Category Archives: Contemporary literature
Essay 1 Outline Gabe Rojas
Industrial Genres and The Jungle Outline Introduction State topic: The intermix of the Industrial Gothic and Industrial Epic. State thesis: In order to advocate his socialist motives and critique the turn-of-the-century industrial complexes at the end of his novel, Upton … Continue reading
Iowa alums: Rita Dove, James McPherson, Ayanna Mathis
October 30, 2013 There would have been no marriage between Rita Dove and Fred Viebahn if it had not been for Iowa City. She was at the Writers’ Workshop, getting her MFA in 1977; he was from Germany, a Fulbright … Continue reading
Suzan-Lori Parks, Diane Paulus, Deidre Murray : Three Women Collaborating
October 9, 2014 It won the 2012 Tony for the best musical revival, but the New York Times didn’t much like it, missing Gershwin’s full operatic scores in this “thinned-out” and “heavily-cut” version. Having no deep connection to the original, … Continue reading
Michelle Cliff, Adrienne Rich: Animal Sound
April 3, 2013 It’s surprisingly difficult to find a photo of the two of them. In fact I found only one. Yet they’ve been together since 1976, a companionship of almost 40 years. Maybe photos aren’t the point? … Continue reading
Junot Diaz, Octavia Butler: Other People’s Books
March 13, 2013 It was 1957 and she was ten. She had managed to save five dollars, mostly in change, but still a lot of money. The public library had been fine up to this point; now she was … Continue reading
Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler: Kindred
March 6, 2013 His middle name is Kindred. Philip Kindred Dick. I find that hard to believe. How could anyone’s middle name be a capsule summary of a large body of work still to be written? Do Androids … Continue reading
Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood: Martians and Others
February 27, 2013 ‘Moby-Dick’ is about the oil industry, and the Ship of American State… The mates are the middle management. The harpooners, who are from races colonized by America one way or another, are supplying the expert tech labor. … Continue reading