Great American Novel

Arts
Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt
greatamericannovel.buzzsprout.com
Few literary terms are more hotly debated, discounted, or derided than the "Great American Novel." But while critics routinely dismiss the phrase as at best hype and as at worst exclusionary, the belief that a national literature commensurate with both the scope and the contradictions of being American persists. In this podcast Scott Yarbrough and Kirk Curnutt examine totemic works such as Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and Toni Morrison's Beloved that have been labeled GANs, exploring their themes, forms, and reception histories, asking why, when, and how they entered the literary canon. Readers beware: there be spoilers here, and other hijinks ensue...
37 episodes  •  0 archived  •  
S3 E32
Episode 32: Watching the Flames from Slaughterhouse-Five
S3 E32·
Feb 24, 2025
Feb 24, 2025
1h 27m
S3 E31
Episode 31: Crossing the Country with Jack Kerouac's ON THE ROAD
S3 E31·
Jan 12, 2025
Jan 12, 2025
1h 21m
S3 E30
Episode 30: Sailing on the SHIP OF FOOLS
S3 E30·
Nov 10, 2024
Nov 10, 2024
1h 9m
S3 E28
Episode 28: Falling off the Cliff with The Catcher in the Rye
S3 E28·
May 30, 2024
May 30, 2024
1h 24m