the English-American botanist, nurseryman, landscape gardener, and landscape designer William Saunders. William served as the first horticulturist and superintendent of the experimental gardens at the newly created U.S. Department of Agriculture. During his professional career, William enjoyed many successes, but two stand out above the rest. First, William designed the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. On November 17, 1863, William visited the White House to show President Abraham Lincoln his design for the cemetery near the Gettysburg battlefield. William thoughtfully made sure that the Union army dead would be organized by state. A devoted botanist, William’s design was the setting for Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, an ode to the fallen soldiers interred there. William’s second major accomplishment was introducing the seedless Navel Orange to California. After William had received cuttings from a navel orange tree in Bahia Brazil, he forwarded the cuttings to a friend named Eliza Tibbetts, who had recently settled in a town called Riverside, fifty-five miles east of Los Angeles. Eliza and her husband, Luther, planted the navel oranges in their front yard. They watered the trees with dishwater, and both of the trees flourished. In California, navel oranges are picked from October through the end of May. Navel oranges are known for their sweetness and the sweet little navel on the blossom end. A ripe navel orange should have thin, smooth skin with no soft spots. The orange should feel firm, and the riper the orange, the heavier it should feel. The sweetest time to eat navel oranges is after Thanksgiving; that’s when their flavor and color are at their peak. Because navel oranges are seedless, they can only be propagated by cutting. Over the years, Eliza and her husband took so many cuttings of the original two trees that they nearly killed them. In the early 1880s, they sold enough cuttings at a dollar apiece to make over $20,000 a year - that’s over half a million dollars by today’s standards. Ironically, in the 1930s, Brazil’s entire navel orange crop was destroyed by disease. In response, the USDA sent cuttings of Tibbett’s navel oranges to restart Brazil’s navel orange orchards. Today, every navel orange grown in the world is descended from the cuttings William Saunders sent Eliza Tibbetts. Today, one of the Tibbett’s navel orange trees still stands on the corner of Magnolia and Arlington avenues in Riverside. The tree has been a protected California Historic Landmark since 1932.   December 7, 1893  On this day, the Phipps Conservatory first opened to the public. A gift from Henry Phipps, Jr. to the City of Pittsburgh, Henry was a childhood friend and business partner of Andrew Carnegie. And gardeners who know their garden history probably already know that the Crystal Palace by Joseph Paxton inspired the 14-room glasshouse at the Phipps Conservatory. In 1893, as the Chicago World’s Fair ended, the plant material was fortuitously available to the highest bidder, and over 8,000 plants ended up on 15 train cars headed east to the Phipps. And that’s how the Phipp’s Conservatory ended up benefiting from impeccable timing; stocking their brand new space with incredible plants for a botanical bargain on a scale never seen before or since. In 2018, the Phipps Conservatory and botanical gardens celebrated their 125th Anniversary. Today the Phipps encompasses fifteen acres and includes 23 distinct gardens.   Unearthed Words There's a sound of a festive morrow, It rings with delight over the snow, Dispelling the shadows of sorrow With promise that makes the heart glow... An angel peeps in at the window, And smiles as he looketh around, And kisses the mistletoe berries That wave o'er the love-hallowed ground. — Henry Rowland Brown, English entomologist, and poet, Christmas Eve   Grow That Garden Library The Art of the Garden by Relais & Châteaux North America This book came out in 2018, and the subtitle is Landscapes, Interiors, Arrangements, and Recipes Inspired by Horticultural Splendors. Established in 1954, Relais & Châteaux is an association of the world's finest hoteliers, chefs, and restaurateurs who have set the standard for hospitality excellence. In this book, fifteen incredible establishments from Relais & Châteaux share their inspiring ideas for seasonal gardening, interior design, and entertaining. These elite hospitality experts share these exclusive beautifully-designed environments. And, they don’t leave you guessing. The authors show you how to translate their savoir-faire into indoor and outdoor sanctuaries and incredible events at home. The gardens featured range from simple cutting and kitchen gardens to more elaborate formal plantings, including parterres and topiaries. The garden’s delights are then brought indoors via botanical prints, textiles, wallpapers, and art objects, like metal and porcelain flowers. This resource also shares smart ideas for setting a festive table using rose petals, garlands, and bud vases. They even share their secrets for dressing up dishes and cocktails with edible flower garnishes. This book is a must-read for passionate gardeners who long to bring the sparkle and freshness of the outdoors into the home. This book is 240 pages of the finest horticultural havens at fifteen top Relais & Châteaux locations in America. You can get a copy of The Art of the Garden by Relais & Châteaux North America and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $30   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart December 7, 1873   Today is the birthday of the American writer Willa Cather. Remembered for her novels of frontier life like O Pioneers! and My Ántonia, Willa won a Pulitzer for her World War I novel called One of Ours. Here’s an excerpt that will delight the ears of gardeners from Cather’s My Antonia. The story’s narrator is Antonia’s friend Jim Burden. In this excerpt, Jim is lying on the ground in his grandmother’s garden as the warm sun shines down on him: The earth was warm under me, and warm as I crumbled it through my fingers. Queer little red bugs came out and moved in slow squadrons around me. Their backs were polished vermilion, with black spots. I kept as still as I could. Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep. — Willa Cather, American writer, My Antonia   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

John J. Miller is joined by Dedra Birzer of Hillsdale College to discuss Willa Cather's 'O Pioneers!'

