It’s Lit!

  • : 2018
  • : 44
  • : 0
  • PBS Digital Studios
  • 0
  • Documentary

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2x1
The Case for Fan Fiction
Episode overview
27, 2020
For years writers of fan fiction were shamed, the butt of jokes, and even subject to copyright litigation. However, in the past few years, with the fan fiction writers of today becoming .. show full overview
2x2
Afrofuturism: From Books to Blockbusters
Episode overview
19, 2020
With the success of Black Panther, the term Afro-Futurism got pushed into the mainstream. But what is Afro-Futurism and what is its place in Black storytelling? In this episode we give you the starter pack on answering that question.
2x3
How Fictional Pandemics Reflect the Real Thing
Episode overview
29, 2020
Although we are currently living through a pandemic that has disrupted our lives and will shape the course of humanity, pandemics have been around since the dawn of civilization, as have .. show full overview
2x4
Why We Still Love Little Women, 150 Years Later
Episode overview
27, 2020
Before women were asking “Am I a Carrie or a Samantha?”, they were asking “Am I a Jo or an Amy?” Before there was Edward vs Jacob, there was Laurie vs Professor Bhaer. And over the more .. show full overview
2x5
The Byronic Hero: Isn’t it Byronic?
Episode overview
24, 2020
Edward Cullen. Han Solo. Killmoklknger. Lestat. What do all these characters have in common besides being heartthrobs? They share a common ancestor: the Byronic Hero. Brooding, sensual, .. show full overview
2x6
The Constructed Languages of JRR Tolkien
Episode overview
16, 2020
Tolkien is widely regarded as the most influential author on the fantasy genre… period. But one of the less-discussed aspects of his work is the way Tolkien used constructed language in .. show full overview
2x7
War and Peace and Everything Else
Episode overview
07, 2020
According to Tolstoy himself, War and Peace was "not a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle." And in this day and age of publishing, where word count, .. show full overview
2x8
The It’s Lit! Musical Episode
Episode overview
27, 2020
Some say that theater is dead, and that’s probably because most playhouses the world over are closed at the moment owing to a worldwide pandemic. and yet the musical lives on… on .. show full overview
2x9
The Fiery History of Banned Books
Episode overview
21, 2020
Since at least 213 BCE, book burnings have been a reaction to the power of the written word. When roasting paper in a giant circle went out of style (at least in the intellectual .. show full overview
2x10
The (Stephen) King of Horror
Episode overview
05, 2020
Few writers have had the sheer staying power, popularity, and prolific output as Stephen King. From insatiably flesh-hungry clowns and sentient cars to telekinetic teenagers and mystical .. show full overview
2x11
Are Graphic Novels... Novels?
Episode overview
25, 2020
In the past few decades, literature has expanded to not only mean the “novel” but “graphic novels” as well. Today we are gonna break down how the graphic novel went from the comic book store to the classroom.
2x12
Dune, The Most Important Sci Fi Series Ever?
Episode overview
17, 2020
The planet is Arrakis. Also known as Dune. And y’all, it’s a mess. December of this year, we were supposed to see the arrival of director Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of the 1965 .. show full overview
2x13
Anne Rice, The Queen of Literary Monsters
Episode overview
06, 2021
Forbes once called her “The Warren Buffett of vampires,” but American author, Anne Rice has established herself as the literary queen of monsters of ALL kinds over her four-and-a-half .. show full overview
2x14
Literary Icons You NEED to Know From the Harlem Renaissance
Episode overview
26, 2021
One of the most influential periods in Black American History post-slavery is the Harlem Renaissance, an intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New .. show full overview
2x15
How Do You Write a Bestseller?
Episode overview
18, 2021
We spend a lot of time pontificating on the high canon of books: Your Shakespeares, your Tolstoys, your… erotic beast wars fanfiction. But today we’re craving something a little lighter, .. show full overview
2x16
Unraveling the Myth of Ernest Hemingway
Episode overview
31, 2021
Here’s the problem with tackling Ernest Hemingway—Ernest Hemingway himself. While the iconic author is mostly known for his feats of literary prowess, from The Sun Also Rises to For Whom .. show full overview
2x17
What's in a (Pen) Name?
Episode overview
21, 2021
To some people, the idea of a pen name seems kind of weird. If I, a writer, am going to put countless hours of hard work and thought into my masterpiece, why wouldn’t I want to put my .. show full overview
2x18
How Manga Took Over American Bookshelves
Episode overview
12, 2021
Manga, by its most simplistic definition, are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan, which became extremely popular in the United States starting in the 80s and 90s. We’ve .. show full overview
2x19
Jane Eyre: Why We Keep Reading It
Episode overview
17, 2021
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was there for the weird girls, the quiet ones who watched and listened, the ones who pined away for someone to accept them in all of their weird, dark .. show full overview
2x20
Octavia Butler, The Grand Dame of Science Fiction
Episode overview
29, 2021
If you are a fan of science fiction a name you should be familiar with is Octavia E. Butler (cough especially if you watched our telly award-winning Afro-Futurism video cough) One of the .. show full overview
2x21
The Unappreciated Female Writers Who Invented the Novel
Episode overview
14, 2021
The guy typically credited with inventing what we know as the modern novel was Miguel de Cervantes with his cumbersome 800+ page book, Don Quixote. But what if I told you that the real .. show full overview
2x22
Don’t Know Much About BEOWULF? Nobody Does!
Episode overview
06, 2021
Today we’re going to take a look at one particular Epic Poem and follow its long, winding journey from way, way, way long ago allllll the way to the present day, and we’ll interrogate .. show full overview
2x23
To Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird?
Episode overview
25, 2021
One of the trademark texts of the American school system is Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. For decades it has been widely read in high schools and middle schools as a key .. show full overview
2x24
Why Do People Think Huck Finn Is Racist?
Episode overview
23, 2021
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by American author Mark Twain is both considered one of the great American novels and one of the most frequently banned and contested novels due to its .. show full overview
2x25
What You Don’t Know About The Father of Sci-Fi
Episode overview
26, 2021
H.G. Wells is a name that is synonymous with the creation of what we now know as science fiction. He effectively invented the subgenre of alien invasion, he coined now-ubiquitous terms .. show full overview
2x26
Why We Keep Retelling the Classics
Episode overview
17, 2021
From James Joyce’s Ulysses to Bridget Jones’s Diary, you’ve probably read a book that was just a modern retelling of a well-established story. Which is to say nothing of other forms of .. show full overview

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