Episode
806 Robert Frost (with Adam Plunkett) | My Last Book with Ursula Buchan
- Podcast
- The History of Literature
- Published
- Jun 1, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3202
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-literature-743083/episodes/806-robert-frost-with-adam-plunkett-my-last-book-with-ursula-buchan/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/806-robert-frost-with-adam-plunkett-my-last-book-with-ursula-buchan.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
By the middle of the twentieth century, Robert Frost was widely regarded as America's most popular poet, beloved for the simple, sincere verses that took readers on journeys through the wooded roads of rural New England, accompanied by Frost's wry observations and hardscrabble truths. Just a few years after Frost's death, a scathing biography by Lawrance Thompson painted a different picture of the man, which led critic Helen Vendler to ask, in her review of the biography, whether it was possible to avoid the conclusion that Frost had actually been a "monster." In this episode, Jacke talks to critic and author Adam Plunkett about his new book, Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost's Poetry, a major new biography that challenges our understanding of Frost's life and poetic legacy. PLUS Ursula Buchan (Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she 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