# 783 Southern Imagining (with Elleke Boehmer) | My Last Book with John McMurtrie Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/783-southern-imagining-with-elleke-boehmer-my-last-book-with-john-mcmurtrie Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/783-southern-imagining-with-elleke-boehmer-my-last-book-with-john-mcmurtrie.md Podcast: [The History of Literature](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083) Published: 2026-03-12T04:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/swap.fm/track/tcQd6Q6C0RUUlOHq1Ytj/mgln.ai/e/51/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/TPG9914971494.mp3?updated=1773227892 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/swap.fm/track/tcQd6Q6C0RUUlOHq1Ytj/mgln.ai/e/51/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/TPG9914971494.mp3?updated=1773227892 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-literature-743083/episodes/783-southern-imagining-with-elleke-boehmer-my-last-book-with-john-mcmurtrie Duration seconds: 3331 ## Resource The world has a northern bias: our politics, culture, and literature all tend to view the northern viewpoint as the default position, leaving the far southern latitudes (Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Southern Africa among others), as a faraway land full of strangeness. But what if you live in those lands? How can a strange, faraway place be home? In this episode, Jacke talks to Elleke Boehmer about her book Southern Imagining: A Literary and Cultural History of the Far Southern Hemisphere, which analyzes the impact of the world's northern bias on literature and culture--and offers an alternative perspective to the way we usually look at the world. PLUS John McMurtrie (Literary Journeys: Mapping Fictional Travels Across the World of Literature) stops by to discuss his choice for the last book he will ever read. The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Help support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/literature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠historyofliterature.com/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-literature-743083/episodes/783-southern-imagining-with-elleke-boehmer-my-last-book-with-john-mcmurtrie/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/783-southern-imagining-with-elleke-boehmer-my-last-book-with-john-mcmurtrie.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.