Welcome to another 'Style Natters' - thank you for listening...We thought it is worth mentioning that everything we natter about in this podcast are things we love or inspire us, they are not gifted.Here's what we're nattering about in this episode:We are hoping to be more sustainable with our wardrobe and love the idea of breathing new life and restoring our shoes and bags with the help of a service provided by The Restory which provides luxury aftercare for shoes, bags and leather goods: https://the-restory.comWe had a wonderful morning last week at a glorious pop-up curated by Isobel Spearman called the Daily Dress Edit. We headed to much loved Elizabeth Street for an inspiring morning which we have documented on our Style Natters instagram. Head over to see Camilla in a gorgeous O Pioneers dress www.opioneers.co.uk There were so many designers featured including Kemi Telford, And Daughter, Anna Mason, Cabbage & Roses and Seraphina London (amongst others). We are loving Selfridges - 'Project Earth' initiative, lots to thought provoking initiatives in store for sustainability and ethical shopping in mind. Do check out their website for more information including online interviews/events.We are missing attending evening talks in person at the V&A, but we're thrilled to see they are hosting talks online to feel informed and inspired.We are longing to visit the new beauty destination by Harrods, H Beauty in-store at Intu Lakeside, Essex www.harrods.com/en-gb/h-beautyWe chatted about 'Maskne' (that's acne or spots caused by wearing face masks!). We have been taking much more care of our skin recently and using some great new products. Emma is a big fan of Trinny London, https://trinnylondon.com specially BFF cream and Miracle Blur. Camilla loves Charlotte Tilbury www.charlottetilbury.com Magic Cream Moisturiser.If you're looking for a new book, we are longing to settle down and indulge ourselves in Designer Tabitha Webbs new book 'No Regrets'. It has had some brilliant write ups... we can't wait to read it!Camilla is longing to get a new pair of boots and has her eye on a pair from https://ivyleecopenhagen.com And for something more relaxing, she also has her recommendations for somewhere to enjoy a spot of afternoon tea, new new Connaught Patisserie...Thank you so much for listening, and do please DM us on our instagram 'Stylenatters' with any feedback or comments, we'd love to hear from you.Love, Camilla & Emma x

For better or worse, Wagner is the most widely influential figure in the history of music. Around 1900, the phenomenon known as Wagnerism saturated European and American culture. Such colossal creations as The Ring of the Nibelung, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal were models of formal daring, mythmaking, erotic freedom, and mystical speculation. A mighty procession of artists, including Virginia Woolf, Thomas Mann, Paul Cézanne, Isadora Duncan, and Luis Buñuel, felt his impact. Anarchists, occultists, feminists, and gay-rights pioneers saw him as a kindred spirit. Then Adolf Hitler incorporated Wagner into the soundtrack of Nazi Germany, and the composer came to be defined by his ferocious antisemitism. For many, his name is now almost synonymous with artistic evil. In Wagnerism, Alex Ross restores the magnificent confusion of what it means to be a Wagnerian. A pandemonium of geniuses, madmen, charlatans, and prophets do battle over Wagner's many-sided legacy. As readers of his brilliant articles for The New Yorker have come to expect, Ross ranges thrillingly across artistic disciplines, from the architecture of Louis Sullivan to the novels of Philip K. Dick, from the Zionist writings of Theodor Herzl to the civil-rights essays of W.E.B. Du Bois, from O Pioneers! to Apocalypse Now. In many ways, Wagnerism tells a tragic tale. An artist who might have rivaled Shakespeare in universal reach is undone by an ideology of hate. Still, his shadow lingers over twenty-first century culture, his mythic motifs coursing through superhero films and fantasy fiction. Neither apologia nor condemnation, Wagnerism is a work of passionate discovery, urging us toward a more honest idea of how art acts in the world. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

We made it!  We have completed our cross-country trip west to east for the first leg of The Great American Cattle Drive (“GACD” has a distinctive ring to it, don't you think?).   We start the film shoot with the American Milking Devon Cattle Association in New England today, but it was fitting that we began our run with a podcast recorded halfway across the country, in Monument, Colorado.  We stopped for 24 hours to have a conversation with Rollie and Paula Johnson of Three Eagles Ranch, and to hunker down our new (used) trailer Bessie in their driveway.  The socially-distanced hospitality didn't end there, as they not only ran a cord for us to have power, but they thawed an amazing steak for us to experience on the back porch, overlooking the road that is now a modern one, but that many took in the early days of the expansion of this country. The next day, Rollie and his hardworking ranch hand Dulce gathered the largest team of oxen I have ever seen at that close distance (the sheer mass was amazing), hitched it to an actual 1800's wagon, and he, his wife Paula and Dulce donned their period costume and set out driving the oxen and wagon across across the back pastureland.  All this, so we could get the real experience of what it was like on the cattle drives and pioneer movements of the old days.  I was exhausted after 10 minutes in the heat and dust (and a shoe-full of burrs), and I was just holding a camera.  My admiration for the fortitude of the people in the 1800's increased with every moment, especially since Rollie said that in real life, the people walked.  All the way.The Milking Devons used as oxen were the perfect animal for this time, and Rollie will tell you why.  Next week, we'll bring you Part 2, where Rollie tells of the history of the people moving across the country, and how — whether it be the commonality of Indian attacks, the lack of oxen, or the riding in the wagon part — the movies didn't always get the facts right.  And he would know, as you can tell if you look for him in Netflix's “Godless.”Because in that day and age, whether you were Gus and Col on the arduous trek north, the pioneer filled with fortitute headed west, or the dirt farmer that stayed in place and fed both as they passed through, it's all about the drive, baby. Links:www.flyingw.comwww.facebook.com/americanmilkingdevoncattleassociationwww.threeeaglesranch.comhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt5516154/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105038/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140963.O_Pioneers_Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/agriCulturePodcast)

