Legacy: The Artists Behind The Legends

Edith Newbold Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior design pioneer active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This woman was a badass – she was the first woman to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in Literature, she was a world traveler, one of President Teddy Roosevelt’s BFFs, and on top of all that, is considered a war hero of WWI in France for the efforts and aid she offered to those in need. Raised in New York City, Edith was born into the upper class life, though unlike most of the women around her, she did not abide by the social standards of that day and age. Her writing career was limited until she saw herself married, though from that point forward her literary voice was one of the most influential of her day. While it did her no favors on a social level, Edith realistically depicted the lives of wealthy aristocrats in her work, focusing on materialism, moral code, and the decline of the Victorian Era. This exposure of their world was not received well, and Edith fou

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was a 20th century literary icon whose career spanned a whopping fifty years and includes the publication of fourteen novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of nonfiction. He is probably best known for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five, a book that while darkly satirical, also pulls from Vonnegut’s firsthand experience as a prisoner of war in World War II and pushes a relatively anti-war sentiment. I have had numerous requests to cover the life of Vonnegut, and I am going to admit I learned a lot about this author that I had never known before. Throughout his eighty four years, Vonnegut saw the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, I mean, the list goes on and on and on…its incredible to realize how much change one man could witness in just one life. And Kurt’s life definitely had its ups and downs…his once wealthy parents struggled during the 1930s when their money went dry, he fought and was captured in World War II, only to witness atro

Clive Staples Lewis, or as he was later called Jack, was an Irish born novelist, poet, essayist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist active during the 20th century, and he is probably best known for his series The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis’ immense career saw him publish around forty books, which have been translated into over three dozen languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. But as all of you know, it isn’t the literary works we tackle on this podcast, it’s the artist, and Jack was definitely one hell of a fascinating character. While he was a notable and extremely popular Christian apologist, this only came later in his life, as he was a staunch atheist from his adolescence until his early thirties. And while the majority of Lewis’ adult life was spent teaching at his alma mater, Oxford, he did for a time hold a position at Cambridge, and this aspect of his professional life is often overshadowed by his novels. Jack also ca

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was a Russian novelist, short story writer, journalist, essayist, and philosopher active during the 19th century. His writing focused on a multitude of topics that stemmed from a constant study on human psychology during a time in Russia filled with political, social, and religious upheaval, though to give some perspective on his literary impact, Dostoevsky’s books have been translated into more that 170 languages. His best known novel, Crime and Punishment, is said to have been ‘the only thing read in 1866’, and while critics didn’t love it then, this book firmly established Dostoevsky as one of the greatest writers of his time. Along with many of his fellow Russians, Dostoevsky had a relatively tumultuous existence from the day he was born until the day he died: he was an epileptic, his father was believed to be murdered by his own serfs, he was imprisoned, nearly executed and exiled, AGAIN imprisoned in absolutely horrifying conditions, survived a number of wives and illicit

Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the most revolutionary and influential feminist thinkers of the Romantic Era at the end of the 18th century. As a writer and philosopher, Mary is perhaps best known for her work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, a piece that argues that the presumed inferiority of women to men is due to their lack of an equal education; however, Wollstonecraft’s genius stems far beyond this progressive and, for the time period, radical article. Not only did Mary fiercely advocate for female rights in her very short four decades of life , but she also was actively involved in the French Revolution, and was additionally present when the revolution went to hell and became the Reign of Terror. Wollstonecraft’s literary works regrettably spent over a century following her death being ignored and condemned by the intellectual community for her unconventional ideas AND due to her own lifestyle, which while nowadays we might see as rather ordinary, the Victorian and tight-collared 19th century folk

Henry Charles Bukowski, born Heinrich Karl Bukowski, was a German-American novelist, short story writer, and poet active during the mid to late 20th century. Holy shit, where do I even begin with this guy…well, to start, his writing was deeply influenced by his own life, and many of his works were relatively autobiographical, centering on the social, cultural, and economic environment of Los Angeles, where he lived for the majority of his life. To give you some perspective here, Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories, and six novels, altogether publishing over sixty books. The themes of his work reflect his own experience with writing, with working total crap jobs, bad relationships with women, and as you could probably guess, alcohol. And believe me when I also tell you that the FBI kept an open file on Charles for decades after WWII AND as a result of his column Notes of a Dirty Old Man, which ran in an underground LA newspaper called Open City. This week will be a tad different than u

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, known to most of us as F. Scott Fitzgerald, was an American writer active during the 1920s and 1930s whose more popular literary works were a reflection of the Jazz Age. If you’re drawing a blank, he’s the author of the American classic The Great Gatsby, a novel I am quite sure is required reading in every high school across America. He achieved success and celebrity at a very young age upon the publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, and after winning the heart of his muse, went on to live a parallel existence to that of his novel’s characters – a life of swimming in fountains, drinking champagne until dawn, and becoming one of the most coveted party guests during the Fitzgerald’s residency in New York City. But as we all know, you can’t live on top forever, and soon F. Scott and Zelda found that their large-living lifestyle on the Riviera took its toll – Fitzgerald turned to alcohol, and Zelda…well…she sort of lost it, later to discover her mental status had neve

WE ARE BACK with all new episodes of Legacy: the Artists Behind the Legends!

