Category: louisiana literature

+ african american literature, american literature, ernest j gaines, gothic literature, louisiana literature, of love and dust, southern literature

The Most Important Twentieth-Century American Novel

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Whenever I look I look at a list of the most important twentieth century American novels and novelists, the same names pop up again and again: William Faulkner, Harper Lee, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton, Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison. While each of these authors and their works are important, for various reasons, I do not see any of them as penning the quintessential twentieth … Read More The Most Important Twentieth-Century American Novel

+ african american literature, ernest j gaines, Literature, louisiana literature, mass incarceration, of love and dust, thirteenth amendment

The Thirteenth Amendment and Incarceration

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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

+ ernest j gaines, jennifer morrison, louisiana, louisiana literature, loving, loving v. virginia, of love and dust, southern literature

Conversation with Jennifer Morrison about “Of Love and Dust”

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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”

+ a gathering of old men, african american literature, capitalism, ernest j gaines, karl marx, louisiana, louisiana literature, socialism

Who is the Villain in Ernest J. Gaines’ “A Gathering of Old Men”?

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Recently, I had a conversation with Jennifer Morrison, for my Multicultural American Literature class, on Ernest Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men. At one point, we began talking about Fix and the ways that Gaines represents him, specifically through the eyes of an outsider to the community, Sully. This topic led me to eventually ask, “Who is the villain in the novel?” On the … Read More Who is the Villain in Ernest J. Gaines’ “A Gathering of Old Men”?

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+ african american literature, century oaks, ernest j gaines, Løvstakken, louisiana literature, oak alley

The Roots Beneath Our Feet

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Currently, I’m working on a paper that looks at the ways that Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season, amongst other things, critiques the plantation tourism industry in the South. As I was researching, I came across Rebecca C. McIntyre’s “Promoting the Gothic South,” an article that explores the ways that travel writers, after the Civil War, began to construct images of the South, specifically in … Read More The Roots Beneath Our Feet

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