Words Have Power is the home of true book nerds. Applying literary theory to popular books from the last few years, we introduce avid readers to critical analysis and theoretical application skills, thinking more deeply about the books that are popular right now. Each season we examine a new area of theory, starting with an introduction to the contemporary Gothic. Ghosts! Vampires! Capitalism? Join Dr Vicky Brewster for fun, accessible podcast lectures!
In this episode, I interview Dr Sam Hirst, organiser of popular Gothic scholarship video series, Romancing the Gothic. Sam tells us all about Gothic's origins and how this translates into the Gothic today, and we also start to get spooky with ghost stories then and now!
Here are the various ways you can find Sam and support their work:
Website: romancingthegothic.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-hirst-64b23026/
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/samhirst
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Want to read along with the podcast? You can buy all the books as a bundle from brilliant online independent bookseller Bert's Books here: https://bertsbooks.co.uk/product/words-have-power-gothic-fiction-bundle
Subscribe to the podcast and receive a super discount for the Bert's bundle, plus a full-length recording of this interview with nearly thirty minutes extra content, at substack.com/@wordshavepower or patreon.com/wordshavepowerpodcast
Huge thanks to Ben Moxon for composing and performing this season's music. You can find more from Ben here: https://crudely-formed-chords.bandcamp.com
7 Aug 2024
Recycling, Adaptation, and Aesthetic
In this episode, we take a high-level view of what the Gothic does in the twenty-first century. How is this different from what's come before? Using three pieces of literary criticism, we apply the theory to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", and two of its recent adaptations, Mike Flanagan's TV series of the same name, and What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher.
Want to read along with the podcast? You can buy all the books as a bundle from brilliant online independent bookseller Bert's Books here: https://bertsbooks.co.uk/product/words-have-power-gothic-fiction-bundle/
Subscribe to the podcast and receive a super discount for the Bert's bundle, plus further learning materials, at substack.com/@wordshavepower or patreon.com/wordshavepowerpodcast
Huge thanks to Ben Moxon for composing and performing this season's music. You can find out more about Ben here: https://crudely-formed-chords.bandcamp.com
References:
Botting, F. (2002). "Aftergothic". In The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction, ed. J. E. Hogle. Cambridge University Press. pp. 277-300.
Carlson, M. (2003). The Haunted Stage: Theatre As Memory. University of Michigan Press.
Flanagan, M. (2023). The Fall of the House of Usher. Netflix.
Kingfisher, T. (2022). What Moves the Dead. Titan Books.
Poe, E. A. (2021 [1839]). "The Fall of the House of Usher". In Edgar Allan Poe: The Ultimate Collection. King Solomon. pp. 161-174.
Spooner, C. (2017). Post-Millennial Gothic: The Rise of Happy Gothic. Bloomsbury Academic.
31 Jul 2024
Gothic Origins
In this episode, we receive our first introduction to the Gothic -- what does the term mean? What are its origins? Is it just waiflike women in white nightgowns in old mansions holding a candelabra? Once we know where the Gothic comes from, we'll start to think how we can apply this to fiction now.
Want to read along with the podcast? You can buy all the books as a bundle from brilliant online independent bookseller Bert's Books here: https://bertsbooks.co.uk/product/words-have-power-gothic-fiction-bundle/
Subscribe to the podcast and receive a super discount for the Bert's bundle, plus further learning materials, at substack.com/@wordshavepower or patreon.com/wordshavepowerpodcast
Huge thanks to Ben Moxon for composing and performing this season's music. You can find out more about Ben here: https://crudely-formed-chords.bandcamp.com
References:
Baldick, C. & R. Midhall. (2012). "Gothic Criticism". In A New Companion to the Gothic, ed. D. Punter. John Wiley & Sons.
Spooner, C. (2017). Post-Millennial Gothic: Comedy, Romance, and the Rise of Happy Gothic. Bloomsbury.
22 Jul 2024
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