William Shakespeare, the “Bard of Avon”, was a 16th-17th century English playwright, actor, and poet, a man widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. In grand total, Billy boasts 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other short works, and these pieces have all been translated into EVERY MAJOR living language, with his plays being performed more than those of any other playwright…ever. To date, no other writer’s reputation compares to his. Shakespeare was a writer of great intellect, with incredible perceptions of his characters brought to life with an unparalleled poetic power. Unlike so many before him, Shakespeare brought the stage to life, humanizing the performers of his plays and drawing the audience to invest into the play, as if they too were sucked into his imaginative story. For two decades, Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men were THE sought-after entertainment, from English royalty down to the poorest of the poor, the only exception being the Purit

Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker was an Irish author known all over the world for his Gothic novel, Dracula, a book that has inspired a plethora of vampire-themed art and entertainment in the century following his death. What is lesser known about Mr. Stoker is that aside from a vast literary career of novels, short stories, non-fiction articles, and reviews, Bram was also the business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which included managing one of Britain’s greatest actors of all time, Henry Irving. This wasn’t just a short-lived gig either – Bram held this position for three decades until Irving’s death and his own health started to decline, and this position made him a friend and contemporary to some of the best writers and entertainers of his day, which included the British gentry and high society. This guy was a BIG deal, and yet Stoker seemed to like being the man who operated from the shadows, or better, the man working behind the scenes. So, in light of that, for episode 29 of Legacy, we are going to dig

Mary Anne Evans, aka Marian, or better yet George Eliot, was a Victorian Era novelist, poet, journalist, and translator, known best for her seven novels including her masterpiece, entitled Middlemarch. Now, for the podcast, I am not going to be referring to Marian as George Eliot because she really only went by George Eliot on paper, so I’ll do my best to establish that early and avoid confusion. After a week of research, I am obsessed with this woman for so many reasons, every one of which I will get to within our allotted timeframe covering Marian’s life, and just to really get you hooked for this week, you should know that she was a true pioneer for female writers. Not only did she write novels that portrayed the multifaceted nature of real life in provincial England, but also threw convention out the door when it came to love no matter how many dinner parties she was shunned from. Her life was a proverbial middle finger to the tight collars of the day, and from an early age she lived her life the way she

John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. was an American author, short story writer, and journalist active during the late 1920s and into the early 1960s, who won both a Pulitzer for his novel The Grapes of Wrath and earned himself the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. In grand total, Steinbeck wrote twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction works, and two collections of short stories. What I love about John Steinbeck is that he was an author who wanted to live and breathe his material, thus why most of his writing stems from his personal experience. I have been a huge fan of John Steinbeck since I was in high school when I read Of Mice and Men, a novella that seriously messed with my head in the aftermath of its conclusion, and if you have read any one of Steinbeck’s novels I am certain you’ve encountered the same results. From his own firsthand knowledge, Steinbeck’s work casts a light on the Great Depression as well as the hardships endured by the migratory farm workers of California, two things that

Charles John Huffam Dickens was and still is one of the most famous English writers to date, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian Era. After the serial publication of The Pickwick Papers when he was twenty-four years old, Dickens became an international literary celebrity, and his novels and stories found they had to compete with his readings and lectures due to Charles’ dynamic stage presence, humor, and staggeringly accurate social critiques of the age. The majority of his novels were published serially, and thus Dickens became widely popular for his cliffhanger endings while also judging where next to take the story based on the reactions of his audience. And this was all coming from a man who lacked formal education or high society upbringing! In his life, Charles Dickens wrote fifteen novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, edited a weekly journal for two decades, lectured and performed on tours for the entirety of his career (literally unti

Jane Austen was an English novelist active during the later 18th and early 19th centuries, and her writing was best-known for providing a certain level of ironic commentary on the life and roles of women during this era. While so many tend to roll their eyes at Jane’s work and view it as both sexist and delusional, what these nay-sayers miss is the underlying narration of Austen’s observations, or better yet, that the author is attempting to establish the massive restrictions in the purpose and drive of female life. What is so incredibly amazing is that even today, women and men alike are still fascinated by Austen’s work, her colorful cast of characters, or better yet, how a woman with such a quiet personal life could imagine, create, and write such stories. As you will soon learn in this podcast episode, we don’t know much about Jane’s life, and this is due to the fact that her family fiercely protected her privacy, and also because, to be blatantly honest, there wasn’t too much craziness going on. But befo

