A few months ago, I received an email from a colleague and mentor. In the email, he did as he always does, asked how I was doing and putting me first. He was reaching out to see if I had a copy or information about an image that he planned to use or reference in an upcoming book. I saw the email but didn’t … Read More Ciao Giovanni
When I was younger, I’d hope on my bike and ride around the neighborhood, going to the mall to play video games in the arcade or to the sports complex to play baseball or to the junior high to play basketball. I’d ride my bike through neighborhoods, my Walkman blaring Nirvana or Soundgarden or Stone Temple Pilots. I’d just roam, no set direction, no … Read More The Importance of Roaming
When teaching Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust (1967) this semester, I asked students to think about the hierarchy within the novel. When constructing the hierarchy, students constructed in a horizontal manner, with Marshall Hebert at the top, Sidney Bonbon on the rung beneath him, Louise beneath Bonbon, Pauline beneath Louise, then the Black residents of the plantation on the bottom rung. On the … Read More The Structure of Oppression in Ernest Gaines’ “Of Love and Dust”
+ african american literature, ernest j gaines, Literature, louisiana literature, mass incarceration, of love and dust, thirteenth amendment
When Marcus encounters Pauline on the road in the quarters in Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust, he becomes angry at Pauline for ignoring his advances while she accepts Bonbon’s advances towards her. He asks, “What’s the matter with you? . . . I been working up there all night like a slave, like a dog — and all on ‘count of him. What’s the … Read More The Thirteenth Amendment and Incarceration
+ african american literature, alice walker, ashley hope perez, banned books, Literature, out of darkness, the color purple
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple has been one of the most and banned challenged books since its debut in 1982. As The Banned Books Project points out, there have been “different reasons for the book being banned, including religious objections, homosexuality, violence, African history, rape, incest, drug abuse, explicit language, and sexual scenes.” The bans and challenges to The Color Purple, as we know, have nothing to do with … Read More Banned Books Week: Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”
Interminable Rambling 