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Lit Century

Sandra Newman and Catherine Nichols

Host Catherine Nichols and guests choose one book for each year of the twentieth century (Nella Larsen's Passing, 1936, Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, 1966; Mohandas Gandhi's Indian Home Rule, 1909) and talk about it in its historical and literary context. Tune in to find out what the 20th century was all about.

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 1 hr 5 min
  • English

Episodes 20

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  • May 14, 2024 · 1 hr 1 min

    Train Dreams

    Author Amitava Kumar and host Catherine Nichols discuss Train Dreams by Denis Johnson. They talk about the wilderness and the names of plants, the associations of trains and the 19th and 20th centuries in India, Europe and the United States, and the book's rolling, associative prose style. Amitava Kumar is the author of several works of nonfiction and three novels. His novel Immigrant, Montana was a New York Times and New Yorker best book of the year and was selected by President Barack Obama as a favorite book of the year. Kumar's work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, the Nation, Granta, BRICK, and Guernica, among other publications. He has been awarded a Guggenheim fellowship and residencies from Yaddo, MacDowell, and the Lannan Foundation. His most recent novel is My Beloved Life (2024). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Apr 2, 2024 · 1 hr 12 min

    Pedro Páramo

    Authors Daniel Saldaña París and Wah-Ming Chang join host Catherine Nichols to discuss Juan Rulfo's 1955 novel Pedro Páramo, in its new translation by Douglas J. Weatherford. They talk about the book's unique mixture of modernity and timelessness, the violence and coziness of the book's picture of domestic life, and Rulfo's life as a traveler, reader, and editor. Daniel Saldaña París is the author of three novels—Among Strange Victims, Ramifications, and The Dance and the Wildfire—and a collection of personal essays, Planes Flying Over a Monster. His work has been translated into several languages, and he has been included in Bogota39, a list of the Best Latin American Writers Under 40. Wah-Ming Chang is a writer from New York City. Hand, Held, her artist book about her father's art practice, is forthcoming from Bored Wolves in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Feb 13, 2024 · 1 hr 5 min

    The Bell

    Na Zhong and Catherine Nichols discuss Iris Murdoch's 1958 novel The Bell. They discuss Murdoch's characters and the unique ethical quandaries of the book, as well as Murdoch's love of swimming and the size of the bell itself. A native of Chengdu, China, Na Zhong is a fiction writer who now calls New York her home. Her work has been recognized by organizations such as MacDowell and the Center for Fiction. Additionally, she serves as a columnist at China Books Review and is the co-founder of Accent Society. She has finished her first novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • Oct 17, 2023 · 1 hr 3 min

    My Soul in Exile

    In this episode, host Catherine Nichols and writer Sally Foreman discuss Zabel Yesayan's enigmatic 1922 novel My Soul in Exile. Yesayan wrote the book after reporting on the genocide of her own Armenian people, shortly before before becoming a Communist. The book is counterintuitively joyful, as Yesayan describes a life in the arts both as a form of exile and a form of homecoming. Sally Foreman is an English writer and researcher living in Jerusalem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • S3 · E11
    Apr 4, 2023 · 1 hr 11 min

    Songs for Drella

    Leeore Schnairsohn in conversation with Catherine Nichols

  • S3 · E10
    Feb 28, 2023 · 1 hr 4 min

    The Death of the Heart

    Lucy Ferriss in conversation with Catherine Nichols

  • S3 · E7
    Dec 6, 2022 · 1 hr 5 min

    A Chess Story

    Leeore Schnairsohn joins Isaac Butler and Catherine Nichols to discuss Stefan Zweig's 1943 novella

  • S3 · E6
    Oct 18, 2022 · 58 min

    The Golden Compass

    Kelly Farber joins Catherine Nichols to discuss Philip Pullman's 1995 novel

  • S3 · E5
    Aug 30, 2022 · 1 hr 4 min

    Parade's End

    Brian Hall joins host Catherine Nichols to discuss Ford Madox Ford's 1928 quartet of novels

  • S3 · E4
    Aug 9, 2022 · 1 hr 16 min

    Mrs Dalloway

    Andrea Pitzer and Matthew Hunte join host Catherine Nichols to discuss Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel

  • S3 · E4
    Jul 12, 2022 · 50 min

    Sex and the Single Girl

    Samantha Allen and Briallen Hopper discuss Helen Gurley Brown's 1962 book

  • S3 · E3
    May 31, 2022 · 1 hr 11 min

    The Man Who Loved Children

    K. Austin Collins and John Lingan discuss Christina Stead’s 1940 novel

  • S2 · E14
    Mar 22, 2022 · 53 min

    The Denial of Death

    Elisa Gabbert and Catherine Nichols discuss Ernest Becker's 1973 book The Denial of Death

  • S2 · E13
    Dec 14, 2021 · 1 hr 12 min

    Love in a Fallen City

    Writer and photographer Adalena Kavanagh and editor Jaime Chu join host Catherine Nichols to discuss Eileen Chang's 1943 novel Love In a Fallen City

  • S2 · E12
    Dec 7, 2021 · 1 hr 14 min

    Sunday in the Park with George

    In this episode, musician and editor Rob Weinert-Kendt joins hosts Isaac Butler and Catherine Nichols to discuss the musical "Sunday in the Park with George" with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine

  • S2 · E11
    Nov 30, 2021 · 54 min

    Pitchin' Man: Satchel Paige's Own Story

    In this episode, writer Luke Epplin joins host Catherine Nichols to discuss Leroy "Satchel" Paige's 1948 memoir Pitchin' Man

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes