Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

The Jekyll and Hyde Podcast

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Today we’re talking about one of my top three favourite novellas of all time: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. For the record, my other favourite novellas are Heart of Darkness and The Old Man and the Sea, both of which we’ll deal with in a future episode of the […]

The Khalil Gibran Podcast

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Today’s show is about the life lessons you can take away from Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet. We’re talking about all the big key pieces that comprise the human condition: work, love, crime and punishment, justice, freedom, friendship, passion, pain, self-knowledge, beauty, death, and so much more. Get the book: The Prophet Read the book review: The […]

The Rilke Podcast

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Today we’re talking about Rilke. Not the great man’s work of poetry, but his advice to writers in a series of life-changing letters. Get the book: Letters to a Young Poet Read the article: Life Lessons from Rainer Maria Rilke The podcast includes talk of how to find your calling, solitude, loneliness, depression, art, love, […]

The Aristotle Podcast

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After Shakespeare, Aristotle is my favourite writer and thinker. So in this episode of Hardcore Literature, one of many covering Aristotle, we delve deep into The Nicomachean Ethics. The result? A conversation about virtues, vices, habits, happiness, and meaning laced with rants about the current generation abound in this 30-minute primer to the greatest philosopher who […]

The Rumi Podcast

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Rumi is one of my favourite poets of all time. So, having read through the wonderful Rumi: Selected Poems, I couldn’t help but turn the microphone on and let it all gush out. The result? Rants on victimisation culture, religious fundamentalists, the negative attitude of men towards women, low-consciousness humans, and liars. There’s also beauty! We […]

The Viktor Frankl Podcast

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I consider Man’s Search for Meaning to be the best book I have ever read. After countless people getting in touch with me after writing this article on Man’s Search for Meaning, I thought it was about time to sit down and have a chat about it. You can get the book here: Man’s Search […]

How Robert Browning Writes A Poem (Video)

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‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning! One of my all-time favourite poems. I love Browning’s poetry so much, I decided to put out a 38-minute video analysis. ‘My Last Duchess’ Analysis – How Robert Browning Writes A Poem ‘My Last Duchess’ At A Glance: Heroic Verse – iambic feet (five stress lines), couplets (aabbccdd), rhyming. […]