Episodes
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In this episode I am interviewed by Robert Ehlert of the SMU Perspectives podcast.
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In this episode I discuss the connection between ecstatic worship practices in twelfth-century Wales and those of twentieth-century Wales. I show how Pentecostal worship in the early twentieth century brought Welsh worshippers closer to their own ancestral language and its rich literary history. Later in the video, I link Welsh and Lebanese Pentecostal worship practices and discuss how speaking and singing in tongues has helped Pat Davis—a Lebanese-American man in Mississippi—connect with the Arabic language that his forebears spoke.
My previous episode about awen can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF3wznqmTac -
Missing episodes?
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In this episode I offer a new way of interpreting the fascinating and mysterious bread imagery in folktales about marriages between Welsh faery women and mortal men.
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A number of people in nineteenth-century Wales claimed faery ancestry. Specifically, they said a woman of the tylwyth teg (the "beautiful family," or Welsh faeries) had married a mortal Welshman, and that they were her descendants. In this episode I point up some parallels between these nineteenth-century oral histories and much earlier Welsh stories about the origins of the British people.
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In this episode my poetry students at SMU invite you into the experience of 2024's total eclipse in Dallas, Texas, which occurred last month. The students talk about what it was like to see the eclipse, and then they read poems they wrote only fifteen minutes after totality.
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In this episode I respond to questions from viewers, discussing (1) the faery blood running in Welsh veins, (2) the magical pigs in The Four Branches of the Mabinogi and the connection between dreams and myths, and (3), just for fun, the upcoming Mike Tyson / Jake Paul fight and how it relates to Beowulf, Toby Keith, and the Spoon River Anthology.
I also tell the story of my days as a member of a blues band in the Arkansas Delta. Here's the essay I wrote about blues singer J. R. Hamilton, who was our band leader:
https://southwestreview.com/magazine/autumn-winter-2017/j-r-s-jook-and-the-authenticity-mirage/?src=longreads -
In this episode I discuss the meaning of the magical force of awen in Welsh culture and interpret a few stories about the tylwyth teg (the Welsh faeries).
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In this episode I talk with renowned British historian Ronald Hutton about May Eve and May Day. Ronald offers tips as to how we might celebrate this wondrous holiday and weave it into our lives.
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In this episode I tell about my recent experience celebrating a West Wales holiday called Hen Galan ("the Old New Year"). The centerpiece of the episode is my conversation with a young man named Carwyn, for whom Hen Galan and the historic pub where it is celebrated are of deep emotional and cultural importance. Bessie Davies, the woman and pub owner who did so much to keep Hen Galen alive, had passed away only a month before I arrived. The nighttime festivities still took place at her pub, but this was the first time in over seventy years that Hen Galan had been celebrated without Bessie. This meant that a certain sadness was mixed into the joy of the night, all of which I discuss with Carwyn in this episode. If you'd like to see the visuals, check out the YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZBFd9oWGc
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For this special Christmas edition of GBD, I set up in my dad's shop in Pumpkin Bend, Arkansas, and talked with him about what Christmas has meant to him through the different stages of his life.
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In this episode I discuss the personalities of professional fighters Alexander Volkanovski and Tyson Fury in connection with three songs by Robert Johnson, Merle Haggard, and Bob Dylan.
Purchase Beekeeper Spaceman here:
https://shop.bandwear.com/products/be...
"Workin’ Man Blues" by Merle Haggard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EwK0...
"Workingman's Blues #2" by Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGT7X...
"They're Red Hot" by Robert Johnson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ehtc... -
In this episode I describe the forgotten fall holiday called Michaelmas, give my thoughts on its meaning, and offer some ideas about how to celebrate it.
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The scorching triple-digit heat in Texas (where I live) certainly isn't giving anyone a fall feeling, so I'm turning to autumnal poetry to change the emotional weather. In this episode I read and discuss seven poems that convey the enchantment of autumn.
I recorded the video for this episode with my phone in a hotel room; forgive the less-than-amazing video quality.
