The Lion’s Presence in Arna Bontemps’s "Mr. Kelso’s Lion"

Category: african american literature

At the beginning of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952), the narrator relates the story of his grandfather’s death and the lesson that the old man wanted his son to know. He told him, “Live with your head in the lion’s mouth. I want you to overcome ’em with yeses, undermine ’em with grins, agree ’em to death and destruction, let ’em swollen you till … Read More The Lion’s Presence in Arna Bontemps’s "Mr. Kelso’s Lion"

March 3, 2016 + african american literature, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, interracial marriage, karla holloway, legal fictions, loving v. virginia, of love and dust, southern literature

Interracial Relationships and Children in "Of Love and Dust"

by Matthew Teutsch

Richard Perry Loving and Mildred Jeter Loving If Sydney Bonbon found Marcus and Louise engaged in sexual activity, Aunt Margaret thought about what she would tell the Cajun overseer on Hebert Plantation. She knows that she would not be scared; instead, she would stand her ground and tell him, “I was doing it for your child [Tite]. If you want kill me for protecting … Read More Interracial Relationships and Children in "Of Love and Dust"

March 1, 2016 + a$ap rocky, african american literature, catherine carmier, dope, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, southern literature, surveillance, tyga

Surveillance in "Catherine Carmier"

by Matthew Teutsch

Over the past couple of weeks, I have written some posts regarding the idea of surveillance in African American literature and music. During that time, I watched Dope (2015), a movie that deals with identity and society’s perceptions regarding individuals, in this case an African American teenager in Los Angeles who wants to go to Harvard and loves 90’s hip hop. In one scene, … Read More Surveillance in "Catherine Carmier"

February 23, 2016 + african american literature, american literature

"Benevolence" in James Wilcox’s "Modern Baptists"

by Matthew Teutsch

A couple of weeks ago, I noted some similarities between James Wilcox’s Modern Baptists (1983), Walker Percy’s The Moviegoer (1961), and John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces (1980). Today, I want to look at the African American presence in two of Wilcox’s novels: Modern Baptists and Hunk City (2007). I have covered this topic in relation to Percy’s novel before, and you can … Read More "Benevolence" in James Wilcox’s "Modern Baptists"

February 18, 2016 + african american literature, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, neh summer institute, of love and dust, quentin tarantino, southern literature, the autobiography of miss jane pittman

Horses, Manhood, and Power in Ernest J. Gaines

by Matthew Teutsch

When Django and Dr. King Schultz ride into Daughtrey, Texas, near the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained (2012), the white townspeople freeze, staring in shock at an African American riding a horse next to a white man driving a carriage. Django does not drive the carriage, as would be expected of an African American servant or slave. Django rides through the streets on … Read More Horses, Manhood, and Power in Ernest J. Gaines

Interminable Rambling

The Lion’s Presence in Arna Bontemps’s "Mr. Kelso’s Lion"

Category: african american literature