It’s Lit! A Series About Books from PBS Digital Studios

FAIN: TR-266364-19

PBS Foundation (Arlington, VA 22202-3784)
Brandon Arolfo (Project Director: January 2019 to July 2022)
Adam Dylewski (Project Director: July 2022 to present)

Production of a series of short films about literature.

PBS Digital Studios is asking for $478,790 from the NEH to support a new, 30-episode season of It’s Lit to be released on YouTube and Facebook, as well as a companion podcast produced by noted PBS Station WGBH Boston and supplemental educational materials created by PBS Learning Media. Launched in June 2018, It’s Lit is a digital series from PBS Digital Studios featuring smart, funny, and shareable video essays about books and why we love to read. PBS Digital Studios has assembled a team of literature scholars, social media-savvy content creators, and PBS staff to help create a series that celebrates readers’ favorite books, authors, and genres in a format that appeals to millennials and Gen Z audiences. Our goal is to make It’s Lit one the most vibrant book communities on YouTube and Facebook, as well as to deepen our viewer’s understanding of iconic works from the literary canon and popular fiction alike.

Associated Products

The Case for Fan Fiction (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Case for Fan Fiction
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Niki Walker
Abstract: For years writers of fan fiction were shamed, the butt of jokes, and even subject to copyright litigation. However, in the past few years, with the fan fiction writers of today becoming the published mainstream authors of today the past time is a celebrated benchmark of one’s climb to publication. In the season two premiere of "It’s Lit," we explore what happened and how fan fiction writers were able to come out of the proverbial closet of shame. Hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Princess Weekes, "It’s Lit!" is a show about our favorite books, genres and why we love to read. It’s Lit has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdDIMOehLm8
Primary URL Description: YouTube, the Case for Fan Fiction
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

Afrofuturism: From Books to Blockbusters (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Afrofuturism: From Books to Blockbusters
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Nikki Walker
Abstract: With the success of Black Panther, the term Afro-Futurism got pushed into the mainstream. But what is Afro-Futurism and what is its place in Black storytelling? In this episode we give you the starter pack on answering that question.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI1xmwqGEBw
Primary URL Description: YouTube, Afrofuturism
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

How Fictional Pandemics Reflect the Real Thing (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: How Fictional Pandemics Reflect the Real Thing
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Nikki Walker
Abstract: Although we are currently living through a pandemic that has disrupted our lives and will shape the course of humanity, pandemics have been around since the dawn of civilization, as have stories about fictional pandemics. So now seems like as good a time as any to explore how fictional pandemics have evolved over time, and what they say about their own time.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-lNeg9e60c
Primary URL Description: YouTube, How Fictional Pandemics Reflect the Real Thing
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

The Constructed Languages of JRR Tolkien (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Constructed Languages of JRR Tolkien
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: Tolkien is widely regarded as the most influential author on the fantasy genre… period. But one of the less-discussed aspects of his work is the way Tolkien used constructed language in his writing. Nowadays authors are constantly making up words and languages for the worlds they build, but Tolkien was unique in that he constructed languages first, and then created worlds so his fictional languages would have somewhere to live.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFlyQk_uVAI
Primary URL Description: YouTube, the Constructed Languages of JRR Tolkien
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

The Byronic Hero: Isn't It Byronic? (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Byronic Hero: Isn't It Byronic?
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: Edward Cullen. Han Solo. Killmoklknger. Lestat. What do all these characters have in common besides being heartthrobs? They share a common ancestor: the Byronic Hero. Brooding, sensual, violent, intelligent, and single-minded, the Byronic hero has been a staple in literature dating back to the 19th century, but the archetype is all over film, TV and even video games. I see you Cloud Strife, all sad and angsty with your giant sword.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4wNZDIH8d8
Primary URL Description: YouTube, The Byronic Hero: Isn't It Byronic?
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

