Category: southern gothic
+ alabama literature, american history, american literature, atticus finch, boo radley, harper lee, scout finch, southern gothic, southern history, southern literature, to kill a mockingbird, william apess
American History and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Last post, I wrote about the Southern paradoxes in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. Today, I want to look at the opening of the novel because Scout traces the events of the novel deep into our nation’s history, before Jem, Scout, or Atticus arrived on the scene. This is important because for all of the missed moments of reflection in the novel, the … Read More American History and Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
+ alice randall, atticus finch, boo radley, gothic literature, harper lee, killers of the dream, lillian e smith, scout finch, southern gothic, southern literature, southern studies, to kill a mockingbird
Southern Paradoxes in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”
Every time I read Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (1960), I’m reminded of the book’s problematic nature. Why do we continue to put so much stock in Lee’s novel, teaching it in high schools across the nation? Alice Randall points out the problems within Lee’s novel and states, “Let’s be clear: “To Kill a Mockingbird” is not a children’s book. It is an … Read More Southern Paradoxes in Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”
+ american literature, language, quentin compson, shreve, southern gothic, southern literature, spoade, the sound and the fury, william faulkner
Language in William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury”: Part II
Last post, I started discussing the ways that William Faulkner, in The Sound and the Fury (1929), explores the ways that language and words construct meaning and social hierarchies. Today, I want to continue that discussion by zeroing in on a couple of more scenes in Quentin’s section, specifically the scene where he talks with the three boys who are going fishing and the … Read More Language in William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury”: Part II
+ alan moore, comics, dc comics, grindhouse, p.o.s., Qiana J. Whitted, southern gothic, southern history, southern literature, swamp thing
The Master Narrative in Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing”
Last post, I wrote about some of the Gothic elements in issues #41 and #42 of Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing and the repetition of the “unsuccessfully repressed.” Today, I want to continue that discussion some by looking at the conclusion of issue #42, “Strange Fruit.” Rather than breaking with the past by burning the roots of hate and prejudice, the space shifts from Robertaland … Read More The Master Narrative in Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing”
+ african american literature, african americans, alice dunbar-nelson, attica locke, children of strangers, creole, ernest j gaines, george washington cable, gothic literature, kindred, Kristen Imani Kasai, lyle saxon, octavia butler, southern gothic, the cutting season, The House of Erzulie
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”
+ african american literature, american literature, bergen, Norway, caribbean literature, comics, deathlok, early american literature, frank yerby, fulbright, gothic literature, graphic novels, Hilary Jordan, image comics, Kristen Imani Kasai, Literature, louisiana literature, marvel comics, mississippi literature, mudbound, native american literature, Pedagogy, southern bastards, southern gothic, southern history, southern literature, southern studies, southern womanhood, The House of Erzulie, Uncategorized
What to Expect in 2018!
Welcome to 2018! Back in August 2015, I started Interminable Rambling as a space for me to flesh out thoughts I had concerning texts I was reading, pedagogy, and culture. Since that first post, I have published 236 posts for this site on a myriad of topics such as Mary Rowlandson and Sarah Kemble Knight to Star Wars: The Force Awakens and court cases such … Read More What to Expect in 2018!
+ american literature, early american literature, edgar allan poe, enslaved, gothic literature, hop-frog, nat turner, slavery, solomon northup, southern gothic, Uncategorized
Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog” and Slave Rebellion
Ever since I first encountered Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog, or the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs,” I became intrigued by the issues Poe addressed through this Gothic story that takes place far away from American soil. The story first appeared in 1849, and we can read the story in an autobiographical manner, as some scholars have done. However, I would argue that we must also read … Read More Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog” and Slave Rebellion
+ african american literature, alabama literature, alice dunbar-nelson, alice walker, american literature, arna bontemps, charles chesnutt, claude mckay, early american literature, ernest j gaines, frank yerby, Genarao Kỳ Lý Smith, james baldwin, jesmyn ward, kiese laymon, Literature, louisiana literature, mississippi literature, octavia butler, paul laurence dunbar, richard wright, southern gothic, southern history, southern literature, southern studies, syllabus, t geronimo johnson, uncle tom's children. afircan american literature, william melvin kelley, zora neale hurston
“African American Literature and the American South” Syllabus
Occasionally, I post syllabi ideas here on the blog. Today, I want to share a syllabus I have been thinking about recently entitled “African American Literature and the American South.” The South, as a geographic and imaginary space, looms large in the works of not just African American authors but in writers of all ethnic backgrounds from the United States. Maryemma Graham discusses the … Read More “African American Literature and the American South” Syllabus
+ american literature, august wilson, cat on a hot tin roof, colorblind casting, douglas turner ward, gothic literature, james earl jones, Literature, mississippi literature, phylicia rashad, race, southern gothic, southern literature, tennessee williams, terrence howard, Uncategorized
Colorblind Casting and Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
Last post, I wrote about the racial undercurrents that populate Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). Today, I want to briefly discuss the 2008 Broadway performance of the play with an all black cast starring James Earl Jones, Phyilcia Rashad, Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose, and others. While all of the actors in the Broadway performance are phenomenal across the board, … Read More Colorblind Casting and Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
+ american literature, cat on a hot tin roof, mississippi literature, playing in the dark, race, southern gothic, southern literature, tennessee williams, toni morrison, Uncategorized
The Undercurrents of Race in Tennessee William’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
Recently, I taught Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) and noticed, as I reread it, the undercurrents of race that appear throughout. Over the next couple of posts, I want to explore these aspects of “playing in the dark” that buttress the story of the Politt family’s decline as Big Daddy and everyone else comes face to face with his mortality. … Read More The Undercurrents of Race in Tennessee William’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”
+ american literature, flannery o'connor, gothic literature, revelation, southern gothic, southern literature, Uncategorized, you go to your church and I'll go to mine
Music in Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation”
Last post, I wrote about “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” in Richard Wright’s “Long Black Song.” Today, I want to look at another song in a short story, this time in Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation.” The bluegrass, gospel song “You Go to Your Church and I’ll Go to Mine” appears in “Revelation” while Ruby Turpin and her husband Claud sit in the doctor’s … Read More Music in Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation”
+ african american literature, attica locke, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, southern gothic, southern literature, the autobiography of miss jane pittman, the cutting season
Reconstructing and Learning from the Past in Attica Locke’s "The Cutting Season"
Attica Locke At the beginning of Ernest J. Gaines’s The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1971), Mary asks the unnamed history teacher why he wants to interview Miss Jane. He tells her that he teaches history and that his students would benefit from Jane’s story because “Miss Jane is not in [their history books]” (v). Because of this omission, like the missing pages in … Read More Reconstructing and Learning from the Past in Attica Locke’s "The Cutting Season"
