Category Archives: YouTube videos

The Writer and the Politician

December 11, 2013 They had first met in Cairo, in 1961, when she was working for “The Arab Observer,” an English-language weekly, and married to Vusumzi Make.  Make and Mandela were political enemies, as were their organizations — the Pan Africanist … Continue reading

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Sherman Alexie, Walt Whitman: Hoop Dreams

November 14, 2012 When Stephen Colbert pointed out with incredulity that he had come out with yet another book, Sherman Alexie said, “That’s what happens when you’re literate.” Yes, from reading to writing: it’s as easy as that, as inevitable. … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiography, collaboration, contemporary poetry, Ethnicity, Genre, Media, mixed races, Modernist poetry, Native-American literature, Nineteenth-century literature, peripheral networks, print medium, Remediation, Remix, Sports, Television, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jack Kerouac: Mexico City Blues

October 3, 2012 “The immense triangular arc from New York to Mexico City to San Francisco”: Jack Kerouac writes in The Dharma Bums. After two publishers turned down On the Road in quick succession, Kerouac went to Mexico in a … Continue reading

Posted in African-American music, Americas, Arts communities, Cities, Experimental poetry, Genre, Global South, jazz, Latin America, lyric, Media, mexico, Modernist poetry, Music, peripheral networks, Publishers, Spanish, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman: Songs of Myself

September 19, 2012 As of today, “Still I Rise” has 743,494 views on YouTube.  There are 1,113 comments, some vituperative, including this one: “What the fuck kind of poetry is this? John Milton would rise from the dead to kill … Continue reading

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Children’s Books, Children’s Songs: Gertrude Stein, Paul Robeson

September 5, 2012 Last year Yale University Press brought out Gertrude Stein’s To Do: A Book for Alphabets and Birthdays, never published in her lifetime. Stein had written it as a follow-up to her first children’s book, The World is … Continue reading

Posted in African-American music, Afro-Asian alliances, Asia, Atlantic, Black-Jewish alliances, Children's literature, China, literary magazaines, Music, Paris, print medium, Publishers, Twentieth century literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pynchon on the Simpsons, Hughes on the Bootsie cartoons

August 29, 2012 I’m not absolutely sure it is his voice, but most people seem to think it is: “Diatribe of a Mad Housewife,” Season 15 of The Simpsons, aired on Jan 25, 2004. Marge is mad enough to write a … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, Contemporary Art, Ethnicity, Graphic Novels, Interdisciplinarity, Media, Modern art, Modernist poetry, print medium, Race, Remediation, Television, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, Visual arts, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Atlantic Sound: Caryl Phillips, Thomas Pynchon, Richard and Mimi Fariña

August 22, 2012 At the end of  The Atlantic Sound, Caryl Phillips is in Israel, visiting a community of Black Hebrews, almost 2000 of them, African-Americans who emigrated from the United States. They have given up their U.S. citizenship, but … Continue reading

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Rene Marie and Thomas Pynchon: Dixie/Strange Fruit, Mason & Dixon

August 15, 2012 Thanks to Ron Fritts, I learn this week that Rene Marie also has a version of “Strange Fruit” – a mashup, joint with the Confederate anthem, “Dixie.” Is it meant to be ironic?  Marie doesn’t think so.  … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, African-American music, Cities, collaboration, Ethnicity, Global South, Music, Race, Racial violence, Remediation, Remix, Science, slavery, World history, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seamus Heaney: More Strange Fruit

August 8, 2012 This week I’ve been listening to many versions of “Strange Fruit”: Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Gil Evans and the Sting.  I have to say: I still prefer Billie Holiday. But I had no idea Seamus Heaney also … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, collaboration, Comparative literature, contemporary poetry, Diaspora, Gender, globe, Irish literature, lyric, Modernist poetry, Music, Race, Racial violence, Remediation, Rock music, slavery, Translation, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature, World history, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Street Scene: Langston Hughes, Kurt Weill, Elmer Rice

July 11, 2012 It started out as a play by Elmer Rice: a Broadway run of 601 shows, the Pulitzer Prize in 1929, the  movie in 1931. Kurt Weill saw it in Berlin, both the play and the film, and … Continue reading

Posted in adaptation, African-American literature, Arts communities, Broadway plays, Cities, collaboration, Dance, Ethnicity, film medium, Interdisciplinarity, jazz, lyric, Media, Modernist poetry, Music, Remediation, Theater, Twentieth century literature, world literature, YouTube videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments