Epic Worlds Podcast

Epic Worlds of Alfred Döblin – Season 1 Episode Descriptions

• Things Fall Apart 15th April 2024
  
  In this final episode of Season 1, we follow momentous changes in Döblin’s life as the Wall Street Crash causes economic havoc, while the unexpected windfall from Berlin Alexanderplatz enables the family to move to classy Berlin West – meaning an end to Alfred’s medical practice. For further downloads and extracts visit www.beyond-alexanderplatz.com

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• The Alexanderplatz Event1st April 2024
  
  In this episode we investigate the epic that brought Döblin to worldwide attention: Berlin Alexanderplatz. What led him to this remarkable work? How did he conjure up such a vivid noisy panorama of the Big City? How was it received? What impact did it have on his own life? And what challenges did it pose […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Manas15th March 2024
  
  We discuss the most neglected of Döblin’s nine epic fictions: the verse epic set in a mythical Himalaya/North India. How did he come to this unusual format? How was it received? What’s it about? And why does Chris the translator feel so strongly about its neglect? The Reading presents a gripping dramatic episode on Shiva’s […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• The Weimar Twenties1st March 2024
  
  The 1920s were the peak decade in Alfred Döblin’s life and career. Between 1919 (the end of the First World War) and 1929 (the publication of Berlin Alexanderplatz) he was triply engaged: as a writer; an activist; and a family man. We discuss living conditions in Berlin; the political ferment; troubles with censors; and family […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Mountains Oceans Giants15th February 2024
  
  The 27th century; techno-hubris and disaster. Döblin’s third great epic is a notable departure after his two previous epic ventures into history. We discuss the intense pressure that almost led the writer to a nervous breakdown; the complex structure of the novel; and the absolutely not-to-be-missed Iceland-Greenland venture. Visit www.beyond-alexanderplatz.com for lots more Döblin related […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Döblin’s Biography Part 2 (1912-1922)4th February 2024
  
  The ‘damburst of creative energy’ that led to Döblin’s first great epic novel The Three Leaps of Wang Lun coincided with big changes in his life: newly married, setting up his own medical practice, engaged in vigorous debates with other Modernist writers. In this episode we track Döblin’s life during wartime; his next creative project: […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• The Three Leaps of Wang Lun (1912)15th January 2024
  
  18th century China untouched by the West could hardly be more remote from pre-WW1 Berlin. Yet critics were astonished by Döblin’s convincing depiction of an alien culture despite never having set foot in China. This episode endeavours to answer the following questions: How did Döblin select this theme? How did he research for it? What […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Döblin’s Biography Part 1 (1878-1900)1st January 2024
  
  In this first of several biographical episodes, we discuss Döblin’s childhood in provincial Stettin, the family disaster when he was 10 years old, his introduction to Big City Berlin, and his fraught relationship with the Prussian school system. For further information and transcripts see www.beyond-alexanderplatz.com

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Alfred Döblin’s Epics: What? How?15th December 2023
  
  Nine epic novels stand out for their scope and ambition amid Döblin’s enormous output of novels, short stories, plays, reviews, and essays on politics and literature. Each epic presents a vivid, three-dimensional world in powerful language that penetrates below the surface to deeper realities. The varied settings (18th century China; Europe in the Thirty Years […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh

• Introduction to Alfred Döblin27th November 2023
  
  Never heard of Alfred Döblin? You’re in good company – he’s the least known of the great German writers of the 20th century. Döblin’s reputation has grown steadily in the past few decades. English translations of his great epic novels are at last starting to appear. So this is a good time to introduce Adventurous […]

  Chris Godwin and Katie Kavanagh