Category: lyle saxon

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The Past in Kirsten Imani Kasai’s “The House of Erzulie”

Note: You can win a copy of Kasai’s The House of Erzulie. Just tweet or retweet this post (make sure to tag me so I know you Tweeted it  @silaslapham). The winner will be chosen randomly at noon Saturday January 13.   Recently, I had the chance to read Kirsten Imani Kasai‘s The House of Erzulie (Feburary 2018 Shade Mountain Press), a novel that, on the … Read More The Past in Kirsten Imani Kasai’s “The House of Erzulie”

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Freedom and Restrictions in Lyle Saxon’s Description of Mardi Gras

Recently, I posted on Robert H. deCoy’s description of Mardi Gras in The Nigger Bible (1967). In that post, I discussed the carnivalesque of the Mardi Gras season and the inversion of reality. With that inversion though, comes the realization that things will return to normal once the carnival season ends and the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. deCoy describes the effects … Read More Freedom and Restrictions in Lyle Saxon’s Description of Mardi Gras

Photography in Lyle Saxon’s "Children of Strangers" and Alice Walker’s "Everyday Use"

As I reread Lyle Saxon’s Children of Strangers (1937) for the 2016 NEH Summer Institute “Ernest J. Gaines and the Southern Experience,” I couldn’t help but think about the idea of authenticity and reality when I came to the final section in the book. There, Flossie Smith, Adelaide Randolph’s friend, encounters the fallen Famie as she leaves Easter service with Henry Tyler. Upon first meeting … Read More Photography in Lyle Saxon’s "Children of Strangers" and Alice Walker’s "Everyday Use"