Next semester, I’m teaching Alice Walker’s The Color Purple alongside a couple of her essays, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust, and other works. Preparing for the class, I recently read Walker’s 1976 essay “Saving the Life That is Your Own: The Importance of Models in the Artist’s Life.” Walker wrote the essay in the mid-1970s, at a moment … Read More Writing Saves Lives
+ alice walker, banned books, carmen maria machado, ernest j gaines, martin luther king, jr, syllabus, toni morrison
Book bans and challenges are nothing new; however, over the past few years, with the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation and “anti-woke” rhetoric that has led to various bills against the teaching of “divisive concepts,” these bans and challenges have increased dramatically. Of course, as PEN American points out, “Black and LGBTQ+ authors and books about race, racism, and LGBTQ identities have been disproportionately affected … Read More Banned Books Syllabus
+ ernest j gaines, jennifer morrison, louisiana, louisiana literature, loving, loving v. virginia, of love and dust, southern literature
This semester, I finally decided to teach Ernest Gaines’ Of Love and Dust. For a number of years, I’ve cited Gaines’ 1967 novel as my favorite book, and as I reread it in preparation for this semester, I began to think about it as one of the most important works of the twentieth century American literature. On the surface, I know this sounds like … Read More Conversation with Jennifer Morrison about “Of Love and Dust”
Over the years, I have thought about the reasons why individuals continue to cling tightly to their beliefs, beliefs based in fear that spawn hatred. I’ve struggled to come to grips with this aspect of humanity and to untangle its roots. What I have come to realize is that change and growth cannot occur until one decides to come face to face with themselves. … Read More Confronting Ourselves and The Fear of Action
+ a gathering of old men, capitalism, ernest j gaines, frank yerby, karl marx, keri leigh merritt, socialism, whiteness
Last post, I started looking at the ways that capitalism structures society in Ernest Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men. Using Karl Marx’s “Preface” from A Critique of Political Economy, I noted how legal and social structures arise from the foundation of capitalism, working in tandem to construct the superstructure that separate individuals from one another based on wealth and power. Today, I want … Read More Capitalism in Ernest Gaines’ “A Gathering of Old Men”
Interminable Rambling 