The September edition of Literary Ashland Radio focused on the upcoming Ashland Literary Arts Festival, scheduled for October 28 at the Hannon Library on the SOU campus. Tod Davies, Vice President of the Board of the Friends of the Hannon Library, explained this years event and how it’s different from earlier years. Have a listen.
Literary Ashland – Conversation
This month’s edition of Literary Ashland turned out different than intended. Our planned guest couldn’t make and so Ed and I ended up having a fun conversation about writing, linguistics, melodrama, clues and everything in between. So enjoy this unscheduled and unrehearsed show. As Ed pointed out, the show is a clear sign that both of us had experience walking into a classroom unprepared.
[audioplayer file=”http://www.kskq.org/media/lashland/LA042216.mp3″ titles=”Literary Ashland Radio – a conversation”]The Thriller as Melodrama
Why do people read detective stories? Edmund Wilson posed this question in a 1944 New Yorker essay. He went on to say that since Sherlock Holmes there hadn’t really been anything worthwhile published in that genre. He had nothing nice to say about Agatha Christie and his comment on Dashiell Hammett was this: “‘The Maltese Falcon’ … seems not much above those newspaper picture strips in which you follow from day to day the ups and downs of a strong-jawed hero and a hardboiled but beautiful adventuress.”
Wilson dismisses contemporary detective fiction as being a reaction to guilt and fear of the years between WWI and WWII. “Nobody seems guiltless, nobody seems safe; and then, suddenly, the murderer is spotted, and—relief!—he is not, after all, a person like you or me. He is a villain—known to the trade as George Gruesome—and he has been caught by an infallible Power, the supercilious and omniscient detective, who knows exactly how to fix the guilt.” Of course, detective fiction and mystery fiction in general has thrived since Wilson dismissed it as not worthy his time. Today, there are more sub-genres than ever.
Literary Ashland with Jim Phillips
Our October guest was professor Jim Phillips of the Anthropology and International Studies programs at Southern Oregon University. Jim discussed his new book Honduras in Dangerous Times. Jim’s interest in Honduras and Central America goes back a long time. How long? Listen to the interview. Since then, he and his partner Lucy have been active in the human rights movements there.
[audioplayer file=”http://www.kskq.org/media/lashland/LA102315.mp3″ titles=”Literary Ashland Radio with Jim Phillips”]
Literary Ashland with Jeffrey Gayton
Our September guest was Jeffrey Gayton, University Librarian and Director of the Learning Commons at Southern Oregon University. Jeffrey filled us in on the upcoming Ashland Book and Author Festival, his responsibilities at SOU and the role of libraries in the digital age. Spoiler alert, they are more important than ever.
[audioplayer file=”http://www.kskq.org/media/lashland/LA092515.mp3″ titles=”Literary Ashland Radio with Jeffrey Gayton”]
