The Spectral Summit
This podcast looks at historic literature and figures from the past. We'll start with a 16-year-old Ben Franklin pranking his brother James in 1722 by writing essays as a middle-aged New England widow who savagely critiques colonial Boston and Harvard. Future episodes include interviews with Warren G. Harding, FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt and Edgar Allen Poe. Stay tuned!
The Spectral Summit
Silence Dogood Essay 1 - Teen Ben Franklin's Prank
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this first episode, Kelley explains how sixteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin couldn’t get his writing published — so he invented a widow. In the first Silence Dogood essay, Franklin secretly introduces a witty fictional voice that captivated readers of The New-England Courant and launched his career in satire. It's a founding teen's look at colonial Boston, and his alter ego doesn't hold back. This is the origin story of Silence. It's a fun educational tool for middle and high school students.
Learn more about The Spectral and Literary Summit at our website - www.spectral-summit.com. We offer historic and literary videos and podcasts that make the past and literature come alive. This is a production of Creative Actors Lab . Check out our Instagram page here.