Links to the poems I read in this video:
"Autumn" by T. E. Hulme
https://poets.org/poem/autumn-3
"First Fall" by Maggie Smith
https://apoemaday.tumblr.com/post/699315826656952320/first-fall
"Beyond the Red River" by Thomas McGrath
https://www.narrativemagazine.com/issues/poems-week-2021-2022/poem-week/beyond-red-river-thomas-mcgrath
"Plums" by Gillian Clarke
https://www.best-poems.net/gillian-clarke/plums.html
"Beginning" by James Wright
https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/beginning/
"Theme in Yellow" by Carl Sandburg
https://poets.org/poem/theme-yellow
"Neighbors in October" by David Baker
https://www.americanlifeinpoetry.org/columns/detail/5 -
This episode kicks off a special series on poetics, built around the idea of “wordhood.” I discuss a Dakota myth called "The Killing of Bead-Spitter" and why it matters to me.
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On March 12, 2015, I gave this interview and lecture on Welsh poet Dylan Thomas at the Allen Public Library (TX) for its Celtic Month.
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In this episode I speak with Professor Ronald Hutton in his office at the University of Bristol, discussing the value of participatory, experiential folklore scholarship: living the lore rather than studying it aloofly. Afterward, by way of example, I tell how my own direct experience of the May this year has deepened my understanding of the holiday and my sense of its enchantment. I also answer questions from "the mailbag"—that is, from my listeners and viewers.
Irish American Heritage Museum's discussion of May Eve traditions and beliefs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaNlXSSGm3Q
May carol from Bedfordshire (utilizing minor chords):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4lSY8fXeLY
NPR article about May baskets:
https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/04/30/402817821/a-forgotten-tradition-may-basket-day
May carol (a composite carol I put together, with a few words I added here and there):
I have been wandering all this night
And most part of this day,
So now I have come for to sing you a song
And to bring you a branch of May.
A branch of May I have brought you,
And at your door it stands.
It’s only a sprout, but it’s all budded out
By the work of our Lord’s own hand.
Such flowers shone there in the strange night air
And all in the early dew.
I felt some fright, but I made it through the night
To bring this May to you.
Wake up, wake up, you pretty fair maid,
Wake from your drowsy dream
And step into your dairy house
For to pour us a cup of cream.
A man’s but a man. His life’s but a span.
He is much like a flower,
For he’s here today and gone tomorrow,
And he’s all gone down in an hour.
My song is done. I must be gone.
I can no longer stay.
God bless us all both great and small
And grant us a gladsome May.
Three poems:
Herrick
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...
Eliot
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...
cummings
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem...
my website:
https://gregbrownderville.com
Greg Brownderville is the author of three books of poetry, the lead singer of Beekeeper Spaceman, the creator of Fire Bones, Editor-in-Chief at Southwest Review, and Professor of English at SMU in Dallas. -
In this episode I talk about a largely forgotten holiday called the May: May Eve (30 April) and May Day (1 May). I also discuss the mysterious May carols, which were traditionally sung this time of year.
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This episode is a conversation with the eminent historian Ronald Hutton. I wanted to talk with him partly because I’m fascinated by obscure British holidays and how they add color, meaning, enchantment, and fun to the calendar, a topic on which Professor Hutton is the world’s leading authority. If you happen to share this interest, I highly recommend his 1996 book, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Hutton and I also discuss his newest book, Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation.
—the scholarly debate about whether pagan survivals or surviving paganism has obtained in Christian Europe, and Hutton’s recent intervention in this conversation (1:08)
—the tension in some thinkers’ claim that pagan manifestations in Christian Europe result simultaneously from cultural continuity and from the workings of the collective unconscious (4:10)
—Hutton’s emphasis on human creativity and his view that illiterate communities are often more dynamically creative than highly literate ones (7:51)
—how Rupert Sheldrake’s ideas about morphic resonance might shed light on debates among folklorists about where folklore comes from (10:48)
—whether familiar or unfamiliar religious material more effectively inspires artistic expression / a brief discussion of the diversity and syncretism of Christianity (15:00)
—speculation about the meaning behind ghosts and the European goddess-like figures that Hutton’s new book is about (16:59)
—Hutton’s outlook on the family of scholars of which he is a member (21:53)
—What is it that fuels Hutton’s work? (25:14)
—an important and moving moment in Hutton’s academic career when he received encouragement from an instructor (28:51)
—Hutton’s fascinating idea that practices which seem pagan to many scholars are actually Catholic practices brought into the home after the Reformation (32:50)
—Larkin’s poem "Church Going," pilgrimage, and the recent revival of folk celebrations in Britain (13:30)
—the magic of carols (37:44)
—Hutton’s take on W. B. Yeats, his splendid poetry, his sometimes-unsplendid personal behavior, and his dim view of English fairies as opposed to Irish ones (39:45)
—the secret meaning of the fall / winter festival calendar (45:00)
my website:
https://gregbrownderville.com
logo design by Julie Savasky at 508 Creative: https://508creative.com
music by Beekeeper Spaceman
Greg Brownderville is the author of three books of poetry, the lead singer of Beekeeper Spaceman, the creator of Fire Bones, the editor-in-chief of Southwest Review, and a professor of English at SMU in Dallas. -
This is my second audio episode featuring the English biologist Rupert Sheldrake, recorded during Christmastime in London. If you watched the short version of this episode (titled “The Logos and the Calendar”) on my YouTube channel, I still recommend listening to this audio episode. The video version is only twenty-three minutes long, whereas this long-form audio version contains over an hour of content and goes into much greater depth.
