Episode 134: Authors' Lives

The Mookse and the Gripes Podcast · Jun 11, 2026 · 1h 39m

What draws us beyond a writer’s books and into their life? Why do some authors inspire us to seek out letters, journals, interviews, and biographies while others remain known to us only through their work? In this episode, Trevor and Paul are joined by Dr. James Bailey, author of Like a Cat Loves a Bird, a new book exploring the life and work of Muriel Spark. Rather than focusing on biography as a genre, the conversation wanders through a variety of questions about writers and readers: what prompts our curiosity about authors, what we hope to discover when we learn more about their lives…