Sophomore Lit

Don’t it allways seem to go, you don’t know what unicorns you got til they’re gone. Kathy Campbell discusses Peter S. Beagle’s 1968 The Last Unicorn. John McCoy with Kathy Campbell Show Notes & Links I'm Aliiiiiiive My Pathetic Fallacy blogpost about theme song for the movie version of The Last Unicorn. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

BEEP boop what is… love? Well, we don’t figure this out, but John Siracusa does return to Sophomore Lit to discuss Karel Čapek’s play R.U.R. (1920), the origin of the word “robot.” John McCoy with John Siracusa Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Brush up on the Large Object Theory of History. Shaenon K. Garrity returns to discuss Jean Merrill’s The Pushcart War (1964). John McCoy with Shaenon K. Garrity Show Notes & Links Sophomore Lit Tee Shirt The first ever SophLit merch! Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

If you’re suffering from Quiet Desparation, why not listen to the not-so-quiet voices of Dan Daughhetee and me discussing Henrey David Thoreau’s Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854)? John McCoy with Daniel Daughetee Show Notes & Links Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads My blog post with further Thoreau musings. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Somebody loves us all. Rosalynde Vas Dias discusses three poems by Elizabeth Bishop: “Sestina” (1956), “Filling Station” (1956), and “Crusoe in England” (1971). John McCoy with Rosalynde Vas Dias and Marina McCoy Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Podcasts are the original voices in your head. David Dredrick discusses John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids (1955). John McCoy with David Dedrick Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Make money fast with this one weird trick. Glenn Fleishman discusses Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit (1956). John McCoy with Glenn Fleishman Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

And indeed there will be time to discuss this, the most mid-life white-guy crisis poem of all. Lisa Schmeiser discusses T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915). John McCoy with Lisa Schmeiser Show Notes & Links The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Complete text on the Poetry Foundation website Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

I’ve heard it said by men of wide experience that podcasts used to be better in the old days. Kieran Healy discusses three short stories by Frank O’Connor: “First Confession,” “The Majesty of the Law,” and “Guests of the Nation.” John McCoy with Kieran Healy Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Forever is composed of podcasts. Caroline Fulford discusses selected poems by Emily Dickinson (c. 1860-65). John McCoy with Caroline Fulford and Marina McCoy Show Notes & Links Emily Dickinson at the Poetry Foundation Biography and texts of many of her poems. Works in this episode linked below: I felt a funeral, in my brain I heard a Fly buzz - when I died - Forever – is composed of Nows – You left me – Sire – two Legacies – Wild nights - Wild nights! Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Cigars are always trouble. Marina McCoy discusses Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972). John McCoy with Marina McCoy Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody is a thread in the fabric of the human condition. Also they know your name. Phil Gonzales discusses William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life (1939). John McCoy with Phil Gonzales Show Notes & Links The Time of Your Life (1976) The John Houseman directed television version for Theater in America, with Kevin Kline and Patti Lupone. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Hey, things are tough. The McCoy Bros, Rob, John, and Dan, discuss the books that get them through. John McCoy with Rob McCoy and Dan McCoy Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Ross Cleaver returns to talk owls, plates, and Welsh mythology in Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1967). John McCoy with Ross Cleaver Show Notes & Links Owl Service dinner plate The titular service plate with its owl flowers. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

This episode has many omissions, and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate. Jacob Haller tries to make sense of Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979). John McCoy with Jacob Haller Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

What’s more cultivated and genteel than classical theater? David Loehr discusses Aristophanes’s Lysistrata (411 B.C.E.) John McCoy with David J. Loehr Show Notes & Links Lysistrata Jones Trailer for the 2011 Broadway musical Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Because twenty would be too few and twenty-two would be ridiculous. Shaenon K. Garrity discusses William Pène du Bois’s The Twenty-One Balloons (1947). John McCoy with Shaenon K. Garrity Referenced Works The Twenty-One Balloons Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Rain Main meets Air Bud. Dan McCoy discusses stims and happy endings and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). John McCoy with Dan McCoy Show Notes & Links Dan McCoy's Special Interests My brother’s newsletter mentioned in the episode. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a bunch of monks sitting around copying stuff. Jelani Sims returns to discuss Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959). John McCoy with Jelani Sims Referenced Works A Canticle for Leibowitz Show Notes & Links A Canticle for Leibowitz The Internet Archive has all episodes of the 15-part NPR Playhouse adaptation which aired in 1981. Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.

Stick some stamps on the top of our heads. Deborah Stanish discusses Eudora Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.” (1941) John McCoy with Deborah Stanish Referenced Works Why I Live at the P.O. Show Notes & Links Support this show and other shows like it on The Incomparable network by becoming a member. Members get early access to podcasts, bonus episodes, and more.