American Letters: Podcasts

February 23, 2013

A. A. Brill and Mabel Dodge Luhan: A Reading from their Correspondence
Psychologists Patricia Everett and Paul Lippmann read from the archival correspondence between Luhan and her psychoanalyst, A. A. Brill. This reading was recorded at the Beinecke during the 2011 exhibit Psyche & Muse: Creative Entanglements with the Science of the Soul. (52:40)

Jane Wodening and Stan Brakhage Scrapbooks, 1958-1967
Richard Deming, lecturer in the Department of English at Yale University, describes a collection of scrapbooks that document the work and family life of Jane Wodening and her husband, the avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage. See images from the scrapbooks in the Beinecke Library’s Digital Collections. (16:31)

Herman Melville to Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1852
The ninetheenth century American authors correspond. (3:21)

The Van Vechten Paradox: The Harlem Renaissance, a White Man, and his Black Story
Emily Bernard, Professor of English and Ethnic Studies at the University of Vermont, and the 2008/2009 James Weldon Johnson Fellow in African American Studies at the Beinecke Library, chronicles the life of Carl Van Vechten. (40:55)

Ernest Hemingway to Ezra Pound, 1931
Despite a broken arm and fingers, Ernest Hemingway writes to Ezra Pound. (3:26)

Richard Wright, Native Son, and the Beinecke: Being Brought to My Senses
Jonathan Holloway, Yale Professor of History, African American Studies, and American Studies recounts visiting the Beinecke Library in his first month of graduate school and the transformative experience that grew out of his surprise encounter with Richard Wright’s landmark text, Native Son. (7:27)

Rachel Carson to Raymond J. Brown, 1946
Rachel Carson, the American naturalist and author of Silent Spring, writes to the editor of Outdoor Life magazine. (4:22) © Rachel Carson Estate

Mark Twain to Walt Whitman, 1889
Mark Twain writes an open letter on the occasion of Walt Whitman’s 70th birthday.

The Rediscovery of Monkeys’ Moon
Richard Deming, critic, writer, and lecturer in the Yale Department of English describes the silent film Monkeys Moon. (18:41)

Living Distance: The Life and Papers of James Welch
An audio essay by Eric Ward ‘09, read by Presca Ahn ‘09, exploring the life, legacy, and archive of James Welch, the American writer of Blackfeet and Gros Ventre heritage. (15:28)

Looking for Richard Wright
Caryl Phillips, Professor of English at Yale University describes his process of writing the introduction to the Vintage Books, British edition of Richard Wright’s landmark text, Native Son. (15:27)

Unfolding the Corners: Intimacy in the Archive of Margaret Anderson
Famous for her strong opinions about art as well as for her beauty and wit, radical editor Margaret Anderson was a key figure in American and European Modernism. Archivist Molly Wheeler speaks with Nancy Kuhl, Curator of the Yale Collection of American Literature, about this archival collection. (23:06)

Metaphor Taking Shape: Poetry, Art, and the Book
In this podcast, Nancy Kuhl, Associate Curator of the Yale Collection of American Literature discusses highlights from the exhibition, Metaphor Taking Shape. (7:47)

Documenting Slavery
A podcast describing highlights of the 2007 exhibition Documenting Slavery. (6:41)

The Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series hosts award-winning poet John Ashbery for a reading on Tuesday, November 12th, 2013.
 
The Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series hosts a reading by award-winning poet Susan Stewart.
 

Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series
Podcasts of poetry readings by contemporary American poets. The current schedule of reading is available online through Poetry at Beinecke Library: Readings at Beinecke. Recordings from past readings are available from the Yale Collection of American Literature Reading Series finding aid.