Why We Still Love Little Women, 150 Years Later (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Why We Still Love Little Women, 150 Years Later
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Nikki Walker
Abstract: Before women were asking “Am I a Carrie or a Samantha?”, they were asking “Am I a Jo or an Amy?” Before there was Edward vs Jacob, there was Laurie vs Professor Bhaer. And over the more than 150 years since Little Women was originally published, there have been (deep breath) dozens of adaptations, feature films, television adaptations, plays, ballets, operas and at least two animes based on it. So despite being written off as proto-chick lit or kiddie lit or as Alcott herself said, "moral pap for the young,” Little Women has worked its way into the consciousness of readers for the last 150 years, and has stayed there. But what is it about the tale of the March sisters that keeps us coming back?
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D21xMcTuTms
Primary URL Description: YouTube, Why We Still Love Little Women, 150 Years Later
Access Model: Open Access
Format: Digital File

Anne Rice, The Queen of Literary Monsters (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Anne Rice, The Queen of Literary Monsters
Writer: Elisa Hansen
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: Forbes once called her “The Warren Buffett of vampires,” but American author, Anne Rice has established herself as the literary queen of monsters of ALL kinds over her four-and-a-half decade career. Besides her 15 novels of the world-famous Vampire Chronicles series, she’s also written 21 other books featuring all your favorite dark, supernatural, and undead beings: witches, ghosts, mummies, werewolves, aliens, demons, angels, Jesus. But the works of Anne Rice aren't just light, pulpy fun monster books--her vampires changed the landscape of genre fiction as we know it?
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wefpgj0IqEA
Primary URL Description: YouTube URL
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Dune, The Most Important Sci Fi Series Ever? (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Dune, The Most Important Sci Fi Series Ever?
Writer: Princess Weekes
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: The planet is Arrakis. Also known as Dune. And y’all, it’s a mess. December of this year, we were supposed to see the arrival of director Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of the 1965 novel Dune, which had been previously (and rather infamously) brought to life by David Lynch in 1984, and again in a three-part miniseries on the SyFy channel in the early 2000s. Now many sci-fi nerds were both excited and nervous about the new adaptation directed by Villeneuve, but owing to the ongoing plague of eternity, the release has been pushed back to next year. So in lieu of that, y’all have to use this video to tide you over. What is Dune? Why must the spice flow? And what is with all the sand?
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzJvpmoWQrI
Primary URL Description: YouTube URL
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Are Graphic Novels… Novels? (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Are Graphic Novels… Novels?
Writer: Princess Weekes
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: In the past few decades, literature has expanded to not only mean the “novel” but “graphic novels” as well. Today we are gonna break down how the graphic novel went from the comic book store to the classroom.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJpFboFcGfE
Primary URL Description: YouTube URL
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

The Fiery History of Banned Books (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Fiery History of Banned Books
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Adam Dylewski
Producer: Gabrielle Ewing
Abstract: Since at least 213 BCE, book burnings have been a reaction to the power of the written word. When roasting paper in a giant circle went out of style (at least in the intellectual sphere), the governments would take it upon itself to ban books. However, when we talk about book bannings today, we are usually discussing a specific choice made by individual schools, school districts, and libraries made in response to the moralistic outrage of some group. This, while still hotly-contested and controversial, is still nothing in comparison to the ways books have been removed, censored, and outright destroyed in the past. So on that happy note, let’s … explore how the seemingly innocuous book has survived centuries of the ban hammer.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpKqRC-9Avc
Primary URL Description: YouTube URL
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Octavia Butler, The Grand Dame of Science Fiction (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Octavia Butler, The Grand Dame of Science Fiction
Writer: Princess Weekes
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: If you are a fan of science fiction a name you should be familiar with is Octavia E. Butler (cough especially if you watched our Telly award-winning Afro-Futurism video cough) One of the most prolific and important Black authors in the genre, Butler’s storytelling pushed the boundaries of what Black people were allowed to be in science fiction. Today we will be highlighting the Grand Dame herself, how her novels were important, and sometimes, oddly predictive
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/JqFNjFakpDc
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Open access and free
Format: Digital File

