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

Posted in Cities, Contemporary literature, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

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

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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

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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

Posted in Africa, African languages, Animals, Auditory field, Black-Jewish alliances, Caribbean literature, Contemporary literature, Diaspora, Ethnicity, Media, Music, peripheral networks | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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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

Posted in African-American literature, Canada, Contemporary literature, Ethnicity, Science fiction, slavery, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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Mangoes: Richard Blanco, Sandra Cisneros

January 9, 2013 Conceived in Cuba, born in Spain, raised and educated in Miami– that’s Richard Blanco, as described by the inaugural planners. What poem would he be reciting on January 20? It’s not so easy to guess based on … Continue reading

Posted in Americas, Cities, Contemporary literature, Cuba, Diaspora, Ethnicity, Food in literature, Global South, Latino/a literature, Poetry, Spanglish, Vernacular dialects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment