643 Aesop and His Fables (with Robin Waterfield) | My Last Book with Boel Westin

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

Arts, Books, History

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2024

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Aesop's fables - including such classics as "The Tortoise and the Hare," "The Fox and the Grapes," and "The Ant and the Grasshopper" - are among the most familiar and best-loved stories in the world. But who was Aesop? Why was he writing these stories - and what about the ones that weren't written for children? Renowned scholar Robin Waterfield, translator of Aesop's Fables: A New Translation, joins Jacke for a discussion of the legendary Aesop and his legendary tales. PLUS Tove Jansson biographer Boel Westin (Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words) stops by to discuss her choice for the last book she will ever read. Additional listening suggestions: 605 Tove Jansson, Creator of the Moomins (with Boel Westin) 377 The Brothers Grimm 531 Fairy Tales (with Jack Zipes) The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at ⁠gabrielruizbernal.com⁠. Help support the show at patreon.com/literature or historyofliterature.com/donate. The History of Literature Podcast is a member of Lit Hub Radio and the Podglomerate Network. Learn more at thepodglomerate.com/historyofliterature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglamorate Network and LIT Hub Radio.
0:09.2	Live on the zone October 19th, Francis Inganu returns to the cage versus Haina Fehera.
0:15.0	When giants collide, the Earth shakes.
0:17.2	The Professional Fighters League presents Battle of the Giants.
0:20.4	The two most feared MMA fighters clash in the cage for the world heavyweight title
0:24.3	Plus MMA legend Chris Seibel faces two-time PFL champion
0:28.3	Larissa Pachego in one of the biggest women's mama fights ever.
0:32.1	Battle of the Giants and Gar mama fights ever. Battle of the Giants.
0:34.0	Engarnu versus the Heera, October 19th live on the zone by now at the zone.
0:38.4	com.
0:39.4	Hello, the name is one of a handful of what we might call household storyteller names.
0:45.1	Children everywhere, or at least in America are familiar with Grimm's Fairy Tales,
0:50.4	Mother Goose Rhymes, and Aesop's fables.
0:54.0	The brothers Grimm were real people of course, and Mother Goose was not, or sort of was not.
1:00.0	We'll have more on that later.
1:02.0	But where does Aesop fit in? He's an ancient Greek figure, a legend
1:06.8	dating back 2,500 years, reputed to be a former slave whose cleverness compensated for his physical unattractiveness.
1:17.2	How much of that is real and how much was pasted on after the fact and how many of his fables survive.
1:24.1	We know the famous ones like the tortoise and the hair and sour grapes, but what about the
1:28.6	400 or so others?
1:30.5	Were they all by Aesop? Were they? Why were they invented? Why were they told?
1:36.8	And why have they been so successful, generation after generation, until our present day.
	...

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