Audio: Rheta Grimsley Johnson on NPR

On November 29, 2009, Alabama author Rheta Grimsley Johnson's book Poor Man's Provence (NewSouthBooks) was reviewed by Debbie Elliott on NPR’s program Weekend Edition Sunday. In addition to the review, the Web site has an excerpt from the book.

Listen to Debbie Elliott's review of Poor Man's Provence on NPR.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Interviews with Kathryn Tucker Windham and Rick Bragg on Alabama Arts Radio

Two Alabama authors were recently featured in separate broadcasts of the Alabama Arts Radio Series.

In the July 5, 2009, program, Kathryn Tucker Windham was interviewed by Joey Brackner.

Listen to Kathryn Tucker Windham on Alabama Arts Radio.

In the September 27, 2009, program, Rick Bragg was interviewed by Al Head.

Listen to Rick Bragg on Alabama Arts Radio.

To stream, left-click on either "High MP3" or "Low 56K." To download, right-click and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ..."

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: "Autobiography and Memoir" and "Crime Fiction" Podcasts

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape has just uploaded two new audio podcasts to our Multimedia page.

The two most recent programs in the series are titled "Autobiography and Memoir" and "Crime Fiction." Maiben Beard from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities interviews Dr. Bert Hitchcock and Dr. Christopher Keirstead from the Auburn University Department of English.

Supplemental materials for these programs are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include audio transcripts, reading lists, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream Autobiography and Memoir Audio.

Stream Crime Fiction Audio.

(To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials. Scroll down the page to find the most recent podcasts.

These podcasts are also available free from This Goodly Land's section of iTunes U. (The iTunes software is also free, but you must have it on your computer to access these materials. You can get it from the iTunes download page of the Apple Web site.)

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Will Wright Interviews Edward O. Wilson on NPR

On September 1, 2009, Alabama author Edward O. Wilson was interviewed by computer game designer Will Wright on NPR’s program Morning Edition during the “Open Mic” segment. The two discussed the future of computer games in children's science education and his own introduction to science as a child. The Web page has two additional question/answer segments not included in the broadcast.

Listen to "E.O. Wilson And Will Wright: Ant Lovers Unite!" on NPR.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: New Podcast: Reading from Gosse's Letters from Alabama

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape has just added another new podcast to our "Multimedia" page.

Mr. Aaron Trehub, Assistant Dean for Library Technology, Auburn University Libraries, reads a selection from Philip Henry Gosse's Letters from Alabama (U.S.): Chiefly about Natural History.

Supplemental materials for this program are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include an audio transcript, a reading list, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream "Letters from Alabama" Audio.

To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials.

iTunes users can also stream or download audios, transcripts, and supplemental materials from This Goodly Land's section of iTunes U.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: New Podcast on Nineteenth Century Women Writers

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape has just added another new podcast to our "Multimedia" page.

Maiben Beard from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities interviews Dr. James Emmett Ryan of the Auburn University Department of English about women's contributions to literary culture in Nineteenth Century America.

Supplemental materials for this program are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include an audio transcript, a reading list, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream "Nineteenth Century Women's Literary Culture in America" Audio.

To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials.

iTunes users can also stream or download audios, transcripts, and supplemental materials from This Goodly Land's section of iTunes U.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Another New Podcast: The Historical Novel

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape has just added another new podcast to our "Multimedia" page. (This podcast is also available via This Goodly Land at iTunes U.)

Maiben Beard from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities interviews Dr. Bert Hitchcock, Professor emeritus of the Auburn University Department of English about the historical novel.

Supplemental materials for this program are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include an audio transcript, a reading list, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream "The Historical Novel" Audio.

To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: New Podcasts from This Goodly Land

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape has just added three new podcasts to our "Multimedia" page. (These podcasts are also available via This Goodly Land at iTunes U.)

In "Old Southwest Humor," Maiben Beard from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities interviews Dr. Benjamin B. Williams, Professor emeritus of the Auburn University Montgomery Department of English about frontier humor from the 1830s to the 1860s.

In another audio, Dr. Dwayne Cox of the Auburn University Libraries reads an example of Old Southwest humor: an excerpt from Joseph Glover Baldwin's book The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi.

Finally, we have prepared an audio version of Dr. John C. Hall's Draughon Seminar on William Bartram and his travels in the South. This audio has been split into three parts to make downloading easier.

Supplemental materials for these programs are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include audio transcripts, reading lists, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream "Old Southwest Humor" Audio.

Stream "Flush Times" Audio.

Stream "Bartram's Travels" Audio, Part 1.
Stream "Bartram's Travels" Audio, Part 2.
Stream "Bartram's Travels" Audio, Part 3.

