Dante in T.S. Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Flannery O’Connor

by Matthew Teutsch

Ten years ago, I participated in an NEH Summer Institute at Grambling State University on teaching the Western classics at HBCUs. There, I read, for the first time I might add, Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Christine De Pazan, and others. During the institute, I learned about the connections between African American authors and some of the classics, specifically from Patrice Rankine, … Read More Dante in T.S. Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Flannery O’Connor

April 25, 2017 + #ncte, adidas, african american literature, american literature, dorothy allison, english, fsa, language, owi, recitiatif, river of names, russell lee, southern literature, toni morrison, Uncategorized

Language and Syntax in the Classroom

by Matthew Teutsch

The day after the 2017 Boston Marathon, the marathon’s sponsor, Adidas, sent an email to participants who completed the race. The subject line read, “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon.” On the surface, nothing appears wrong with this line; however, given the events at the marathon on April 15, 2013, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two homemade bombs close to the finish line killing … Read More Language and Syntax in the Classroom

April 13, 2017 + african american literature, american literature, Genarao Kỳ Lý Smith, louisiana literature, southern literature, The Land Baron's Sun, Uncategorized, university of louisiana press

Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “Fidèle”and Intrusion

by Matthew Teutsch

Recently, I taught Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s The Land Baron’s Sun: The Story of Lý Loc and His Seven Wives (2014) for the first time, and during this read through, I began to think about the topic of the American Dream even more along with colonization and intrusion. These themes pop up in numerous poems throughout the collection, and I have written about them before. Today, … Read More Genaro Kỳ Lý Smith’s “Fidèle”and Intrusion

April 11, 2017 + african american literature, american literature, caribbean literature, cla, claude mckay, early american literature, elizabeth nunez, jesmyn ward, kayne west, Literature, louisiana literature, mississippi literature, southern literature, toni morrison, Uncategorized

Some Reflections on CLA 2017

by Matthew Teutsch

Over that past 14-15 years, I have attended numerous academic conferences, typically 1-2 per year. That means I have gone to about 28-30 during that time span. Initially, when I would go to a conference, even one with hundreds of people, I would feel alone and somewhat isolated because, as a graduate student and instructor, I did not necessarily know how to take full … Read More Some Reflections on CLA 2017

April 6, 2017 + 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”

by Matthew Teutsch

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”

Interminable Rambling

Dante in T.S. Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Flannery O’Connor

Category: southern literature