The Spouter-Inn; or, A Conversation with Great Books

Suzanne and Chris talk about great books—but what does “great” even mean?

71. Troilus and Criseyde.

Geoffrey Chaucer's narrative poem Troilus and Criseyde.

10-10
53:56

70b. Bonus: Dick Davis on Translating Persian Poetry.

Dick Davis, translator of Layli and Majnun, The Conference of the Birds, and other Persian poetry.

09-19
40:16

70. Layli and Majnun.

Nezami Ganjavi's 12th century poem, Layli and Majnun (also known as Layla and Majnun).

09-06
59:19

69b. Bonus: Mark Sundaram and Aven McMaster on Etymology.

Mark Sundaram and Aven McMaster from The Endless Knot on etymology.

07-15
43:43

69. The Etymologies.

Isidore of Seville's medieval encyclopedia, The Etymologies.

07-01
48:18

68. The Consolation of Philosophy.

The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius.

06-08
58:19

67. The Song of Songs.

The erotic/devotional poetry of The Song of Songs.

05-11
49:05

66. Antigone.

Sophocles's play Antigone.

04-02
54:29

65. The Epic of Gilgamesh.

The ancient Mesopotamian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh.

02-26
53:50

64b. Bonus: Sassan Tabatabai on Blind Owl.

We are joined by poet and scholar Sassan Tabatabai, who translated Blind Owl.

02-12
37:13

64. Blind Owl.

Sadeq Hedayat's hauting novel Blind Owl.

01-31
54:14

63. Midwinter Day.

Bernadette Mayer's book-length poem Midwinter Day.

01-20
52:58

62. The Waste Land.

T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land on its 100th birthday.

01-04
48:49

61. Native Tongue.

Suzette Haden Elgin's feminist science-fiction novel Native Tongue.

12-20
57:43

60b. Bonus: Jared Pechaček on The Two Towers.

Writer and artist Jared Pechaček joins in a discussion of Tolkien's The Two Towers.

11-05
36:50

60. The Two Towers.

The second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

10-01
53:47

59. Harriet the Spy.

Louise Fitzhugh's children's novel Harriet the Spy.

09-25
57:12

58. Invisible Man.

Ralph Ellison's novel is, among other things, a portrait of New York City.

09-04
52:09

57. Ulysses.

James Joyce’s novel takes place in a single day in Dublin.

06-16
59:44

56. Mrs. Dalloway.

Virginia Woolf's novel takes place in a single day in London.

05-25
53:27

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