Don’t Know Much About BEOWULF? Nobody Does! Feat. Princess Weekes (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Don’t Know Much About BEOWULF? Nobody Does! Feat. Princess Weekes
Writer: David McCracken
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Let’s face it. Between English classes, Lit classes, World Culture classes, and History classes, there’s no escaping The Epic Poem. THE ODYSSEY, THE ILIAD, THE AENEID, THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH, BEOWULF. At some point, we’re going to have to confront the lyrical beauty of big strong men in big strong armor fighting big strong monsters, saving their kingdoms, and loving on their ladies. Or loving their male best friend —but that’s another poem. Today we’re going to take a look at one particular Epic Poem and follow its long, winding journey from way, way, way long ago allllll the way to the present day, and we’ll interrogate its relevance to our lives in the here and now. Come now, Geats and Danes, to the violent, bloody, mythic, mysterious world of BEOWULF.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/fP0lb6hd4sQ
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Open and free access
Format: Digital File

Jane Eyre: Why We Keep Reading It (Feat. Princess Weekes) (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Jane Eyre: Why We Keep Reading It (Feat. Princess Weekes)
Writer: Princess Weekes
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was there for the weird girls, the quiet ones who watched and listened, the ones who pined away for someone to accept them in all of their weird, dark glory. But in the nearly 175 years since its publication, the collective definition of what it means to be “a woman on the outside of society” has changed and expanded dramatically—and yet here we are, still dissecting Charlotte Bronte’s words and gravitating towards Jane as a protagonist. For those of you who have never read Jane Eyre or enjoyed one of the 8000 films, television, stage, or radio adaptations not to mention countless literary retelling here we go.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/rtqRaKhu1VY
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Open and free access
Format: Digital File

Unraveling the Myth of Ernest Hemingway (feat. Lindsay Ellis) (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Unraveling the Myth of Ernest Hemingway (feat. Lindsay Ellis)
Writer: David McKracken
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Here’s the problem with tackling Ernest Hemingway—Ernest Hemingway himself. While the iconic author is mostly known for his feats of literary prowess, from The Sun Also Rises to For Whom the Bell Tolls, to countless short stories—perhaps his greatest fiction of all is his own self-mythologizing. As his brand grew in the 1920s and 30s, so too grew his celebrity and, well, his ego. So, with Ernie all the while throwing so much self-mythologizing in the mix that it became nearly impossible to separate the Man from the Myth. But gosh darn it, we’re going to try.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/jcnHZQdVngE
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Open and free access
Format: Digital File

How Do You Write a Bestseller? (Feat. Linsday Ellis) (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: How Do You Write a Bestseller? (Feat. Linsday Ellis)
Writer: Lindsey Ellis
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Here on It’s Lit!, we spend a lot of time pontificating on the high canon of books: Your Shakespeares, your Tolstoys, your… erotic beast wars fanfiction. But today we’re craving something a little lighter, a little fluffier… you know, novels you pick up for the sake of just having something quick-- your beach reads, your airport novels, your Books of the Month. Books that, while you might never have to read them for a seminar or a class or that sweet clout, somehow manage to dominate most water cooler discussions about literature. We’re talkin Your Dan Browns, your Jodi Picoults, your Where the Crawdads Sing, seriously, how has the book managed to be on the top of every bestseller lists for so many months, I don’t even KNOW what it’s about but it’s my mortal enemy These are your blockbuster books, the bestsellers of the bestsellers--And whether or not you read them or turn your nose up at them, for better or worse, they are the tent poles that support the publishing industry.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/Fe8_13i7wDY
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Free and open access
Format: Digital File

