I had assigned the class to do some additional reading on Romanticism, and put each student in charge of introducing a poet and a representative poem. Here are some of the interesting comments and questions they had. ♦ Zorrilla was “financially unwise” and must have had a magnetic personality, to attract all those women looking … More In which my students may be unsophisticated, but do not lack insight
I did not know about this. Franco apparently had a mestizo theory of Spanish identity that was important to his conception of the nation. (Joshua Goode’s book is really good.) Axé.
This book is coming out. I have been saying such a book was needed. Is it really the first biography of Vallejo? I would not have said so but it may be the first of its kind. The flyer I got from the publisher today alleged the book could be had for $7.95, so look … More A literary biography of Vallejo
For nine days I have been under arrest for alleged teaching crimes but now charges have been dropped. Let us see: 1. Holding a review session in which I told a student that in college classes, rote learning was not be sufficient; the examination would ask students to use certain skills and work with certain … More Mais c’est le printemps quand même
I have just seen why in those days I was supposed to be so “unfeeling” and so much “in denial” … it had to do with being stable, which (a) was unfamiliar and (b) was hard to manipulate. “If you can remain calm, does that not mean you are emotionally numb, or that you have … More coldhearted scientist
Another unfinished paper I have is on Tropicalismo. I am reminded of it by this post. I do not know that it fits into what I am doing now but I should finish it. The text is quite interesting; it got out of my control and Tropicalismo began to look like the boom novel; that … More Tropicália
Syntax Is a Second Skin. First manifesto of Infrarealism. Diez poemas y once poetas infrarrealistas. A sociologist discusses Roberto Bolaño. There is a Society for the Proliferation of Visceral Realism but Visceral Realism is a fictional poetic movement. I would prefer to work on poetry today, and do something athletic. Axé.
The place to be this evening, I feel, is the Plaza Real in Barcelona but on Facebook, I have alleged I am at Elizabeth’s Restaurant on Gallier Street, en ville. A chat window opened and it was my Louisiana friend in San Francisco, informing me that it takes work to have “talent.” He is taking … More In which I pretend I am at a café after work, perhaps on the Plaza Real, with people walking by
I still claim Spanish literature after 1700 is, with some exceptions, bland and pedantic compared to what you can read from other countries, but then I do not know it well enough to actually defend this view. Now Words Without Borders has a massive issue on contemporary Spanish literature in translation. They say: Read Fernando … More On current Spanish literature
Ana del Sarto on estudios culturales latinoamericanos; Jesús Martín-Barbero on estudios culturales latinoamericanos – video – audio is very low; Mónica Szurmuk and Robert Irwin on estudios culturales latinoamericanos – video; students would think it strange if they found out I know all these people; they do not realize we all know each other. Axé.
coldhearted scientist وداد 