Episode One Hundred Three Show Notes KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine– Currently Reading –Chris dnf’d The Keep – Jennifer Egan (CW)Resurrection Bay (Caleb Zelic #1) – Emma Viskic (EF)Friends and Strangers – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF) release date June 30, 2020The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York – Matthew Goodman (CW)A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion – Fay Bound Alberti (CW) (audio)– Just Read –Relish: My Life in the Kitchen – Lucy Knisley (EF)Redhead by the Side of the Road – Anne Tyler (EF)Three-Fifths – John Vercher (EF)– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion– Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.James Wood’s review can be read here.Jenny Erpenbeck and Claire Messud in conversation.– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –We hosted our own biblio adventure, a virtual readalong discussion of Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. If you would like to join us for future discussions please subscribe to our newsletter.Emily attended a Zoom event via RJ Julia Bookseller’s talking with Anna Solomon about her new novel The Book of V.Chris attended two virtual events: A Q&A with Jennifer Egan and Johnny Temple about her novel The Keep, you can watch it here. A conversation with Tim Gunn and Stacy Schiff about her book Cleopatra.– Upcoming Jaunts –Emily will be attending a virtual event via the Center for Fiction: Roxane Gay in conversation with Nicole Dennis-Benn about the paperback release of her novel Patsy.Roxane Gay is offering a free digital care package – check it out here.Chris will be attending the 65th Annual Willa Cather spring conference: Untethered Cather on the Cusp of the 1920’s on June 4-6, 2020. The focus is on Cather’s book of short stories Youth and the Bright Medusa.– Upcoming Reads –Chris is joining in The Sandy Point Correspondence Club and will be reading O Pioneers! by Willa CatherMemorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir – Natasha Trethewey (EF) release date 7/28/20Dear Emmie Blue – Lia Louis (EF) release date 7/14/20Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close – Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (EF) release date 7/14/20– Author Spotlight with Emma Viskic –Emma is the author of the Caleb Zelic series: Resurrection Bay, And Fire Came Down, and Darkness for Light You can learn more about Emma Viskic HERE.Emma toured the United States with fellow Aussie writers: Jock Serong, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott– Also Mentioned –Also by Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad and Manhattan BeachAlso by J. Courtney Sullivan: Maine, Saints for All Occasions, The Engagements, CommencementTwilight – Stephenie MeyerWuthering Heights – Emily BronteClaire MessudThe Trial – Kafka FranzCall Your Girlfriend PodcastAmerican Writers MuseumAustralian Women Writers ChallengePurchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please email bookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.Join our Goodreads Group!We have a BookTube Channel – please check it out here, and be sure to subscribe!Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Una vez más el western como protagonista, en esta ocasión de la mano del brillante compositor Bruce Broughton, en tan sólo siete scores, dos cinematográficos y cinco para la televisión. Son los siguientes: Silverado, O Pioneers!, Tombstone: La leyenda de Wyatt Earp, Coraje de mujer, La balada de Lucy Whipple, La gran aventura de la vida de Mark Twain, Texas Rising.

Una vez más el western como protagonista, en esta ocasión de la mano del brillante compositor Bruce Broughton, en tan sólo siete scores, dos cinematográficos y cinco para la televisión. Son los siguientes: Silverado, O Pioneers!, Tombstone: La leyenda de Wyatt Earp, Coraje de mujer, La balada de Lucy Whipple, La gran aventura de la vida de Mark Twain, Texas Rising.

Tonight, we’ll read the opening to Willa Cather’s 1918 novel My Ántonia .It is the final book of her "prairie trilogy" of novels, preceded by O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. The novel tells the stories of an orphaned boy from Virginia, Jim Burden, and the elder daughter in a family of Bohemian immigrants, Ántonia Shimerda, who are each brought as children to be pioneers in Nebraska towards the end of the 19th century. This novel is considered Cather's first masterpiece. Cather was praised for bringing the American West to life and making it personally interesting. -- 'V'Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/snoozecast)

Episode Eighty Show Notes CW = Chris WolakEF = Emily FinePurchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! AND at Bookclub Bookstore & More.If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member.You can DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please emailbookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.Join our Goodreads Group! Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.– 80th Episode Giveaway –Enter to win by subscribing to our email newsletter here by July 18th.48 PEAKS: Hiking and Healing in the White Mountains – Cheryl SuchorsTilda’s Promise – Jean P. MooreCheryl and Jean will be our guests on Episode 81.– Readalong with Jenny Colvin of Reading Envy –Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather The Goodreads discussion page can be found HEREBe sure to check out Episode 157 of the Reading Envy podcast for our discussion of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. The Goodreads discussion page can be found HERE.– Also Mentioned –Willa Cather: My Ántonia O Pioneers!The Professor’s HouseJames PattersonGrimké SistersA Conversation with Cheryl Strayed and Oprah Winfrey at MOUNTAINFILM can be found HEREThomas Jefferson’s Monticello Langston HughesToni Morrison

Today we have two wonderful guests, Marcy Raymond and Jack McClintock, joining us to talk about creating startups with a meaningful impact on the world of education. Marcy is serial school starter and a STEM education specialist with the Education Services Center of Central Ohio. She is a founder of Metro Early College High School (MECHS), which is Ohio’s very first STEM school and a platform for innovation in school design that many schools across the nation are now based on. Jack is one of the first students to attend and graduate Metro, after which he received a bachelor’s from OSU’s Fisher College of Business and founded G&P Productions. We unbox: The massive undertaking of starting a new school, especially one with such an innovative design philosophy Why doing school differently is a “moral imperative” The goal of The Metro School, and all of the schools that have followed its model The uphill battle of STEM education Why Jack took the risk and jumped in as a founding student of Metro Partnering with OSU, the Battelle Memorial Institute, and the Educational Council to start MECHS Battelle’s “opportunity gap” Why the school is, by design, for all kids – not just “the smart kids” The conversation around starting similar schools in other communities Why students are more engaged at MECHS The habits they teach at MECHS to help students be persistent in any environment Looking to the future, what do the next iterations of STEM schools look like? The poem that Marcy read on the first day of school, “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” Education is dynamic and it cannot be standardized – and as a society, we have to figure out how to effectively provide that to everyone Resources: Learn more at https://www.themetroschool.org/ The Metro School on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Metro-Early-College-High-School-171761588940/ The Metro School on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroHS Check out (https://www.gpproductions.tv/) Connect with Jack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-mcclintock-8991592b/ Read: “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” Learning Unboxed is produced in part by Crate Media Recorded by Eric French at (http://wosu.org/) in Columbus, Ohio

In the second installment of our three-part series on Catholic immigration to the United States, we speak with scholars about the Church's dilemma of how to respond to Catholic migrants who don't speak the native language. Should the Church force assimilation into the "American" way of life, or should they allow immigrants to live, speak, and worship as they are?  Music: Dominoes © 2017 Fr Rob Galea/Gary Pinto/Natasha Pinto/Cliff Raux/Ira Losco. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Exceeding  Words and music by Shaun Garrison.  © 2015 Shaun Garrison. As recorded on Exceeding. All rights reserved. Used by permission. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mystery-manners/support

