Episode 78: Literary Adaptations / A Quiet Passion

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THE DEAD (1987) by John Huston

Description

On the first segment of today’s show, host Tom Breen talks with New Haven Review publisher Bennett-Lovett Graff all about movie adaptations of works of literature: what makes for a good movie adaptation of a novel, short story, or play? What are some of the challenges and benefits of making that transition from printed page to screen? What are a few examples of our favorite literary adaptations? This conversation focuses in particular on one such literary adaptation, The Dead, a 1987 film directed by John Huston and adapted from the 1914 short story by James Joyce.

On the second segment of the show, Breen is joined by Connecticut-based poet and teacher Kate Rushin to talk about A Quiet Passion, Terence Davies’ new biopic about 19th century American poet Emily Dickinson. Although not a direct adaptation of any particular written work, A Quiet Passion offers another perspective on representing literature through movies in the way that it closely interweaves Dickinson’s poetry with her life, underscoring her preoccupations with fame, truth, beauty, and death.

Links

New Haven Review website: http://www.newhavenreview.com/

Institute Library website: http://institutelibrary.org/