El reino de este mundo will be the first and oldest text. Everything else will be short, but interesting, from a different country. That is the foundation, and everything else is later; I should do something actually Afro-Latin to go with REM. Other texts I am thinking about having, for narrative, are Pedro Páramo, Crónica … More Spanish American Literature in Translation? Or Latin American? Including Brazil, or not?

This book. Axé.

“Me refiero aqui al realismo magico como concepto critico -utilizandola terminologia de Rene Wellek- no a la literatura que algunos un poco a la ligera han dado en llamar magicorrealista; y si intento aclarar de una vez par todas los origenes del concepto no lo hago con el propósito de dar con la verdadera ortodoxia … More Misconceptions about magic realism

“What is essential is neither the interpersonal nor institutional orientation toward blackness, but the fact that blackness is the essence of that which orients. Put differently, the coherence of reality (be it institutional or interpersonal coherence) is secured by anxiety over both the idea and the presence of blacks. The black, to paraphrase Frantz Fanon … More Afro-pessimism

Along these lines: what I’ve been doing for this is 1) I had them read the handout on doing summary, paraphrase, and quotation that I usually lecture from, 2) work in groups to write summaries of what we’ve been reading, and the summaries had to include a mix of paraphrase and quotation, and citations following … More On teaching people how to use quotations

It is too expensive and self-indulgent for me to buy as a grocery, but the Point Reyes Farmstead needs support during COVID and is very good. I’m interested in the Quinta cheese and I am thinking of it for a birthday present in March. Axé.

Is Liddell’s Constantinople and Istanbul insufferably Orientalist? Why do both he and Pamuk say Istanbul is so mournful? It doesn’t seem so to me, although I have not seen it, and I wonder what Said would think. This Nation book review indicates that in After Said I should read Lauren Goodlad’s piece on worlding 19th … More Les livres