(To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Mary Ward Brown on Alabama Arts Radio

The April 7 broadcast of the Alabama Arts Radio Series features Alabama author Mary Ward Brown. The program was recorded at the Lunch at the Library program of the Selma-Dallas County Public Library. Ms. Brown read from her new memoir, Fanning the Spark, and was interviewed by Pam Kingsbury of the University of North Alabama.

Listen to Mary Ward Brown on Alabama Arts Radio program.To stream, left-click on either "High MP3" or "Low 56K." To download, right-click and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ..."

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: This Goodly Land Downloads via iTunes

This Goodly Land’s new audio programs (along with transcripts and supplemental materials) are now available at the Auburn University College of Liberal Arts section of iTunes U, the portion of the iTunes Store that has video and audio podcasts created by colleges and universities.

All of our materials can be downloaded to your computer for free. The audios can also be streamed, that is, accessed from within iTunes without downloading. If you subscribe, new audios will be downloaded to your computer automatically whenever they are added to the collection.

The iTunes software is also free but you must have it on your computer to access these materials. You can get it from the iTunes download page of the Apple Web site.

Find This Goodly Land audios at iTunes U.

(Of course, you can still listen to and/or download these audios at the new Multimedia page of This Goodly Land's Web site.)

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: This Goodly Land Announces Its First Podcasts

This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape proudly unveils its new audio podcast series. Our "Multimedia" page has links to mp3s of interviews with scholars on topics relevant to Alabama authors.

The first two programs in the series are titled "The Harlem Renaissance" and "Travel Writing." Maiben Beard from the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities interviews Dr. Susana Morris and Dr. Christopher Keirstead from the Auburn University Department of English.

Supplemental materials for these programs are available at This Goodly Land's Web site and include audio transcripts, reading lists, discussion questions, and lesson plans.

Stream "Harlem Renaissance Audio, Part 1."

Stream "Harlem Renaissance Audio, Part 2."

Stream "Travel Writing Audio."

(To download, right-click on the link(s) above and choose "Save Link As ..." or "Save Target As ...")

Learn more about the subjects of This Goodly Land's audio podcasts from our supplemental materials.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Alabama Author Podcasts from AFN

The Atlanta Forum Network (part of Public Broadcasting Atlanta) provides free access to podcasts of public lectures and readings. Many of these are readings by and/or discussions with recently published authors. They take place at venues such as the High Museum of Art, the Georgia Center for the Book, and the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

Some of these files are in RealPlayer format and some are in Windows Media format. To install RealPlayer, download the free version from the RealPlayer installers page. To install Windows Media Player, download the free version from the Windows Media Player installers page.

If you prefer to save files for later listening, some audios are available as downloadable mp3 files through the WGBH Forum Network, a partner program to AFN. To download, right-click on the "MP3 Download" link and choose "Save Link As ..." (Firefox) or "Save Target As ..." (Internet Explorer). (Left-clicking the link will cause the mp3 file to stream using your default media player.)

American Wars, American Peace (Philip K. Beidler)

The Prince of Frogtown (Rick Bragg)

Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man (Arnold Rampersad)

Download mp3 audio of Rampersad/Ellison lecture

Resisting History: Gender, Modernity, and Authorship (Barbara Ladd on Zora Neale Hurston)

Download mp3 audio of Ladd/Hurston lecture

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (Joshilyn Jackson)

Queen of Broken Hearts (Cassandra King)

Download mp3 audio of King reading

Meet the Poet: Sonia Sanchez

Gay Talese: His Portraits and Encounters

Georgia Review: Natasha Trethewey and Stephen Dunn

Download mp3 audio of Trethewey and Dunn readings

Poetry Readings: Natasha Trethewey

Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Musician (Daniel Wallace)

Download mp3 audio of Wallace discussion

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Edward O. Wilson on NPR's All Things Considered

On November 30, Alabama author Edward O. Wilson was interviewed by Andrea Seabrook on the National Public Radio program All Things Considered. At the All Things Considered Web site, you can listen to the interview, see (and hear) a narrated slide show about leafcutter ants, and read an excerpt from The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies, Wilson's most recent book (co-written with Bert Hölldobler).

Listen to the All Things Considered interview with Edward O. Wilson.

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: Alabama Arts Radio Series

Alabama Arts, the radio program from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, is broadcast on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM Central Time on Troy University Public Radio. The subjects of these programs include art, music, theater, literature, and arts education.

These radio programs have long been available online. For the last year or so, they have also been available in podcast form. That is, you can subscribe via iTunes and have them automatically downloaded to your computer.

You can also find these podcasts by visiting the Alabama Arts Radio Series blog. Listeners can subscribe to the blog using a reader program such as Bloglines, Google Reader, or My Yahoo!.

