Writer, poet, editor and critic, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best remembered figures of the American Romantic movement. This was not always so. Though relatively prolific during his lifetime, Poe lapsed into near obscurity after his death. A prolific critic with barbed tongue and acid wit, Poe collected many enemies during his career — enemies who were not especially kind in his last days. Much of what we assume about Poe is still tangled in the vicious literary caricature drawn by Rufus Griswold in his obituary of the writer. Nevertheless, Poe’s legacy endures; his work speaks for itself. Listener Mark Shannon contributed this segment, in which he gives a chilling performance of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” If you have an idea for a show or would like to get involved, drop us a line. We’re always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to explore unique writing.
Doug is director of the Creative Writing MFA at Emerson College, where he also teaches. He is the author of five books of nonfiction, most recently A Country Practice: Scenes from a Veterinary Life. In this segment, Doug talks extensively about MFA programs. He gives useful information for those thinking of applying, and those currently enrolled in any of the dozens of programs around the country. Doug also shares insight into the world of literary nonfiction. He explains the journey, both literal and figurative, that led to his first book: Following the Bloom: Across America with the Migratory Beekeepers, discussing craft, voice, and the never ending process of note taking. 
Natalie is Associate Professor of English at Hope College. Aided by an 
Megan has published essays and reviews in The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Slate Online, the New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. Her biography The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism (2005) won the Francis Parkman Prize, the Mark Lynton History Prize, the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography and memoir. She has received Guggenheim and NEH fellowships. In this segment, Megan discusses her approach to writing The Peabody Sisters, including her research methods, her debt to great fiction, and the forces that kept her motivated throughout her nearly two decades-long project.