Romance, romance, romantic, Romantic, Romanticism, 1789-2017 Academics have recently "discovered" romance novels--bodice rippers, Regencies, love stories--but the ideas in these books have a deep history, one that links them to Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, and Jane Austen. This episode, I look at the steamy bits and their social and political foremothers. From Romanticism to the romance novel, what can we learn about reading, imagination, women, and opposition? Featured songs in this episode: “eros vibraphone,” The Books, ShortDocs 2010 “Rise and Shine,” Audio Binger “Pulsars,” Podington Bear, Textural “Light,” Borrtex, Creation “3,” Bisamråtta, Life on Mars “machinery,” Kai Engel, caeli “Love is Not,” Broke for Free, Petal “Encounter,” Podington Bear, Textural “Night Caves,” Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 4 “Who, What, When???” Squire Tuck, Who, What, When??? “RUNNING WATERS,” Jason Shaw, Audionautix: Acoustic “Love (Reprise,” Steve Combs, Love and Fear “Inamorata,” Blue Dot Sessions, Bodytonic “Waking up to the Sun,” Pictures of the Floating World, Approach “Etude,” Ondrosik, Nostalgic and Procrastination “Lullaby for Democracy,” Doctor Turtle, The Double-Down Two-Step “Starling,” Podington Bear, Solo Instruments   Recommended Reading: Pamela Regis, A Natural History of the Romance Novel, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003. Stephanie Moody, “Identification, Affect, and Escape: Theorizing Popular Romance Reading,” Pedagogy 16, no. 1 (January 2016): 105-123. Patricia Zakreski, “Tell Me Lies: Lying, Storytelling, and the Romance Novel as Feminist Fiction,” Journal of Popular Romance Studies 2, no. 2 (April 2012): n.p.   Blithe Spirits is written, recorded, and edited by Halina Adams. (c) 2017

Blithe Spirits

Bosoms, Heaving

140 characters to 400 pages, 1847-2017. Humans are hard-wired to love stories--and the more personal the tale the better. But with every narrative there come certain complications: the audience, the author, the text. This week we delve into the surprising connections between Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Twitter. We start with Patton Oswalt, take a couple of detours into Shakespeare and Jane Austen, and think about publishing, freedom of expression, and identity. Oh, and we all agree that St. John Rivers is the absolute worst. Blithe Spirits is written, performed, and edited by Halina Adams. For more about the podcast, visit blithespirits.org or follow @Blithe_Spirits   Music featured in this episode: “Surface Tension 3,” Podington Bear, Piano I “Twosome,” Podington Bear, Uplifting “Excidentis foliae,” Damiano Baldoni, Crystal Lake “forgive me,” Damiano Baldoni, Crystal Lake “Bluebell (Acoustic),” Axletree, Sunset “Three kites circling,” Axletree, Cormorant “Kwartet Japonski,” Maciej Zolnowski, Kwartet Japonski I + II “A Sea Change,” Kyle Preston, Geo “la dance nostalgique,” The Owl, Fairy Forest “Noted,” Julie Maxwell’s Piano Music, Lover’s Quest “Better Way,” Kai Engel, Better Way “Se recourber,” Mon Plaisir, Bonjour from Paris, Nantes and Montreal “Opus 04,” Dexter Britain, Creative Commons, Volume 7 “Days Gone By,” Scott Holmes, Film & Documentary “Flight,” Scott Holmes, Film & Documentary

Reader, I Tweeted Him

Two men, two volumes, a river and a sea. 1842-1980. We may think that Bruce Springsteen and Alfred, Lord Tennyson are two very different artists, but once we start digging into their work, interesting similarities arise. Join me as I take a tour of Poems (1842) and The River (1980), with heartbreaking pit-stops, lovely ladies, and lots of wrong terms. Notes & credits: Blithe Spirits is written, performed, and produced by Halina Adams (@Halina_Adams) artwork from author’s private collection and modified by her Music: Kai Engel, “Harbor,” from The Run Bruce Springsteen, “I’m on Fire,” Live, 1975-85, copyright Columbia Records aAirial, “Splash,” from Winterkauen Scott Holmes, “Still Missing” Springsteen, “The River,” The River, copyright Columbia Records Springsteen, “Drive All Night,” The River, copyright Columbia Records Julie Maxwell, “Cerberus Fossae,” from My Kingdom’s Chorus Springsteen, “Crush on You,” The River, copyright Columbia Records Podington Bear, “Looking for Trouble,” from Piano I Podington Bear, “Running on Empty,” from Brooding Podington Bear, “Sensitive,” from Brooding Podington Bear, “Skeptic,” from Brooding Podington Bear, “Down and Around,” from Brooding Borrtex, “Hope,” from Peaceful Mind Springsteen, “Hungry Heart,” Live, 1975-85, copyright Columbia Records Dexter Britain, “The Time to Run,” from Creative Commons Selections Kai Engel, “Low Horizon,” from The Scope Kai Engel, “Seeker,” from The Run Springsteen, “I’m on Fire,” Born in the USA, copyright Columbia Records CONTACT ME: @Halina_Adams @blithe_spritits blithespiritsblog@gmail.com

Hungry Hearts

The past is always with us and we are living in the past. This show traces the connections between the 18th and 19th centuries and now. What do Bruce Springsteen and Alfred Lord Tennyson have in common? Why are men always crying in 19c poetry? Does Jane Eyre Tweet? This season, I'll answer these questions and more. So polish your monocle and adjust your feed as you go back to the past today.

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Blithe Spirits

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