How many college professors can light up their students’ conversation decades after graduation? Here, three of Marvin Mudrick’s students (Class of ’81), meet online to talk about - and celebrate - the writing of Anthony Trollope.
Karen Christensen welcomes fellow lifetime literature students Bob Blaisdell and Kia Penso (Class of ’81) for a celebration of the writing of Anthony Trollope. Blaisdell and Penso have been fans of Anthony Trollope since they first read his work as literature majors at UC Santa Barbara's College of Creative Studies. They talk about what makes Trollope’s novels so engaging: the courage of his female characters; his humor; the ease and suppleness of his narrative voice. Their conversation touches on Trollope in history and in relation to other literary eras and places, never losing sight of the uniqueness of this singular author’s character, vision, and artistic practice. They also talk about another Trollope fan, Marvin Mudrick, and what they learned about reading, and life, from a remarkable teacher.
Pauline Kael, the long-time film critic at the New Yorker, wrote this about Mudrick Transcribed (now published by Berkshire with an introduction by James Raimes), a book created from recordings of Mudrick’s classes at the College of Creative Studies:
I can’t imagine a better book on how an inspired teacher’s mind works; Mudrick’s easy rhythms make you aware of how he arrives at the humor that shoots up, geyser after geyser. You know at once why his students would be swept along by his words—he’s thinking on his feet, getting high on his thoughts.
James Wolcott, culture editor at Vanity Fair, observed:
A one-man commando squad and independent operator, Marvin Mudrick was the most maverick literary critic of his time and ours—ferocious, funny, and fearlessly honest.”
Mudrick loved Trollope, and Trollope’s characters—and so do we, as you’ll hear in the podcast.
As I prepared for the recording session, I turned to some of the things Mr Mudrick wrote about Trollope. Here’s one statement: “Trollope is a much better novelist than George Eliot, much more important. [True!] Trollope didn't know it—Trollope by the way is another great man who didn't know that he was as great as he was.” And one of his reviews focused on the women in Trollope’s short fiction, writing that what “distinguishes the short stories is an interest in the power of women so persistent and concentrated that sometimes it almost amounts to the whole story.” See below for a free ebook that includes the review as an introduction to Trollope’s own tales, including several popular Christmas stories, one of them set in Kentucky.
Want to know which novel to start with? Listen to the podcast and you’ll get our suggestions.
Finally, here’s an introduction to both Anthony Trollope and Marvin Mudrick: an ebook I whipped up yesterday. Well, not exactly “whipped up.” I wanted to test my tech skills using some of the tools now available. I estimated that the task could be done in 2 hours. Many hours later, eyes weary, I gave up for the night, with new sympathy for the copyeditors and compositors I’ve hired over the years. But the end result is quite delightful, I think, and I’ve set it as free to download (both ePub and ePDF) until New Year’s Eve. See below for details. (It’ll be available soon on a dozen ebook platforms, but they take some days to go live.)
In Christmas Stories and Other Tales, Marvin Mudrick introduces us to some of Anthony Trollope’s most successful and intriguing short stories. Mudrick emphasizes the importance of women in Trollope’s stories and novels, writing that what “distinguishes the short stories is an interest in the power of women so persistent and concentrated that sometimes it almost amounts to the whole story.” The collection includes Christmas at Thompson Hall, Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage, The Mistletoe Bough, The Widow’s Mite, The Two Generals, Two Heroines of Plumplington, John Bull on the Guadalquivir, and The Panjandrum.
Bob Blaisdell is the editor of The Wit and Wisdom of Anthony Trollope (Blackthorn Press) and author of works including Creating Anna Karenina (Pegasus), and Well, Mr. Mudrick Said … A Memoir (Berkshire Publishing Group). He lives in New York City and teaches at Kingsborough Community College (CUNY). Kia Penso grew up in Jamaica, and was admitted to UCSB’s College of Creative Studies where she became a literature major for life. She writes about literature and the Caribbean, edits reports for large international financial institutions, and believes that everyone should have the right and the opportunity to develop creatively at any time in life.
Amen!
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