The Norton Library Podcast
Welcome to the Norton Library Podcast, where we explore influential works of literature and philosophy with the leading scholars and teachers behind Norton’s newest series of classics. In each episode, with a Norton Library editor or translator as our guide, we'll learn something new and surprising about these classic works—why they endure, and what it means to read them today. Hosted by Mark Cirino and produced by Michael Von Cannon, the co-creators of the Hemingway Society's popular show One True Podcast.
Episodes
36 episodes
A Passion for Dead Leaves (Sense and Sensibility, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow discusses her own history with Austen, common misconceptions about the novel, her favorite line in the novel, a Sense and Sensibi...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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34:19
The Last Eighteenth-Century Novel (Sense and Sensibility, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Austen's Sense and Sensibility, we welcome editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow to discuss Austen's biography, including some misconceptions about her; the place of Sense and Sensibility in Austen's...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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33:10
They All Cried Out, "He Made Us" (Confessions, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Augustine's Confessions, translator Peter Constantine discusses his own history with the text and how he came to translate it, the stylistic accomplishment of the Confessions, his translation pro...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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30:09
Augustine Gives in to Pear Pressure (Confessions, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Augustine's Confessions, we welcome translator Peter Constantine to discuss the historical context in which Augustine of Hippo wrote the Confessions, the genre of the text, the lasting effect it ...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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32:37
Funny as Hell (Inferno, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Dante's Inferno, translator Michael Palma discusses his own history with the poem and how he came to translate it, the terza rima rhyme scheme Dante employs, and in what ways the Divine Comedy is...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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35:39
Dante's Inferno: A 13th-Century Scared Straight! (Inferno, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Dante's Inferno, we welcome translator Michael Palma to discuss Dante's life and the context in which he wrote the Inferno, the narrative structure of The Divine Comedy, and what makes t...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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35:12
How to Read, How to Feel (Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, editor Joshua Bennett discusses the cover of the Norton Library edition, approaching the text as history and as literature, how Douglass teaches us to read, th...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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34:43
The Hero's Journey (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, we welcome editor Joshua Bennett to discuss Douglass's Narrative as a type of hero's journey, Douglass's political project in writing the book, an...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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30:23
But I Wouldn't Give Myself (The Awakening, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on The Awakening, editor Laura Fisher tells us about her first encounter with the novel, discusses her approach to teaching it, explores her favorite line of the text, provides a killer Awakening playlist, a...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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30:35
Don't Nap for Self-Care. Wake up! (The Awakening, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on The Awakening, we welcome editor Laura Fisher to discuss Kate Chopin's writing career, the novel's reception and themes, as well as some of its major characters. Laura R. Fisher is an associate pr...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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32:36
It's Okay to be Frustrated with Joyce (Dubliners, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Dubliners, editor Ian Whittington discusses the inspiration for the cover of his Norton Library edition, his favorite lines in the collection, his Dubliners hot take, and some suggestions for a <...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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34:31
You Can File this All Under "A City in Decline" (Dubliners, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Dubliners, we welcome editor Ian Whittington to discuss how this collection of short stories was received by its publisher, by its literary audience, and by the people who made up its subject matter; ...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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32:19
Medea has Pierced Our Hearts (Medea, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Medea, editor Sheila Murnaghan discusses her teaching of the drama, what Medea shows us about the nature of revenge, and her approach to the challenges of translating this tragedy.
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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28:47
Euripides's Exploration of the Unthinkable and Unnatural (Medea, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Medea, we welcome translator Sheila Murnaghan to discuss the historical and dramatic context in which Euripides wrote the play, its basis in the Medea myth, and the plays most prominent characters.
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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36:44
An African American Novel about White People (The Marrow of Tradition, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on The Marrow of Tradition, editor Autumn Womack discusses her background with the novel, teaching the novel, her favorite line, and her hot take on The Marrow of Tradition. Autumn Womack is...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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27:01
Carterets, Millers, and Massacres (The Marrow of Tradition, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on The Marrow of Tradition, we welcome editor Autumn Womack to discuss Charles W. Chestnut's biography, his ambitions in writing the novel, the historical realities depicted in it, and some of its major char...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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29:36
Up-to-date with a Vengeance (Dracula, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Dracula, editor Rachel Feder discusses the inspiration for the cover of her Norton Library edition, her favorite line in the novel, how the novel relates to the popular cultural understanding of vampires,...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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30:59
Vampires and Gothic Horror (Dracula, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on Dracula, we welcome editor Rachel Feder to discuss whether Bram Stoker's biography is relevant to our interpretations of the novel, Dracula's place in the history of Gothic literature, different ...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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30:30
A Long and Winding Road to Nowhere (The Canterbury Tales, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on The Canterbury Tales, translator and editor Sheila Fisher uncovers her favorite line(s) in the text, tells us how she approaches teaching the Tales, gives us a cross-centuries Chaucer playlist, a...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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32:16
Tales and Tellers (The Canterbury Tales, Part 1)
In Part 1 of our discussion on The Canterbury Tales, we welcome translator and editor Sheila Fisher to discuss Geoffrey Chaucer's life and times, his great accomplishment in crafting these Tales, and the intricacies of Sheila'...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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33:29
Ugh, as if I could forgive her! (Emma, Part 2)
In Part 2 of our discussion on Emma , editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow tells us how she first encountered Jane Austen's work, highlights some of her preferred techniques for teaching Emma, gives her hot take on Austen, and re...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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32:46
Handsome, Clever, and Rich (Emma, Part 1)
In the first of our two episodes on Emma , we welcome editor Stephanie Insley Hershinow to discuss what popular conceptions of Jane Austen get right and get wrong about her, how Austen is both similar to and different from the titular ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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32:20
A Nose for Absurdity (Selected Tales of Gogol, Part 2)
In part 2 of our discussion on the short fiction of Nikolai Gogol (as selected in the recently published Norton Library edition), translator Michael Katz and introducer Kate Holland tell us their favorite lines from Gogol's work and highlight t...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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29:40
The Strange, Wonderful Worlds of Nikolai Gogol (Selected Tales, Part 1)
In this episode of the Norton Library Podcast, we welcome translator Michael R. Katz and scholar of Russian literature Kate Holland to chat about one of the most celebrated figures in all of Russian literature: Nikolai Gogol. We discuss the inf...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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31:56
Call Me Ishmael, But Don't Call Moby-Dick "Boring" (Moby-Dick, Part 2)
In part 2 of our conversation on Moby-Dick, editor Jeffrey Insko breaks down his favorite lines and highlights the pleasures of uncovering the novel's endless layers of humor and meaning—even (especially?) in the dreaded Cetology...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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30:53