826 The Essayist's Essayist - Phillip Lopate on the Pleasures of Reading Washington Irving and Other "Minor Writers" | Notes from the History of Literature Podcast Tour!

At the time of Washington Irving's death, he was the most famous and widely praised American writer of his or any other era. But his reputation soon dwindled, and today he's known primarily as the author of just two stories ("The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle"), while his groundbreaking works of history, biography, and essays are barely known. In this episode, Jacke talks to essayist Phillip Lopate about his book A Washington Irving Sketch Book: Reflections on an American Writer, in which Lopate pays tribute to the life and works of a nineteenth-century kindred spirit. Then...