Episode Fifty Four Show Notes CW = Chris Wolak EF = Emily Fine Join our Goodreads Group! Let us know what you want us to choose as the next read along. You can email, tweet or join the discussion on the Goodreads page. Upcoming Readalongs March – Geraldine Brooks – have comments to us by July 19th Upcoming Book Release and Event Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (release date August 21st) Check out upcoming events for the 150th anniversary of Little Women at Orchard House. Purchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle! – Currently Reading/Listening – The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After – Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil (EF) One of Ours – Willa Cather (CW) – Just Read – Hope Never Dies – Andrew Shaffer (CW) Providence – Caroline Kepnes (EF) Women & Power: A Manifesto – Mary Beard (CW) They May Not Mean To But They Do – Cathleen Schine (EF) One Possible Life - Hannes Köhler (CW) The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing – Marie Kondō (CW) (audio) – Biblio Adventures – Emily saw Matthew Dicks at RJ Julia Booksellers in Madison with his new book Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling Chris visited the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library in New Haven, CT – Upcoming Jaunts – Chris and Emily will be heading to Orchard House – the home of Louisa May Alcott – on July 16th July 19th Chris will be hosting the Willa Cather Book Club at Bookclub Bookstore & More Emily is planning to attend Savoy Bookshop & Café Harry Potter 20th Anniversary party on July 31st The Book Cougars will be hosting an historical fiction author event in partnership with Bank Square Books at Mohegan Sun on September 27, 2018. – Upcoming Reads – March – Geraldine Brooks (CW)(EF) Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women – Anne Boyd Rioux (CW)(EF) release date August 21st The World As It Is: Inside the Obama White House – Ben Rhodes (CW) The Kiss: Intimacies from Writers – edited by Brian Turner (CW) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life – Barbara Kingsolver (EF) (audio) – Also Mentioned – The new Libby App to download E-books and Audiobooks Center for Fiction first novel prize list can be found here. A Place for Us – Fatima Farheen Mirza There, There – Tommy Orange Sadness is a White Bird – Moriel Rothman - Zecker Man Booker Golden 50th Book Award Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver Willa Cather Novels: My Ántonia, The Song of the Lark, and O Pioneers! Orchard House Conversation Series Gwendolyn Brooks Statue in Chicago 57th Street Books American Writers Museum Poet Philip Larkin This Be The Verse They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another’s throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself.

The second half of my review of Willa Cather's "O Pioneers". Next up, "The Song of the Lark."

The first episode of a two part series on Willa Cather's novel "O Pioneers".

Hazel Turnbull interviews Bruce Broughton ath 2017's Soundtrack Cologne! Bruce Broughton is best known for his many film scores, which include Silverado, Tombstone, The Rescuers Down Under, The Presidio, Miracle on 34th Street, the Homeward Bound adventures and Harry and the Hendersons. His television themes include Seth MacFarlane's The Orville, JAG, Steven Spielberg's Tiny Toon Adventures and Dinosaurs. His scores for television range from mini-series like Roughing It and The Blue and Gray to TV movies (Warm Springs, O Pioneers!) and countless episodes of television series such as Dallas, Quincy, Hawaii Five-O and How the West Was Won. With 24 nominations, he has won a record ten Emmy awards. His score to Silverado was Oscar-nominated, and his score to Young Sherlock Holmes was nominated for a Grammy. His music has accompanied many of the Disney theme park attractions throughout the world. His score for Heart of Darkness was the first recorded orchestral score for a video game. As a concert composer, ensembles such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the National Symphony and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra have performed his works. His works for wind ensembles, bands and chamber groups have been performed and recorded throughout the world. He is a board member of ASCAP, a former governor of both the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as a past president and founding member of The Society of Composers and Lyricists.

Caroline Fraser talks about “Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder,” and Tiya Miles discusses “The Dawn of Detroit.”

