American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

Episode 228: James Weldon Johnson: Along This Way (2)

 Part 2 of James Weldon Johnson's autobiography "Along This Way" looks at his time in New York with with his brother and his time as a school principal.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 95.3: The Game-players of Titan (3)

Part 3 of my review and comments of Philip K. Dick's "The Game-Players of Titan". Thanos has yet to show up.

Episode 227: James Weldon Johnson: Along this Way (1)

"Along This Way" is James Weldon Johnson's autobiography. The first part of it explores his family and his education.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 95.2: The Game-players of Titan (2)

Part two of my comments on Philp K. Dick's "The Game-players of Titan".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 95.1: The Gameplayers of Titan (1)

And now for a strange one, "The Game-players of Titan" by Philp K. Dick. What is this one about? Marriage? Gambling? Fertility? Drugs? Mental Illness? Colonialism? Psychotherapy? Classical Music? In a Philip K. Dick novel of the 1960s, it can be about all those things.

James Weldon Johnson: Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

A one-off episode on James Weldon Johnson's novel "Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man", a story on passing, cigar rolling, and black Manhattan.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.6: The Man in the High Castle (6)

We have made it to the end of "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick. Let you know what you think of my finale episode on this Hugo Award-winning novel.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.5: The Man in the High Castle (5)

Part five of my review of "The Man in the High Castle".

Episode 225: W. E. B. Du Bois, Articles from "The Crisis"

Oh..the feels. Time to say goodbye to W. E. B. Du Bois. Maybe we will meet again if The Library of America publishes another volume of your works.

Articles from the "Crisis"--lots of them.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.4: The Man in the High Castle (4)

Part four of my comments and review of Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning novel "The Man in the High Castle".

 

Episode 224: W. E. B. Du Bois, Essays 3

The essays I look at in this episode are from the end of Du Bois' career, including a chapter from his masterpiece "Black Reconstruction in America."

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.3: The Man in the High Castle (3)

More of "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.2: The Man in the High Castle (2)

Part 2 of my comments on Philip K. Dick's "The Man in the Hight Castle".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 94.1: The Man in the High Castle (1)

Season 2 of the Philip K. Dick Book Club kicks off with part 1 of my comments on Dick's Hugo Award winning "The Man in the High Castle".

Episode 224: W. E. B. Du Bois, Essays, Part 2

In this episode, I take a look at Du Bois' essays from the post World War I period to the 1920s. Topics include the betrayed promise of natonal self-determination after the war and the Marcus Garvey movement.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 93.3: Vulcan's Hammer (3)

My final episode on "Vulcan's Hammer" by Philip K. Dick.

This also brings to an end "Season 1" of this series on Dick's works, covering the stories and novels of the 1950s. (Vulcan's Hammer and Dr. Futurity, published in 1960, were written much earlier).
I will be back soon with the novels and stories of the 1960s, beginning with "The Man in the High Castle".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 93.2: Vulcan's Hammer (2)

Part two of my comments on Dick's 1960 novel "Vulcan's Hammer." A little murder mystery (murder of a computer anyway) thickens the plot.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 93.1: Vulcan's Hammer (1)

The first part of my comments on Philip K. Dick's 1960 novel "Vulcan's Hammer". Not one of his best, to be sure, but one of the more contemporary thematically.

Episode 222: W. E. B. Du Bois: Essays, Part 1

The first of a series on episodes on the essays of W. E. B. Du Bois. These cover the period from his college days to the First World War. with themes such as the founding of "The Crisis" and education.

Episode 221: W. E. B. Du Bois: Dusk of Dawn (2)

Part two of my comments on W. E. B. Du Bois's autobiography and statement on global race relations, "Dusk of Dawn." In this part, we explore Du Bois' thoughts on Africa, empire, and the chaotic early 20th century.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 92.4: Dr. Futurity (4)

The finale of my review of Philip K. Dick's novel "Dr. Futurity" and my thoughts on what it means for us in our time.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 92.3: Dr. Futurity (3)

Part 3 of my comments on Philip K. Dick's 1960 novel, "Dr. Futurity".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 92.2: Dr. Futurity (2)

Part 2 of my review of Philip K. Dick's "Dr. Futurity".

Episode 220: W. E. B. Du Bois: Dusk of Dawn (1)

Part one of my comments on W. E. B. Du Bois' "Dusk of Dawn," an autobiograhy and statment of American (and global) race relations in the 20th century.

Episode 119: W E. B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk (2)

The second part and finale of my review of W. E. B. Du Bois' "The Souls of Black Folk." In the second part of this collection of wounderful essays Du Bois explores some of the cultural and economic aspects of black life in America at the turn of the century.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 92.1: Dr Futurity (1)

Part one of my review of Philip K. Dick's 1960 novel "Dr. Futurity". It may not be one of his best, but it is rich with ideas, many of which are relevant to us. At the the heart of its concern, the relationship between young people and the systems we hand over to them.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 91: War Game

In "War Game," Philip K. Dick considers the ideology of toys. It makes me think a bit about "Mimsy Were the Borogroves".

Episode 118: W. E. B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk (1)

I humbly give my comments on what I think is one of the greatest works of American literatre, W. E. B. Du Bois' "The Souls of Black Folk".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 90: Fair Game

Although this story was written much earlier in Dick's career, "Fair Game" was not published until 1959. A rather silly tale, but good for a chuckle and a little meditation on the nature of how we respond to those who watch us.

Episode 117: W. E. B. Du Bois: The Suppression of the Slave Trade (2)

Part two of my review of Du Bois' Ph.D. dissertation on the legal, moral and economic changes that led to the end of the slave trade.

Episode 116: W. E. B. Du Bois: The Suppression of the Slave Trade

"The Suppression of the Slave Trade" was W. E. B Du Bois' Ph.D. dissertation wirtten in Harvard. It is a solid work of legal history exploring the relationship betwene moral progress, legal justice, and economic change.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: Episode 89: Recall Mechanism

In this Philip K. Dick story, "Recall Mechanism", we consider the relationship between mental illness and precognition.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 88: Explorers We

The first of Philip K. Dick's stories from 1959, "Explorers We", considers the possiblities of a very strange alien invasion.

Episode 116: Charles W. Chesnutt: Essays

In this episode we say goodbye to Charles W. Chesnutt by looking at a handful of his most important esasys. Next up, W. E. B. Du Bois.

 

 

Episode 114: Charles W. Chesnutt, Assorted Stories

In this episode, I look at some of the uncollected stories by Charles W. Chesnutt. We have some more stories in the Julius series, including one on Southern geophagia. There are also some of his "northern stories" dealing wtih the color line from a broader national perspective. There are even a few stories were Chesnutt (out of character) took on issues not relating to the color line at all.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 87.5: Time Out of Joint (5)

The finale of my review of Philip K. Dick's novel "Time Out of Joint".

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 87.4: Time Out of Joint (4)

Part 4 of my review of Philip K. Dick's "Time Out of Joint".

Episode 113: Charles W Chesnutt. The Marrow of Tradition (2)

Part two of my review of Charles Chesnutt's novel "The Marrow of Tradition"

Episode 112: Charles W. Chesnutt: The Marrow of Traditon (1)

The first of two episodes looking at Charles W. Chesnutt's masterpiece, "The Marrow of Tradition", a book on post-Reconstruction politics, race relations, racial violence, and the color line.

Philip K. Dick Book Club: 87.3: Time Out of Joint (3)

We go a little bit deeper into the rabbit hole of Ragle Gumm's strange life in part three of my review of Philip K. Dick's "Time Out of Joint".