Category Archives: Afro-Asian alliances

Equiano’s Turkey

November 28, 2013 Yes, according to Mark Forsyth, the Thanksgiving bird is named after a country 4429 miles away. But not the first to be so named.  In fact, the original turkey was a guinea fowl from Madagascar, brought to … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Americas, Atlantic, Diaspora, Turkey, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Turkish Munich

July 3, 2013 Last time I came by train.   What struck me immediately, getting out of the station, was the city’s Turkish population, out in force, women wearing head scarves and not looking conspicuous, walking comfortably up and down … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Cities, Diaspora, Germany, Middle East, Race, Racial violence, Turkey, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, Leslie Silko: The Chinese Connection

February 6, 2012 In 1985 Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Leslie Silko traveled together to China, going up the Li River in a boat. Kingston and Silko have now come out with new books — Kingston, I Love a … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Animals, Asia, Autobiography, China, Chinese art, collaboration, Comparative literature, Ethnicity, Native American language, Native-American literature, Twentieth century literature, Visual arts, world literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shankar, Coltrane, Whitman: Within You, Without You

December 12, 2012 2012 is full of deaths at the year’s end.  Dave Brubeck last week; this week, Ravi Shankar. Shankar was half an American musician (the fractions don’t have to add up to a zero-sum game).  Since 1970 he … Continue reading

Posted in Afro-Asian alliances, Asia, Cities, collaboration, Diaspora, Educational institutions, Ethnicity, Global South, India, jazz, Music, Nineteenth-century literature, Poetry, public universities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Soul food: Jack Kerouac, Charles Johnson

October 17, 2012 Japhy – Gary Snyder – has no interest in the Buddhism of Chinatown, he likes only the real thing, the Zen taught in Japan.   But Kerouac likes everything, especially after a feast of dim sum at Nam … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Contemporary novel, Diaspora, Ethnicity, Food in literature, jazz, peripheral networks, Race, Religion, slavery, Twentieth century literature, World religions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Gore Vidal (1925-2012): 2006 Letter on the Palestinian nation.

August 1, 2012 Gore Vidal’s passing is marked worldwide by a citational frenzy: all those quips, those acidic one-liners, from the past 86 years.  The New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times, all have their favorites; the Guardian … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Arabic, collaboration, Comparative literature, Ethnicity, globe, Islam, Letters, Middle East, Newspapers, Nobel Prize, peripheral networks, print medium, Racial violence, Twentieth century literature, World religions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Richard Wright, Count Basie, Paul Robeson: Collaboration that Happened and Collaboration that Didn’t

July 18, 2012 Richard Wright had always liked boxing, but what intrigued him most of all was probably the personality of Joe Louis – “King Joe” – the world heavyweight boxing champion for more than 11 years, defending his title … Continue reading

Posted in Africa, African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, Asia, Cities, collaboration, Ethnicity, Global South, Interdisciplinarity, jazz, lyric, macro politics, Media, Music, Newspapers, peripheral networks, planet, Sports, Twentieth century literature, world literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

World, Globe, Planet: UCLA

February 29, 2012 I’ve always loved the big white buildings of Berkeley, but the brick buildings of UCLA (russet and ochre, so different from the plain red of the east coast) must be more habitable?  Royce Hall, with its twin … Continue reading

Posted in African-American literature, Afro-Asian alliances, collaboration, Comparative literature, Global South, globe, peripheral networks, planet, public universities, Twentieth century literature, world literature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 42 Comments