In Willa Cather’s novel “O Pioneers!” a sister and brother  never forget the wild duck they saw playing in the river. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on StoryWeb: Willa Cather’s novel O Pioneers! for Amy Young For many of us, certain books immediately release a flood of memories – where we were when we first read them, friends and relatives who read the books with us. Such is the case for me with Willa Cather’s 1913 novel, O Pioneers! This wonderful book calls to mind Shepherdstown, West Virginia, almost twenty-five years ago. My new friend Amy and I were sharing book after book, poem after poem, film after film with each other. We’d met in Shepherdstown’s just-opened independent bookstore, Four Seasons Books, where Amy was a sales clerk and I was a customer. Since the beautiful October day that first brought us together, we’d been reveling in our shared love of literature. So it was inevitable that we’d be plopped in front of Amy’s TV when Jessica Lange’s made-for-TV adaptation of Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! premiered as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special. Perhaps the Hallmark branding should have tipped us off. It’s not that the movie was terrible. It’s more that it made us laugh – and O Pioneers! is most certainly not a comedy. Of special note was Lange’s feigned Nebraska accent, the overdone quality of which sent Amy and I into fits of laughter. Every three minutes, it seemed, Lange – who was playing the heroine, Alexandra Bergson – sang the praises of “the land.” But this nails-on-a-chalkboard television adaptation didn’t diminish our love of Cather or her marvelous novel. Both Amy and I had read a lot of Cather’s work – My Ántonia, A Lost Lady, Death Comes for the Archbishop, The Song of the Lark, My Mortal Enemy, Sapphira and the Slave Girl, and of course, O Pioneers!, which is perhaps the great work of the prairie. Even if she was a bit tone deaf in her accent, Lange was nevertheless right to emphasize “the land,” for the sheer fact of the land – the huge, sprawling, open, expansive prairie land – is indeed the heart of everything on the Great Plains. Unlikely as it would be in prairie culture and as unpleasant as it is to her brothers, Alexandra Bergson is the primary architect of her family’s land. It falls to her to take their inherited land and shape it into something robust, fertile, productive, rich. That she does just that is the proof Cather offers that a fully realized female protagonist can be a full-on hero of the story, that she can be identified with the land and bring it to its full fruition. Ready to read O Pioneers? You can do so for free at Project Gutenberg, but you’ll probably want a hard copy of this magnificent book. And if you like geeking out on literary criticism, then exploring Willa Cather scholarship will yield significant rewards. I especially recommend my friend Janis Stout’s extensive work on Cather. She has written a biography – Willa Cather: The Writer and Her World – and has edited The Selected Letters of Willa Cather. You might also find her critical study of Cather and Mary Austin interesting: it’s titled Picturing a Different West: Vision, Illustration, and the Tradition of Cather and Austin. Another of my favorites is Judith Fryer’s completely imaginative response to Cather’s work in Felicitous Space, which looks also at the work of Edith Wharton. For more on Cather, check out the earlier StoryWeb post on My Ántonia. For links to all these resources, visit thestoryweb.com/pioneers. When I think of Willa Cather, I think of my dear friend Amy. What books take you back in time? Listen now as I read Chapter Two of Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! In this scene, the dying patriarch, John Bergson, bequeaths the family land to his daughter, Alexandra.   On one of the ridges of that wintry waste stood the low log house in which John Bergson was dying. The Bergson homestead was easier to find than many another, because it overlooked Norway Creek, a shallow, muddy stream that sometimes flowed, and sometimes stood still, at the bottom of a winding ravine with steep, shelving sides overgrown with brush and cottonwoods and dwarf ash. This creek gave a sort of identity to the farms that bordered upon it. Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening. The houses on the Divide were small and were usually tucked away in low places; you did not see them until you came directly upon them. Most of them were built of the sod itself, and were only the unescapable ground in another form. The roads were but faint tracks in the grass, and the fields were scarcely noticeable. The record of the plow was insignificant, like the feeble scratches on stone left by prehistoric races, so indeterminate that they may, after all, be only the markings of glaciers, and not a record of human strivings. In eleven long years John Bergson had made but little impression upon the wild land he had come to tame. It was still a wild thing that had its ugly moods; and no one knew when they were likely to come, or why. Mischance hung over it. Its Genius was unfriendly to man. The sick man was feeling this as he lay looking out of the window, after the doctor had left him, on the day following Alexandra's trip to town. There it lay outside his door, the same land, the same lead-colored miles. He knew every ridge and draw and gully between him and the horizon. To the south, his plowed fields; to the east, the sod stables, the cattle corral, the pond,—and then the grass. Bergson went over in his mind the things that had held him back. One winter his cattle had perished in a blizzard. The next summer one of his plow horses broke its leg in a prairiedog hole and had to be shot. Another summer he lost his hogs from cholera, and a valuable stallion died from a rattlesnake bite. Time and again his crops had failed. He had lost two children, boys, that came between Lou and Emil, and there had been the cost of sickness and death. Now, when he had at last struggled out of debt, he was going to die himself. He was only forty-six, and had, of course, counted upon more time. Bergson had spent his first five years on the Divide getting into debt, and the last six getting out. He had paid off his mortgages and had ended pretty much where he began, with the land. He owned exactly six hundred and forty acres of what stretched outside his door; his own original homestead and timber claim, making three hundred and twenty acres, and the half-section adjoining, the homestead of a younger brother who had given up the fight, gone back to Chicago to work in a fancy bakery and distinguish himself in a Swedish athletic club. So far John had not attempted to cultivate the second half-section, but used it for pasture land, and one of his sons rode herd there in open weather. John Bergson had the Old-World belief that land, in itself, is desirable. But this land was an enigma. It was like a horse that no one knows how to break to harness, that runs wild and kicks things to pieces. He had an idea that no one understood how to farm it properly, and this he often discussed with Alexandra. Their neighbors, certainly, knew even less about farming than he did. Many of them had never worked on a farm until they took up their homesteads. They had been HANDWERKERS at home; tailors, locksmiths, joiners, cigar-makers, etc. Bergson himself had worked in a shipyard. For weeks, John Bergson had been thinking about these things. His bed stood in the sitting-room, next to the kitchen. Through the day, while the baking and washing and ironing were going on, the father lay and looked up at the roof beams that he himself had hewn, or out at the cattle in the corral. He counted the cattle over and over. It diverted him to speculate as to how much weight each of the steers would probably put on by spring. He often called his daughter in to talk to her about this. Before Alexandra was twelve years old she had begun to be a help to him, and as she grew older he had come to depend more and more upon her resourcefulness and good judgment. His boys were willing enough to work, but when he talked with them they usually irritated him. It was Alexandra who read the