How Manga Took Over American Bookshelves (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: How Manga Took Over American Bookshelves
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Akira, Sailor Moon, Demon Slayer, Death Note all these interesting, iconic anime have something very much in common they started off as: manga. Manga, by its most simplistic definition, are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan, which became extremely popular in the United States starting in the 80s and 90s. We’ve already touched on Western Graphic Novels and Comics, but you know we couldn’t just leave it at that (not with this t-shirt). So today we’re discussing manga as its own rich literature, reflecting the complicated political history of Japan.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/nN5rnMDCctU
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Open and free access
Format: Digital File

The Unappreciated Female Writers Who Invented the Novel (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Unappreciated Female Writers Who Invented the Novel
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: The guy typically credited with inventing what we know as the modern novel was Miguel de Cervantes with his cumbersome 800+ page book, Don Quixote. But what if I told you that the real antecedent for the modern novel was created by… ladies. Before the rise of what would become the modern novel, there was Amatory fiction. Amatory fiction was a genre of fiction that became popular in Britain in the late 17th century and early 18th century. As its name implies, amatory fiction is preoccupied with sexual love and romance. Most of its works were short stories, it was dominated by women, and women were the ones responsible for sharing and promoting their own work.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/g7-U48I1f0o
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Free and open access
Format: Digital File

What’s in a (Pen) Name? (Feat. Princess Weekes) (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: What’s in a (Pen) Name? (Feat. Princess Weekes)
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: To some people, the idea of a pen name seems kind of weird. If I, a writer, am going to put countless hours of hard work and thought into my masterpiece, why wouldn’t I want to put my own name underneath the title? But from Stephen King to Ben Franklin to …., who had their own secret aliases, to Mark Twain and Dr. Seuss, whose pseudonyms became so famous that they are remembered by their pen names and not their actual names, the nom de plume has a long and proud history in the literary world.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://youtu.be/eBVKa5c-5mo
Primary URL Description: YouTube link to view video
Access Model: Free and open access
Format: Digital File

Why Do People Think Huck Finn is Racist? (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Why Do People Think Huck Finn is Racist?
Writer: Maia Krause, PhD
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by American author Mark Twain is both considered one of the great American novels and one of the most frequently banned and contested novels due to its use of the N-word and racial stereotypes. This has launched many debates as to if the work should even be taught in schools. Today we are going to attempt to crack the case: is Huckleberry Finn an anti-racist work? Or is it just plain ol’ racist?
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qZxD0wfH-M
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

What You Don’t Know About the Father of Sci-Fi (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: What You Don’t Know About the Father of Sci-Fi
Writer: Maia Krause, PhD
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: H.G. Wells is a name that is synonymous with the creation of what we now know as science fiction. He effectively invented the subgenre of alien invasion, he coined now-ubiquitous terms “time machine,” “heat ray” and even disputably “the new world order.” But what most people don’t know about Wells is that although today he is predominantly known for his science fiction, his career as an SF author was pretty short. Wells wrote dozens of novels, most of which weren’t science fiction. But despite the relatively few science fiction works he wrote in comparison to his vast oeuvre, Wells was an influential thinker - not just for the genre of science fiction, but for science’s relationship to the culture at large.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z98DuYg01aM
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

To Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird? (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: To Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird?
Writer: Maia Krause, PhD
Writer: David McCracken
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: One of the trademark texts of the American school system is Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. For decades it has been widely read in high schools and middle schools as a key anti-racist text. But how did this novel, with its Southern Gothic and Bildungsroman elements become a book that in 2006 the British said “every adult should read before they die” ahead of the Bible. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee and was loosely based on Lee’s real-life experiences, the book tells the story of Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout, a young girl growing up during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama with her older brother Jeremy aka Jem, and her widowed lawyer father, Atticus Finch. A name that will be imprinted on the world … forever.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbLG7FOKRxE
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Why We Keep Retelling the Classics (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Why We Keep Retelling the Classics
Writer: Maia Krause, PhD
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: From James Joyce’s Ulysses to Bridget Jones’s Diary, you’ve probably read a book that was just a modern retelling of a well-established story. Which is to say nothing of other forms of media and their own obsessions with retellings. And despite what your Writing 101 instincts might tell you, this is neither bad nor lazy writing—or even a new concept. Because let’s be honest: sometimes a story is just so dang good, it bears repeating. Sometimes more than once. Sometimes multiple times. I’m looking at you, Jane Austen.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11bhka58cKM
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

