In each episode I discuss around 100 pages from the works of American writers. Contact me at hundredpagescast@gmail.com
The "Silver Key" is Lovecraft's greatest Randolph Carter story with an enduring theme of childhood saving us from the banality of modern life. Carter's quest for meaning, set years after the events of DREAMQUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH has lessons for the importance of childhood.
The final of my review of ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis. It ends on a rather high note where science triumphs over the distractions of American capitalism.
In the second half of my review of THE CALL OF CTHULHU I explore some of the most important passages in all of Lovecraft's writings: the interview with the cultist Castro. The cost of wordily freedom maybe high, but for many marginalized people it is worth paying.
Part four of ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis explores Martin Arrowsmith's career as it moves into hard science, war, and eventually a devastating plague in the West Indies. As always the contradictions between science and politics follows him.
The first of two episodes in which I look at the famous story by H. P. Lovecraft, THE CALL OF CTHULHU. Great story due to its nested narrative and global scope.
Martin Arrowsmith, bored with being a small-town doctor moves into the field of public health, finding the politics of science even worse than the personal politics of private practice. I look at this as well as other things in this part of my review of ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis.
"In the Vault" seems a bit out of place in this period of Lovecraft's career, but it is a bit of fun and plesantly gory. The TV show TALES FROM THE CRYPT did a episode seemingly inspired by this tale called "Fitting Punishment".
Part two of my review of ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis. In this episode we follow Martin Arrowsmith as he begins his career as a small-town doctor.
"Cool Air" by H. P. Lovecraft is a lovely science-fiction horror story set in New York, the last of Lovecraft's stories set in New York after "Red Hook" and "He".
Part one of my five-part review of ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis. This novel explores the culture of professional medicine in early 20th century America through the life of a young doctor torn by different perspectives on the proper role of the doctor.
In this short episode, I finish my look at Aldo Leopold's writings with his journals. I know I said I would look at his letters, but I decided to move on to my next series, starting with ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis.
Part two of my review of THE HORROR AT RED HOOK by H. P. Lovecraft. Ignoring this story due to his racism, compartmentalizing his views on immigrants, or saying Lovecraft was just a man of his time will not due...and this story shows why.
The third and final episode looking at Aldo Leopold's professional and private ecology writings. These cover the period of the Second World War and Leopold's growing awareness of the depth of the crisis in ecology.
The first half of my review of THE HORROR AT RED HOOK, by H. P. Lovecraft. This is a story that pulls together most of the threads from his earliest horror writings. Despite its nasty language about immigrants, it is essential reading for those interested in his philosophy.
A look at some more of Aldo Leopold's professional and private writings on ecology from the period when he began his work in Wisconsin, coinciding with the Great Depression and New Deal programs on conservation.
Having finished A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, we will now go back to look at Aldo Leopold's writings from the start of his career in 1917 until 1933, when he published a book on game management.
In this episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Book Club I look at a bunch of horror poems Lovecraft wrote in the later 1920s.
This episode completes my review of A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC by Aldo Leopold. The second part of the book of essays explores the human impact on ecology and proposes a solution, the Land Ethic.
The second part of my review of "Supernatural Horror in Literature" looks at the bulk of the text. Most of the essay is surveys of the major works in different periods and regions. SHIL will remain a useful guide for readers of 18th, 19th, and early 20th century horror.
In this episode of the H. P. Lovecraft Book Club I examine "Supernatural Horror in Literature", Lovecraft's brilliant survey of horror writing. I focus on his overall philosophy as detailed in the first chapter of this book-length essay.
Episode one of my new series on the writings of Aldo Leopold. To begin we will explore his masterpiece A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC. It remains one of the greatest works of American ecology. In later episodes, we will look at his professional writings and journals.
The end of this series on H. P. Lovecraft's letters. This set is a doozy with some monster letters to Frank B. Long, Wilfred Talman, and Woodburn Prescott Harris.
In this final episode on James Agee, I look at his shorter fiction, including "Morning Watch" and "Death in the Desert". They are all pretty excellent and worth checking out.
Lovecraft's letters in 1928 ranged in topics from literature to modernism to race and class. I review some of these letters as I continue to work my way through the second volume of The Selected Letters of H. P. Lovecraft.
In this episode I finish up my look at James Agee's novel A DEATH IN A FAMILY. I find the novel a bit more interesting in the second half as Agee explores issues of race, childhood, and maturation.
The highlight of the H. P. Lovecraft letters from the winter of 1927-28 is Lovecraft's account of a story-length Roman dream. He mediates quite a lot about the Romans and their history, in seeming preparation for his debates with Robert E. Howard.
The first part of my review of James Agee's DEATH IN THE FAMILY. This posthumously published novel won the Pulitzer Prize. I found it to be of interest, but a bit of a slog.
The H. P. Lovecraft letters I look at in this episode cover much of the second half of 1927. There is not much in the way of philosophy, but professionally it is an important period with the submission of "The Call of Cthulhu".
The episode in which I try to make some final sense of James Agee's LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN. I am pretty sure I am only scratching the surface.
