Ah, the Barbara Pym experiment of 2015 has come to an end. It’s kind of sad, in a way. I’ve really enjoyed reading all of her work, and I feel like she would have been a kick in real life. I decided that even though I reviewed Jane and Prudence last year for CBR6, it would be nice to end at the beginning. I’ve still decided that Jane and Prudence is my favorite of the novels, and there are some sly references to the other […]
The light surrounding Claire
Because I decided that All the Danticat needed to be read, I went with Claire of the Sea Light next. I also have checked it out from the library twice, and have no more renewals left. It feels like defeat to check a book back in from the library without having read it–silly, I know. None of you feel this way, I’m sure. But I had to make some choices before going on vacation. Consequently, I packed more books than clothes or shoes. My parents […]
Avoiding a single story through many stories
I’ve been super enthralled with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie this CBR, and I thought I needed to read her collection of short stories to make the reading experience complete. As it turns out, there’s a speech/essay published called “We Should All be Feminists,” so I’ll read that too. But I do feel glad for reading her short story collection, as I have more teaching ideas for the next year and beyond. The Thing Around Your Neck focuses on many of the same themes, ideas, or settings […]
When I ask “Krik?” you answer “Krak!”
I’ve been in the process of reading short story collections to piece together some units for my fall course. I’ve got another collection in the wings, because diversity of texts and ideas is always a great thing. I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak! that I would consider bumping one of my texts to make room for this. And yet here we are. In Haitian tradition, when someone asks “Krik?” you respond, “Krak!” It’s an invocation to […]
The beauty of narrative amidst violence and ugliness
Several years ago, I had polled friends to see what they were reading. My friend MJB had recommended Fadia Faqir’s Pillars of Salt, and I was intrigued. Now that I’m teaching a global literature course this fall, I’ve been reading as much international literature as I can. While I don’t think I’ll be able to teach this novel this cycle, I am keeping it for another semester. It’s an incredible work. Pillars of Salt focuses on the stories of two Jordanian women, Maha and Um […]
Burning images and words
In my search for African continental writers who write in English, I realized that most of the authors typically emerge from Nigeria, Kenya, or South Africa. I’m guessing the heavy influence of the British Empire on these countries’ education system means more writers who are bilingual (or trilingual, even more likely) and who write novels in English. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover Yvonne Vera, from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. While I won’t be teaching Butterfly Burning this semester, it’s a short novel that I’ll […]
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