The Women of Jane Austen (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Women of Jane Austen
Writer: Maia Krause, PhD
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: Elizabeth Bennet. Emma Woodhouse. Marianne Dashwood. Jane Austen has been responsible for creating some of the most frequently adapted and analyzed women in the English literary language. Along with Buzzfeed quizzes asking “which SATC or Little Women” character you are, there is always a lot of fanfare about which Jane Austen heroine you are. But beyond the big three. Well mostly … big two. Who are the women of Jane Austen’s completed novels? How do they reveal to us, her modern audience, any insight into her growth as an author, her politics, and just how she feels about what makes a girlboss and #girlboss.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2gt_TK5hXQ
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Absurdist Mind of Kurt Vonnegut (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Absurdist Mind of Kurt Vonnegut
Writer: Princess Weekes
Writer: David McCracken
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: It can be said that there are two types of fiction writers - those who take a backseat and let their work take the spotlight, and those who are as iconic as their work, sometimes even more so. But maybe there’s a third type - a type of writer whose complex persona is so intertwined with their fiction - that to ignore them as a person would be to ignore their work entirely. In this episode we explore the life and work of Kurt Vonnegut.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUg44ImYIIo
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File
Format: Web

Why Edgar Allen Poe Isn't Just a Sad Boy (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Why Edgar Allen Poe Isn't Just a Sad Boy
Writer: Elisa Hansen
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: We remember Edgar Allan Poe for his tales of horror and the macabre as well as inventing the entire Detective Fiction Genre. But unlike many of the great authors of Western classic literature, he has become an icon unto himself, recognized to this day by name and face almost more than the titles of his stories and poems. But his legacy is more complicated than schoolbooks may have lead us to believe.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3UTpq3OBp0
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Why Magical Realism is a Global Phenomenon (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Why Magical Realism is a Global Phenomenon
Writer: Angelina Meehan
Writer: Lindsay Ellis
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: Blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, magical realism in literature and other media combines fantasy elements with concrete realities to make statements about the world we live in. In this episode, we explore its roots, lay out the tenets of the genre, and discuss how it has flourished in Latin American Literature.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scgn2BCcht4
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Toni Morrison's Opus About Confronting a Terrible Past (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Toni Morrison's Opus About Confronting a Terrible Past
Writer: David McCracken
Writer: Princess Weekes
Director: David Schulte
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Abstract: Beloved is the magnum opus of the late, great Toni Morrison. It has become a key piece of literature taught in schools and is considered one of the great pieces of American literature. To understand Beloved, we must first look at the woman behind the pages: Nobel Prize Winner Toni Morrison.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C60yX5TD94
Primary URL Description: YouTube
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Hope and Rage in Black Literature with Mikki Kendall (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Hope and Rage in Black Literature with Mikki Kendall
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Throughout history, Black voices have been outspoken about the institutional oppression they have faced. From the slave narratives like those of Mary Prince, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Jacobs, white audiences were given a glimpse into the emotional, physical, and psychological horrors of enslavement. Authors like Frances Harper tackled the rebuilding of the Black family in books like Iola Leroy. In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance created an entire generation of Black American and Caribbean American authors who gave voice to the new burdens that racist society held for freed Blacks. We also began to see Black female authors speak more openly about the double oppression of gender and race. Ida B Wells-Barnett, was one of the most influential Black journalists of her time, and still today, with her reporting on lynching in the American south. Literature is filled with Black rage, Black pain, but also Black hope for a future in which their descendants will not have to march for the same rights we fight for in the present. Today we are going to talk about verbalizing Black rage, especially that of Black women and Black queer folk, and what we gain today by looking closely at the literary history of the Black revolution.
Date: 01/02/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394337
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Do the Classics Fail Us? (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Do the Classics Fail Us?
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: The Western literary canon is a subject of discourse. Where does it fit in the modern world? While the works of Shakespeare, Plato, and Jane Austen, among others, are important works that have been the framework of our collective literary heritage, how does that impact those kept traditionally left out of those conversations? Marginalized voices have advocated for reimagining these stories to make them more diverse, expanding the canon to be more inclusive and/or just chucking the idea of a “western canon” in general.
Date: 02/15/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394338
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Book to Film Adaptations with Izzy from Be Kind Rewind (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Book to Film Adaptations with Izzy from Be Kind Rewind
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Abstract: Since performance was a thing, crafting adaptations of beloved and epic stories has been a part of storytelling. The highest grossing film of all time, Gone with the Wind is an adaptation and the amount of Jane Austen adaptations could fill a whole textbook (and probably has). Today we are gonna talk about book adaptations. What makes a good one, a bad one, and what impact the big screen has had on the novel itself. Especially when only certain kinds of books get adapted.
Date: 03/01/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394339
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Fantasy, Science Fiction and Journeying into the Past with Alix E. Harrow (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Fantasy, Science Fiction and Journeying into the Past with Alix E. Harrow
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Breaking down the fantasy genre and how its roots in an often Western vision of “the past” has been slowly changing with Afro-Futurism and more mainstream BIPOC actors.
Date: 03/15/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394341
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga with V.E. Schwab (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Comics, Graphic Novels, and Manga with V.E. Schwab
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Writer V.E. Schwab joins the podcast to talk with Princess about the impact of graphic novels and other illustrated texts.
Date: 03/29/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394340
Primary URL Description: PRX podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

