Emily. Van Duyne discusses her new, ground breaking book, Loving Sylvia Plath

A wide ranging discussion of Larry Wells’s memories of the Faulkner family, of Faulkner biographers, Joseph Blotner and Carvel Collins, and what it takes to research and write biography, which often feels like a Henry James story.

17 Jan 202139min

We talk about how Heather Clark became interested in Plath, how she came to write the biography, how biography is a product of its age, and much more.

9 Jan 202130min

A wide-ranging discussion of biography, how to work on literary figures Melville’s “black consciousness” and much more.

2 Jan 202143min

Slavery, capitalism, what went into the making of Washington’s life and those of his contemporaries—plus Alexis Coe puts THE BIG QUESTION to me.

29 Des 202015min

More discussion of how to shake up the genre of presidential biography.

29 Des 20206min

A wide ranging discussion of presidential biography and why Alexis Coe decided on what has been called a “historiographical intervention.”

29 Des 20209min

My experience over 40 years of contacting sources and how they responded, and how I got them to respond.

26 Des 202039min

Much talk about Emily’s book, Loving Sylvia Plath, how students and other readers react to Plath, and the role biography plays in the mixed reactions to her work.

19 Des 202037min