On this week’s Bookwork, Michael Silverblatt talks to Robert Alter about his book, The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary.

From the Bookwork site: “Biblical scholar Robert Alter faces a barrage of questions: What are psalms? Who wrote them? If they are prayers, why does he consider them poems? If they are poems, why are they so repetitive? If repetition is crucial to psalms, how does it go beyond the rhythms of ancient Hebrew to address God and achieve solace?”

You can listen to the interview here.