Rupert Sheldrake’s books:
https://www.sheldrake.org/books-by-ru...
my website:
https://gregbrownderville.com
If you have questions for me about this episode or anything else, hit me up at [email protected]. If I get some good questions, I might do a Q&A episode.
logo design by Julie Savasky at 508 Creative: https://508creative.com
music by Beekeeper Spaceman
Greg Brownderville is the author of three books of poetry, the lead singer of Beekeeper Spaceman, the creator of Fire Bones, the editor-in-chief of Southwest Review, and a professor of English at SMU in Dallas. -
In this episode I return to my undergraduate alma mater, Ouachita Baptist University, to sit a spell with Johnny Wink and Eric Brownderville (my brother). This is one of the most joyous conversations I've ever been a part of.
—Greg and Eric reminisce about their first experiences as college students (4:56)
—Eric runs into his former English professor somewhere he never would have expected to see him (6:50)
—"the grim stubble period" (8:20)
—the historical importance of "hair certainty" for American presidents (11:43)
—seven ways to prune a grapefruit (12:50)
—Silky, the blue Fugates, and cosmic silliness (20:55)
—Greg's cereal prank (26:28)
—Greg's "business ed" prank (27:30)
—the nightmare of the definite article for Russian speakers learning English, and Johnny's bedtime prank (28:28)
—Greg's "least favorite name for a boy" interviews (30:26)
—the mystery of "the simples" (32:07)
—Eddie Ray and his magnificent misspellings (41:53)
—Greg's peculiar love of "Swiss" (44:40)
—"always there for me" and "everything happens for a reason" (46:00)
—Sure, Jesus loves you, but does God love you? (48:30)
—Johnny's absolute phrase problem, "Never," and "Mystery" (51:15)
—exceedingly paranormal Greg (55:58)
—Mr. Danner and his female sons (57:15)
—cereal commercial Macbeth among the jaguars (1:01:34)
—mnemonics, Shakespeare, and Yeats (1:03:38)
—Butch Marshall's disappearing penis (1:07:25)
—die vs. pass away (1:15:20)
—going to sleep in Jesus and your sweet transition (1:20:20)
—Huck Finn stories (1:22:28)
—weird curse words (1:25:57)
—Jim Bill Patterson (1:33:29)
—coffee socks and wet squirrels (1:37:03)
—A-Tay and the blood-orange fastball (1:38:59)
—Eric's take on a Chinese superstition (1:40:28)
—Greg and Eric's Walmart survey prank (1:41:57)
—no kidding: Eric was born with a tail (1:44:02)
—Jack Butler's asanas (1:46:10)
—Eric and Johnny discuss how Johnny gets his ideas for poems (1:47:57)
Greg’s website:
https://gregbrownderville.com
If you have questions for me about this episode or anything else, leave a comment or hit me up at [email protected]. If I get some good questions, I might do a Q&A episode.
logo design by Julie Savasky at 508 Creative: https://508creative.com
music by Beekeeper Spaceman
Greg Brownderville is the author of three books of poetry, the lead singer of Beekeeper Spaceman, the creator of Fire Bones, the editor-in-chief of Southwest Review, and a professor of English at SMU in Dallas. - Show more
