The Nerve is a podcast produced by the English department at South East Technological University. Each episode brings together staff and students to discuss a range of topics
Christmas literature and film is the topic of discussion in this episode of The Nerve. English lecture Dr Jenny O’Connor is joined with English lecturers Dr Christa De Brun, Dr Una Kealy and Dr Paul Clogher lecture in religious studies and theology. The panel dive deep into the different literature extracts and film clips with the theme of 'Christmas as we see it'.
Dr Christa De Brun starts off the discussion with James Joyce’s short story The Dead. At first, it may not seem like the theme of Christmas is present but as the discussion progresses you can see the theme transpire.
Anne Sexton’s poem “Christmas Eve” was selected by Dr Jenny O’Connor. The poem is a sad tale of Anne’s relationship with her mother. The poem has a “rawness and intensity” when compared to other poets that make her work stand out. Jenny’s selection of the poem shows there are sometimes situations where Christmas may not be the happiest times of year for some and that can be seen in a poem like this as it gets to the core of emotion.
Dr Paul Clogher chose The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese. Religion is a large part of many people’s Christmas and Paul’s choice reminds us of the biblical movies that will be shown around this time of year. The three hour film is an alternative tale of the life of Jesus and is not for the faint-hearted. The panel analyse the making of the film and the meaning behind the story.
Finally Dr Una Kealy brings the listeners some recommendations on some classics that are a must to read this Christmas before introducing her choice, Christmas Eve by Mathilde Blind. Mathilde Blind was a strong feminist during her time. Una did not know much about her which brought on curiosity to expand her knowledge on this mysterious lady. Una goes into more detail on the poem, the poet and her background.
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The Nerve podcast is available on all the major podcasting platforms, such as Itunes, Spotify, etc and you can listen to the podcast on the following links