Show Notes
Description:On May 22, 2018, American Novelist Philip Roth died at the age of 85. His passing marks the end of an era in American literature, when “serious” fiction and popular celebrity were not entirely distinct, and “important” books had a broad cultural impact. This week, the podcast looks back at the career of one of America’s most important artists. What does Newark, NJ and American Jewishness have to do with Roth’s work? Should he have received that Nobel? What was distinctive about his style and subject matter? What exactly have we lost as a culture, and how might Roth’s approach to fiction help us find it? Michial Farmer of the Christian Humanist Podcast and Matthew Shipe, President of the Philip Roth Society join for this humorous, enlightening discussion about an seminal figure in American letters. Links: Philip Roth Society “Remembering Philip Roth: A Giant of American Literature,” by Adam Kirsch “The Day the Genius Died,” by Megan Garber “The Plot Against America,” by Chris Gehrz “What Roth Didn’t Know about Women Could Fill a Book,” by Dara Horn