{"podcast":{"title":"The History of Literature","slug":"the-history-of-literature-743083","podcast_index_feed_id":743083,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/history-of-literature","website_url":"https://historyofliterature.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/7b1b0608-0ffd-11e8-b20f-bbbb64158369/image/uploads_2F1593209082240-p4u278lci1e-275beae2da7edda326775394b3d990c8_2Fhistory-of-literature.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Jacke Wilson","episode_count":785,"summary":"Amateur enthusiast Jacke Wilson journeys through the history of literature, from ancient epics to contemporary classics. Episodes are not in chronological order and you don't need to start at the beginning - feel free to jump in wherever you like! Find out more at historyofliterature.com and facebook.com/historyofliterature. Support the show by visiting patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. Contact the show at historyofliteraturepodcast@gmail.com.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T08:22:17.158365+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083"},"episode":{"title":"787 Why Poetry with Matthew Zapruder Encore","slug":"787-why-poetry-with-matthew-zapruder-encore","published_at":"2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/787-why-poetry-with-matthew-zapruder-encore","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083","url":"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/TPG4092365070.mp3?updated=1774429152","audio_url":"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/TPG4092365070.mp3?updated=1774429152","summary":"In his book Why Poetry, the poet Matthew Zapruder issued \"an impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for its accessibility to all readers.\" The poet Robert Hass said, \"Zapruder on poetry is pure pleasure. His prose is so direct that you have the impression, sentence by sentence, that you are being told simple things about a simple subject and by the end of each essay you come to understand that you've been on a very rich, very subtle tour of what's aesthetically and psychologically amazing about the art of poetry.\" In this episode, Matthew Zapruder joins Jacke for a discussion on why poetry is often misunderstood, and how readers can clear away the misconceptions and return to an appreciation for the charms and power of poetry. Along the way, they discuss poems by W.H. Auden, Brenda Hillman, and John Keats, and the views of critics like Harold Bloom, Giambattista Vico, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Paul Valery. [This episode was originally released on April 9, 2018.] 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","meta_description":"In his book Why Poetry, the poet Matthew Zapruder issued \"an impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for its accessibilit…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3672,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-history-of-literature-743083/episodes/787-why-poetry-with-matthew-zapruder-encore/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-history-of-literature-743083/787-why-poetry-with-matthew-zapruder-encore.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}