The Importance of Diverse Young Adult Fiction with Mark Oshiro (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Importance of Diverse Young Adult Fiction with Mark Oshiro
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: In this episode, we’re diving into how young adult literature, once criticized for not being diverse enough, has now become the place where representation and diversity are (mostly) thriving.
Date: 04/12/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394342
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Queer Romance in Modern Fiction with Freya Marske (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Queer Romance in Modern Fiction with Freya Marske
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Australian novelist and podcaster Freya Marske joins Princess to talk about queer romance, fan fiction & fantasy, and the positioning of the romance genre within mainstream literature.
Date: 04/26/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/411497
Primary URL Description: PRX Podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

World-building in Sci-fi and Fantasy with Dr. Moiya McTier (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: World-building in Sci-fi and Fantasy with Dr. Moiya McTier
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Astrophysicist, folklorist, & science communicator Dr. Moiya McTier joins Princess in a discussion about the ins and outs of worldbuilding in science fiction and fantasy - when it works best and why - and how it affects readers in the real world.
Date: 05/10/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394343
Primary URL Description: PRX podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

Celebrating Black Authors with Sarah Raughley (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Celebrating Black Authors with Sarah Raughley
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Author and academic Dr. Sarah Raughley joins the podcast to talk about her work as a young adult novelist and to have a celebratory discussion with Princess about black authors in American literature.
Date: 05/24/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394344
Primary URL Description: PRX podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

The Vital Importance of Book Clubs with Glory Edim (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The Vital Importance of Book Clubs with Glory Edim
Writer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Producer: Princess Weekes
Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Abstract: Princess discusses the importance of book clubs with author and founder of the Well Read Black Girl book club and podcast, Glory Edim.
Date: 06/07/2022
Primary URL: http://publish.prx.org/story/394345
Primary URL Description: PRX podcast
Access Model: Free
Format: Digital File

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