papers and followed the markets, and who learned by the mistakes of their neighbors. It was Alexandra who could always tell about what it had cost to fatten each steer, and who could guess the weight of a hog before it went on the scales closer than John Bergson himself. Lou and Oscar were industrious, but he could never teach them to use their heads about their work. Alexandra, her father often said to himself, was like her grandfather; which was his way of saying that she was intelligent. John Bergson's father had been a shipbuilder, a man of considerable force and of some fortune. Late in life he married a second time, a Stockholm woman of questionable character, much younger than he, who goaded him into every sort of extravagance. On the shipbuilder's part, this marriage was an infatuation, the despairing folly of a powerful man who cannot bear to grow old. In a few years his unprincipled wife warped the probity of a lifetime. He speculated, lost his own fortune and funds entrusted to him by poor seafaring men, and died disgraced, leaving his children nothing. But when all was said, he had come up from the sea himself, had built up a proud little business with no capital but his own skill and foresight, and had proved himself a man. In his daughter, John Bergson recognized the strength of will, and the simple direct way of thinking things out, that had characterized his father in his better days. He would much rather, of course, have seen this likeness in one of his sons, but it was not a question of choice. As he lay there day after day he had to accept the situation as it was, and to be thankful that there was one among his children to whom he could entrust the future of his family and the possibilities of his hard-won land. The winter twilight was fading. The sick man heard his wife strike a match in the kitchen, and the light of a lamp glimmered through the cracks of the door. It seemed like a light shining far away. He turned painfully in his bed and looked at his white hands, with all the work gone out of them. He was ready to give up, he felt. He did not know how it had come about, but he was quite willing to go deep under his fields and rest, where the plow could not find him. He was tired of making mistakes. He was content to leave the tangle to other hands; he thought of his Alexandra's strong ones. "DOTTER," he called feebly, "DOTTER!" He heard her quick step and saw her tall figure appear in the doorway, with the light of the lamp behind her. He felt her youth and strength, how easily she moved and stooped and lifted. But he would not have had it again if he could, not he! He knew the end too well to wish to begin again. He knew where it all went to, what it all became. His daughter came and lifted him up on his pillows. She called him by an old Swedish name that she used to call him when she was little and took his dinner to him in the shipyard. "Tell the boys to come here, daughter. I want to speak to them." "They are feeding the horses, father. They have just come back from the Blue. Shall I call them?" He sighed. "No, no. Wait until they come in. Alexandra, you will have to do the best you can for your brothers. Everything will come on you." "I will do all I can, father." "Don't let them get discouraged and go off like Uncle Otto. I want them to keep the land." "We will, father. We will never lose the land." There was a sound of heavy feet in the kitchen. Alexandra went to the door and beckoned to her brothers, two strapping boys of seventeen and nineteen. They came in and stood at the foot of the bed. Their father looked at them searchingly, though it was too dark to see their faces; they were just the same boys, he told himself, he had not been mistaken in them. The square head and heavy shoulders belonged to Oscar, the elder. The younger boy was quicker, but vacillating. "Boys," said the father wearily, "I want you to keep the land together and to be guided by your sister. I have talked to her since I have been sick, and she knows all my wishes. I want no quarrels among my children, and so long as there is one house there must be one head. Alexandra is the oldest, and she knows my wishes. She will do the best she can. If she makes mistakes, she will not make so many as I have made. When you marry, and want a house of your own, the land will be divided fairly, according to the courts. But for the next few years you will have it hard, and you must all keep together. Alexandra will manage the best she can." Oscar, who was usually the last to speak, replied because he was the older, "Yes, father. It would be so anyway, without your speaking. We will all work the place together." "And you will be guided by your sister, boys, and be good brothers to her, and good sons to your mother? That is good. And Alexandra must not work in the fields any more. There is no necessity now. Hire a man when you need help. She can make much more with her eggs and butter than the wages of a man. It was one of my mistakes that I did not find that out sooner. Try to break a little more land every year; sod corn is good for fodder. Keep turning the land, and always put up more hay than you need. Don't grudge your mother a little time for plowing her garden and setting out fruit trees, even if it comes in a busy season. She has been a good mother to you, and she has always missed the old country." When they went back to the kitchen the boys sat down silently at the table. Throughout the meal they looked down at their plates and did not lift their red eyes. They did not eat much, although they had been working in the cold all day, and there was a rabbit stewed in gravy for supper, and prune pies. John Bergson had married beneath him, but he had married a good housewife. Mrs. Bergson was a fair-skinned, corpulent woman, heavy and placid like her son, Oscar, but there was something comfortable about her; perhaps it was her own love of comfort. For eleven years she had worthily striven to maintain some semblance of household order amid conditions that made order very difficult. Habit was very strong with Mrs. Bergson, and her unremitting efforts to repeat the routine of her old life among new surroundings had done a great deal to keep the family from disintegrating morally and getting careless in their ways. The Bergsons had a log house, for instance, only because Mrs. Bergson would not live in a sod house. She missed the fish diet of her own country, and twice every summer she sent the boys to the river, twenty miles to the southward, to fish for channel cat. When the children were little she used to load them all into the wagon, the baby in its crib, and go fishing herself. Alexandra often said that if her mother were cast upon a desert island, she would thank God for her deliverance, make a garden, and find something to preserve. Preserving was almost a mania with Mrs. Bergson. Stout as she was, she roamed the scrubby banks of Norway Creek looking for fox grapes and goose plums, like a wild creature in search of prey. She made a yellow jam of the insipid ground-cherries that grew on the prairie, flavoring it with lemon peel; and she made a sticky dark conserve of garden tomatoes. She had experimented even with the rank buffalo-pea, and she could not see a fine bronze cluster of them without shaking her head and murmuring, "What a pity!" When there was nothing more to preserve, she began to pickle. The amount of sugar she used in these processes was sometimes a serious drain upon the family resources. She was a good mother, but she was glad when her children were old enough not to be in her way in the kitchen. She had never quite forgiven John Bergson for bringing her to the end of the earth; but, now that she was there, she wanted to be let alone to reconstruct her old life in so far as that was possible. She could still take some comfort in the world if she had bacon in the cave, glass jars on the shelves, and sheets in the press. She disapproved of all her neighbors because of their slovenly housekeeping, and the women thought her very proud. Once when Mrs. Bergson, on her way to Norway Creek, stopped to see old Mrs. Lee, the old woman hid in the haymow "for fear Mis' Bergson would catch her barefoot."    