So far in 2008, Alabama authors interviewed have included Sena Jeter Naslund, Kirk Cornutt, Rheta Grimsley Johnson, Ace Atkins, Jake Adam York, and Kathryn Tucker Windham.

Listen directly (streaming) or download these programs from the Alabama Arts Radio Series blog.

Sena Jeter Naslund interview, March 4, 2008

Kirk Curnutt interview, March 25, 2008

Rheta Grimsley Johnson and Ace Atkins interviews, April 8, 2008

Jake Adam York interview, June 3, 2008

Kathryn Tucker Windham interview, October 28, 2008

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Audio: More Alabama Authors on iTunes

iTunes U is the section of the iTunes Store that has video and audio podcasts created by colleges and universities. These materials include lectures, broadcasts, and learning resources created specifically for students.

All the materials listed here can be downloaded to your computer for free. Some of them can also be streamed, that is, accessed from within iTunes without downloading.

The iTunes software is also free but you must have it on your computer to access these materials. You can get it from the iTunes download page of the Apple Web site.

Stanford University's Stanford Book Salon features author interviews and discussions. These are available free as audio podcasts and can be either downloaded or streamed. Two of the authors interviewed for this series are Alabama authors Tobias Wolff and Nancy Huddleston Packer.

Audio for Book Salon interview with Tobias Wolff

Audio for Book Salon discussion of Wolff's In Pharoah's Army: Memories of the Lost War

Audio for Book Salon interview with Nancy Huddleston Packer

Audio for Book Salon discussion of Packer's Angle of Repose

The University of New Orleans' New Orleans Literature Series consists of lectures on works by authors associated with that city. These are available free as both video and audio podcasts. Both can be downloaded, and the audio podcasts can be streamed. Two of the authors discussed in this lecture series are Alabama authors Shirley Ann Grau and Walker Percy.

Video for lecture on Shirley Ann Grau's House on Coliseum Street

Audio for Grau lecture

Video for lecture on Walker Percy's The Moviegoer

Audio for Percy lecture

American Public Media's American Radioworks program Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory is a radio documentary about black oratory and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. Along with the audio podcast of the documentary, iTunes U also has audio recordings of speeches by black orators and transcripts of those speeches. These free materials can be downloaded, and the audio materials can be streamed. Two of the orators included in this project are Alabama authors Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Audios and transcripts for Say It Plain: Great African American Oratory

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape

Blasts from the Past: 19th Century Digital Texts

When we began selecting authors to profile in This Goodly Land, there was never any question as to whether we would include authors from Alabama's past. Cultural heritage is precious to all of us, but this is especially true in the South.

There was some question, however, about access to books written by our 19th Century authors. Some of these books have been reprinted, of course. Quite a few are included in the Library of Alabama Classics series from the University of Alabama Press. There was concern, however, that people wouldn't be able to locate copies of non-reprinted books without a close personal relationship with a rare books dealer.

The Internet and the World Wide Web have eased this problem to a considerable extent. It's become a lot easier to find and purchase old or out-of-print books by using the Web to locate dealers with copies for sale. But that's not the only option.

Many groups have digitized 18th, 19th, and early 20th Century books and made them available free to anyone who has access to the Web. Some of these projects allow you to look at images of the actual book pages, while all allow you to read the books in plain text versions.

In This Goodly Land's author profiles, whenever one of an author's "Selected Works" is available online, we provide a link to that text. That way, an interested viewer can check it out immediately instead of having to remember to look for it later. This is one way we hope to increase awareness and appreciation of our historic literature.

Here are some of our favorite digital book projects. If your favorite isn't listed, please share it with us in the Comments section.

Making of America (University of Michigan): 18th/19th/early 20th Century books and some periodicals; paper copies can be purchased

Making of America (Cornell University): 19th Century periodicals such as The Century, Harper's Monthly Magazine, and Scribner's Magazine

Wright American Fiction, 1851-1875 (Indiana University): 19th Century novels

Documenting the American South (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill): books, oral histories, legal documents, pamphlets

Women Writers Online (Brown University): books, short stories, poems

Project Gutenberg: books, short stories (includes materials in foreign languages); texts can also be downloaded as zipped files; some available as downloadable audiobooks

LibriVox: downloadable audio versions of books, short stories, poems (includes materials in foreign languages); links to Project Gutenberg texts

Text Archive of the Internet Archive: books, oral histories, legal documents (includes materials in foreign languages); texts can also be downloaded as pdfs; paper copies can be purchased

Google Book Search: books (specify "full view" to select only complete texts); public domain texts can also be downloaded as pdfs

Midge Coates, Project Manager
This Goodly Land: Alabama's Literary Landscape