Professor Emma Smith, author of 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers' - Academic discusses commercial non-fiction, who Shakespeare really was, and why we can't throw books away

Writer's Routine

Dan Simpson

Arts, Hobbies, Books, Leisure

4.9 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Professor Emma Smith teaches Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford. She has published some academic non-fiction works before, but this is her first work of real commercial non-fiction. 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers', looks at why books are so importantly culturally - why can't we throw them away? What is it about a physical copy that means more than a digital file? What is the history of this phenomenon?

We discuss the idea for the book, how she began to research it, and what inspired her when thinking commercially. You can hear why she labours over the introduction, making it perfect, also how much a non-fiction author knows before starting to write, and the questions she asks herself to get the tone right.

As Emma is a professor of Shakespeare Studies, we discuss why his work is still relevant 400 years after it was first written, whether he could have written it all alone, and why scepticism of its authorship could be classist.

This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true-crime podcast you can listen to wherever you get your shows.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, welcome along to writers' routine. This week we're chatting to Emma Smith. Emma is a professor of Shakespeare studies at the University of Oxford. Her new book, Portable Magic, was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize.
0:23.2	It's all about books, their power over us as readers, and why we struggle to throw them away.
0:29.4	We talk about getting the tone of commercial nonfiction just right, also the questions that
0:35.2	she asks herself as she's writing. And as a professor of Shakespeare,
0:39.7	we dive into that and find out why his work is still relevant 400 years later. When I think about
0:44.7	what Shakespeare is, I actually don't just think about the plays that were written at the end of
0:50.5	the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. I think about that plus all the
0:55.8	commentary and adaptation and engagement that's happened since. So it's a kind of 400-year-old
1:01.0	package. And it's that energy, that kind of rolling, snowballing kind of energy, which makes
1:08.1	it really difficult to go back to the players themselves and say,
1:12.0	kind of, are they worth it? The truth is they have been thought to be worth it through all
1:17.0	these different periods and in all these different places. There is more with Emma Smith
1:21.1	in this week's episode of Writers' Routine. Yes, welcome along to the show.
1:31.5	This is Writers' Routine, where we take a look through an author's working day.
1:35.2	My name is Dan Simpson.
1:36.7	Thank you very much for being there.
1:38.3	Hopefully lots of tips and advice that can help shape your day on the show.
1:43.0	This week's episode of Writers' Routine is brought to you by the new true crime podcast,
1:47.8	Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?
1:50.1	And I think it's perfect for us, because if you love crime writing and storytelling,
1:55.3	which I think that you do, if you love podcasts, which I hope that you do,
1:59.7	well, this is right up your street. Who is the
	...

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