This is our first new show in two weeks as I desperately needed last week off. But I’m back and this week I decided to featuring another IN THE SPOTLIGHT episode. This is a program that I initially produced in January of 2006. The reason for presenting it again – newly recorded and edited to fit the new WROCK two-hour format – was that a few days ago Erich Kunzel’s recording of the Silverado themes with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra popped up on my iPod while driving home from work. The western genre always reminded me of warm, summer weather and since summer temperatures are finally upon us here in Southern Ontario I decided to present the show you will hear today! So we are skipping the normal format, which will return next week, so you can enjoy two hours of Bruce Broughton western scores, which will include music from SILVERADO, O PIONEERS!, TOMBSTONE, TRUE WOMEN, THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE, ROUGHING IT and TEXAS RISING! Cinematic Sound Radio http://www.cinematicsound.net WROCK Radio http://www.wrockradio.com Cinematic Sound Radio Fanfare and Theme by David Coscina https://soundcloud.com/user-970634922 Bumper voice artist: Tim Burden http://www.timburden.com Also available through Podtyrant http://www.podtyrant.com

This week on StoryWeb: Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening.   Kate Chopin initially made her literary name as a writer of “local color fiction.” Writers around the United States were focusing careful attention on the customs, dialects, folkways, and geography of distinct regions in the U.S. For example, Sarah Orne Jewett focused on life in coastal Maine, perhaps most famously in The Country of the Pointed Firs, and her literary heir, Willa Cather, took the local color impulse further in her fully realized novels, such as My Antonia, O Pioneers!, and The Song of the Lark.   Chopin was particularly adept at crafting local color fiction, and she published two volumes of sketches and short stories set in the Cajun bayous of Louisiana. Though she was born and raised in my hometown of St. Louis and though she would return to the Lou after her husband died, she lived with her husband first in New Orleans, then in a rural Louisiana parish. It was there in Cloutierville in Nachitoches Parish that she found the inspiration for her short fiction. You can learn about the Chopins’ home, now designated as a National Historic Landmark, and follow in the footsteps of the Literary Traveler, Linda McGovern, as she visits Cloutierville.   In 1899, she took what she had learned about local color writing and used it to create The Awakening, a novel set in New Orleans and nearby Grand Isle – a place of summer retreat for the wives and children of wealthy New Orleans businessmen. A woman’s retelling of Gustave Flaubert’s 1857 novel, Madame Bovary, Chopin’s The Awakening teeters on the edge between the nineteenth century and the twentieth.   The novel’s heroine, Edna Pontellier, has been raised to be a good New Orleans wife, with the tacit assumption that she’ll simply don her duties like the proper dresses she wears and become like her friend, Madame Ratignolle, whom Edna calls one of the “mother women.”   But Edna doesn’t assume the mantle of respectable wife and doting mother as easily as her society tells her she should. Instead, she dips a toe in the burgeoning possibilities of the twentieth century. Actually, she dips more than a toe. After tentative beginnings, she learns to swim and plunges into the Gulf of Mexico headlong.   Her twentieth-century role model is Mademoiselle Reisz, an unmarried pianist who has dedicated her life to her music.   As Edna “awakens” throughout the novel, the question is constantly posed: can she fly above convention, or is she, as Mademoiselle Reisz says, a bird with a broken wing, hampered by the expectations of her society?   The similarities between Madame Bovary and The Awakening are striking. In Chopin’s novel, the heroine Emma is renamed Edna; other character names are echoed as well. Both Emma Bovary and Edna Pontellier commit adultery, and to make matters worse, in Chopin’s novel, the heroine’s downfall – or “sin” – is that she commits adultery solely for passion, rather than for love. Each novel ends with the heroine’s demise.   But where Emma Bovary is a shallow child-woman lost in Romantic fantasies, there is more depth to Edna Pontellier. Her deepest desire is to be an artist. She recoils from the identity of the “mother-woman,” which she sees so fully realized in her friend Madame Ratignolle. Edna does not want to be bound by her children, by motherhood. At the same time, she is drawn to her asexual friend, Mademoiselle Reisz. She loves the fact that Mademoiselle Reisz has devoted her entire life to music, and she dreams that she, too, could make a life of her art, her painting.   Perhaps the most controversial aspect of The Awakening is how to read what is undeniably an ambiguous ending. It often makes me think of the ending to the film Thelma and Louise. At first, we’re cheering as Thelma and Louise drive off the cliff: they’re liberated, they’re free, they’re triumphant. But almost instantly, we’re devastated: for in that moment of triumph, they also die.   So too with the ending of The Awakening. Edna has finally learned to swim – “she wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.” She does so naked, stripped of all social conventions and mores. She is free and triumphant at last. But it’s also true that she has swum out past the point of no return: she’s dead. She is the bird with the broken wing, the woman who could not succeed in breaking free of convention.   What happened to Kate Chopin herself is telling. By any measure and at any time, The Awakening would be considered a bold novel. That it was published in 1899 is nearly unbelievable. It is no surprise, then, to learn that Chopin came in for sharp criticism. Newspaper reviews around the country were immediately and unmistakably harsh. The St. Louis Republic deemed the novel "poison" and "too strong a drink for moral babes,” and the Chicago Times Herald chastised her for entering “the overworked field of sex fiction.”   What caused the outrage about the book? Edna’s bold, unconventional choices, including an extramarital affair with someone she did not love. But worse than that was the fact that Chopin, as author, did not punish or condemn her character for the affair.   The vitriolic reviews were one thing. But what was of much more devastating to Chopin was the resounding silence she was met with immediately and permanently from upper-crust St. Louis society, of which she had been a mainstay. Chopin had hosted a famous and well-loved “salon” – Thursday afternoon soirees that gathered the literary, artistic, cultural, and intellectual luminaries of her time. She was also the first woman in St. Louis to become a professional fiction writer.   Chopin’s prominence meant nothing, however, when The Awakening was published. Quite literally, no one ever darkened her doorway again.   So strong was the response against The Awakening that it caused her publisher to pull the contract on her forthcoming collection of stories, A Vocation and a Voice (which was finally published posthumously decades later). Chopin wrote nothing further between the publishing of The Awakening in 1899 and her death after a hot August day at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904.   After her death, Kate Chopin – the writer once heralded for her ability to capture the essence of Cajun culture – fell into nearly complete literary obscurity. It would take a Norwegian scholar, Per Seyersted, to rediscover her work in the 1960s and convince an American publisher to reissue her work.   Now The Awakening is taught in college classrooms across the country and is included in its entirety in the venerated Norton Anthology of American Literature.   Ready to learn more about Chopin? Of course, you’ll want to start by reading The Awakening – either in a free, online version or in an inexpensive Dover Thrift Edition. Per Seyersted edited an outstanding volume, The Complete Works of Kate Chopin, and Emily Toth has written the definitive biography, Unveiling Kate Chopin. For my take on Toth’s biography, visit the American Literature website, and for more of my thoughts on The Awakening, read the first chapter of my 1994 book, A Southern Weave of Women: Fiction of the Contemporary South. If you still haven’t had enough of Chopin’s work, you might want to take a look at Kate Chopin’s Private Papers, co-edited by Seyersted and Toth. In addition, the Kate Chopin International Society has a useful website. PBS has a transcript of its great documentary, Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening, and Literary Traveler Linda McGovern takes you to Grand Isle, the setting of The Awakening. Finally, if you want to see just how far Chopin could take her depiction of passion, read her posthumously published story “The Storm,” in which the two characters get swept away by the power of a raucous thunderstorm.   For links to all these resources, visit thestoryweb.com/chopin.   Listen now as I read the scene where Edna Pontellier learns to swim.   The people walked in little groups toward the beach. They talked and laughed; some of them sang. There was a band playing down at Klein's hotel, and the strains reached them faintly, tempered by the distance. There were strange, rare odors abroad—a tangle of the sea smell and of weeds and damp, new-plowed earth, mingled with the heavy perfume of a field of white blossoms somewhere near. But the night sat lightly upon the sea and the land. There was no weight of darkness; there were no shadows. The white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep. Most of them walked into the water as though into a native element. The sea was quiet now, and swelled lazily in broad billows that melted into one another and did not break except upon the beach in little foamy crests that coiled back like slow, white serpents. Edna had attempted all summer to learn to swim. She had received instructions from both the men and women; in some instances from the children. Robert had pursued a system of lessons almost daily; and he was nearly at the point of discouragement in realizing the futility of his efforts. A certain ungovernable dread hung about her when in the water, unless there was a hand near by that might reach out and reassure her. But that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with over-confidence. She could have shouted for joy. She did shout for joy, as with a sweeping stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water. A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before. Her unlooked-for achievement was the subject of wonder, applause, and admiration. Each one congratulated himself that his special teachings had accomplished this desired end. "How easy it is!" she thought. "It is nothing," she said aloud; "why did I not discover before that it was nothing. Think of the time I have lost splashing about like a baby!" She would not join the groups in their sports and bouts, but intoxicated with her newly conquered power, she swam out alone. She turned her face seaward to gather in an impression of space and solitude, which the vast expanse of water, meeting and melting with the moonlit sky, conveyed to her excited fancy. As she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself. Once she turned and looked toward the shore, toward the people she had left there. She had not gone any great distance—that is, what would have been a great distance for an experienced swimmer. But to her unaccustomed vision the stretch of water behind her assumed the aspect of a barrier which her unaided strength would never be able to overcome. A quick vision of death smote her soul, and for a second of time appalled and enfeebled her senses. But by an effort she rallied her staggering faculties and managed to regain the land.  