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an immensely popular Irish poet, playwright, and novelist active during the end of the 19th century. Oscar is one of those characters in history I have been eagerly waiting to cover, perhaps because what Oscar is most remembered for is that at the height (or some may say the beginning) of his career, the rug was sharply tugged out from underneath his feet, casting him into the abyss of unknown for the rest of his life. After writing successfully in various forms throughout the 1880s, his playwright career erupted in the 1890s, and he was beloved by almost everyone in England – and Oscar of course chose to start a war with someone he should have left alone…for his own sake. Still, rather than solely focusing on his being ostracized from society, I want to discuss the incredible, witty, eccentric, and hilarious person that was Mr. Wilde, a man who was a lifelong spokesman for aestheticism, who enjoyed entertaining and lavishing over those closest to him, and who even whe

Franz Kafka was a Prague born novelist and short story writer often regarded as one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Though he only made it to age 40 before falling victim to tuberculosis, in a very similar theme to last week with Emily Dickinson, I must say we are very lucky to have the little information we do about Kafka’s life – like Emily, he asked for all of his letters and work to be burned after he died, though thankfully, a fiery death to his literary legacy was avoided. Kafka’s focus in his writing revolved predominantly around isolation and alienation, anxiety particularly in social settings, and of course, don’t forget a nice dose of good old-fashioned guilt. However, he would dress these ideas up through elements of fantastical realism, thus making his literary pieces, if I am honest, both absurdly strange and mildly depressing at the same time. Much of Kafka’s work was not released until after his death despite the fact that friends, girlfriends, and family members all were

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was a 19th century poet whose immense body of influential works was not even found until after her death in 1886. Emily lived the majority of her life in Amherst, Massachusetts, and though she was born into a prominent family, Dickinson herself lived a relatively simple life, becoming an odd sort of recluse in her later years. The reasoning behind Emily Dickinson’s desire to remain isolated as she grew older remains a mystery, but it is because of this isolated state that she was able to produce nearly 1,800 poems privately without distraction. There are innumerable assumptions made about Emily, and we will closely examine many of these scholarly and historical theories as we get further into the podcast, but one thing I find fascinating about her is that regardless of resigning from public life, Dickinson was kind of a rebel in an era that did not take kindly to being second guessed. Much to the chagrin of her family, Emily never gave into the pressures faced by the takeover of Calv

John Keats was an English poet active throughout the early 19th century, and while his life and brief career were cut short when he was just twenty-five years old, Keats is considered one of the greatest Romantic poets of all time. That does not mean, however, that Keats was remotely appreciated while he was alive – instead, he was outcasted by literary critics because of the unconventional tone of his work, and also because he wasn’t born into a well to do family. At a very young age, Keats and his younger siblings were orphaned, and for most of his life poverty was something that plagued John, though fortunately he was so beloved by his friends and colleagues, when things were truly in dire straits he was able to coast along with their generosity. Along with poverty, the curse of Keats’ family seemed to be tuberculosis, which his two brothers, mother, and later he himself died from (though let’s be honest here, TB was a curse to everyone back then). Towards the end of his life, Keats became engaged to a you

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or as we have all come to know him, Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, publisher, lecturer, and entrepreneur active during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Viewed by many, including William Faulkner, as “the father of American Literature”, Twain’s recognition today typically stems from his two most famous novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and the latter was said to be an absolute literary masterpiece. Even Ernest Hemingway declares in his work The Green Hills of Africa, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn”. In addition to these two novels, Twain received much international fame for his travel narratives, most notably The Innocents Abroad, Roughing It, and Life on the Mississippi. What I find remarkable about Twain is just the expanse of his persona, being a gifted raconteur, a sharp and witty humorist, and yet incredibly driven in his morality…all this while becoming America’

Sylvia Plath was a twentieth century American poet, novelist, and short story writer immortalized by her confessional poetry and insight into the devastating effects of mental illness. She was a bright star in the literary world from an early age and displayed an enormous amount of potential, studying at both Smith College and Cambridge, where she obtained a Fullbright Scholarship to study at Newnham College. Her career…or rather…her life, was unfortunately grossly overshadowed by depression and what many people now believe to have been bipolar disorder, and sadly, Sylvia produced the best and most illustrious writing of her lifetime in the months just prior to committing suicide at the absurdly young age of 30. These poems were published posthumously in a collection entitled Ariel, which gained her extensive renowned and a devoted following of readers. There is a lot of debate about Sylvia, especially concerning her husband Ted Hughes and the nature of their relationship, but I promise we’ll get into all tha