Dean Scotty McLennan does a sermon on the topic of "Willa Cather's O Pioneers!" on July 6, 2014 at the Stanford Memorial Church.

Anticipating the return of TEDx Baltimore, Sharon Paley and Andrew Hazlett talk with curator Sarge Salman about the event, the speakers, and this year's theme "Pioneers, O Pioneers!" Andrew and Sharon also discuss civic hacking and other hot topics and events in Baltimore tech.

In the spirit of being as random as possible in dispensing with remixable Creative Commons punk goodness, I have another show for you today!!!!mp3 audio | ogg audio | flac audioThis time, the unifying theme is my banshee plays. I use my phone sometimes and I have had other computers in the past and don't port over my plays, so this is a reasonable approximation of the tracks from the past year, but won't line up with Last.fm exactly.I did a similar thing on the main show, where there are no genre limitations (and a different list of previously played tunes)"Punknews is Stoked" by O Pioneers! (orgcore) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website"Politic It's Shit" by Femau (trashcore) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website"Hell Is Other People" by Imperial Leather (hardcore) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website "Workout Pt. 2" by Indiana Jones (hardcore) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website"Madonna is a Corporate Whore" by Louis Lingg and The Bombs (punk) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website"Built to Fail, Motherfucker" by The Arrogant Sons of Bitches (punk) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website "Whatever Song" by Eat Well Earl (instrumental punk) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website"Strings and Webs" by Wages of Fear (punk) - CC BY-NC-SA - Website

Aaaaand we're back. In an attempt to bring structure to our meandering rants about geeky crap and punk rock, we've decided to introduce a modicum of structure in the way of themes and regular features. This week, we focused on pay what you want/legally free labels Quote Unquote and Kill Your Own, so be sure to check both those sites out for some lovely free music. Also, we discuss why Emogame 2 is the greatest game ever, Pacific Rim and Jamie's deep love of Crass. As an addendum, the out takes for this show were far funnier than anything we left in. We'll try harder next time, I promise. Playlist: 1. Cold Ones- Dead End Job 2. Bomb The Music Industry- Even Winning Feels Bad 3. Bangers- The Funny Side Spotlight: 4. Horace Pinker- Into The After 5. Sauna Youth- Big Bobbles 6. Sanawon- Drifting 7. Caves- Time And Time Again 8. Laura Stevenson And The Cans- Landslide Song/The Dig 9. Bonestorm- Expire 10. Shinobu- Teachers Get Tired Memory Lame: 11. Crass- Big Man, Big M.A.N 12. O Pioneers!!!- You Know That Part In Superman III...

Brian Cobb's Campfire Songs, recorded during his 2008 Jack Straw Artist Residency, was just released by Present Sounds. He will present Composer Spotlight at Jack Straw Productions tonight, Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30.

Brian Cobb's Campfire Songs, recorded during his 2008 Jack Straw Artist Residency, was just released by Present Sounds. He will present Composer Spotlight at Jack Straw Productions tonight, Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30.

Brian Cobb’s Campfire Songs, recorded during his 2008 Jack Straw Artist Residency, was just released by Present Sounds. He will present Composer Spotlight at Jack Straw Productions tonight, Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30.

  Episode 14 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 5, Chapters 1, 2, & 3 read more

  Episode 13 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 4, Chapters 6, 7, & 8 read more

  Episode 6 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 4, Chapters 3, 4, & 5 read more

  Episode 11 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 4, Chapters 1 & 2 read more

  Episode 10 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 3, Chapters 1 & 2 read more

  Episode 9 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 2, Chapters 10, 11, & 12 read more

  Episode 8 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 2, Chapters 8 & 9 read more

  Episode 7 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 2, Chapters 6 & 7 read more

  Episode 6 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 2, Chapters 4 & 5 read more

  Episode 5 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 2, Chapters 2 & 3 read more

  Episode 4 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 1, Chapter 5 & Part 2, Chapter 1 read more

  Episode 3 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 1, Chapter 4 read more

  Episode 1 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 1, Chapters 2 & 3 read more

Episode 1 of O Pioneers, by Willa Cather Read by Alexis O'Donahue Part 1, Chapter 1 Purchase the complete recording at the Open Book Audio Store  

We have a special show for you this week.  For over two years we’ve tried to nail down an interview with O’ Pioneers!!!.  At Fest 6 we missed connecting with them.  On their tour up the west coast we were out of the state.  At Fest 7, Eric was on hold for some photo shoot […]