tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post1304093382981165941..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: The ChallengeBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-11879218529046325442015-05-29T13:53:47.991-07:002015-05-29T13:53:47.991-07:00Yes for Claude McKay's sonnets! Also, a second...Yes for Claude McKay's sonnets! Also, a second thumbs up for Komunyakaa. I also love teaching Lucille Clifton's "at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation ...." and Sekou Sundiata's "Blink Your Eyes." <br /><br />I love M. Butterfly. Also, what about Kazuo Ishiguro? I love Maxine Hong Kingston's Woman Warrior, too, and the chapters can stand as short stories.<br /><br />Gloria Anzaldua and Cherry Moraga.<br /><br />I like thinking about this. Good Enough Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16531793545583712309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-72211720661006722752015-05-27T21:48:25.999-07:002015-05-27T21:48:25.999-07:00Isn't she? Not that I have tons of experience,...Isn't she? Not that I have tons of experience, but I think she's the best reader I've ever heard. She's based in my city and I've gotten to hear her read a bunch of times, including her first official reading as Poet Laureate, which she did here.... also went to a live moderated conversation between her and Rita Dove. I met her at ASA about 10 years ago in the book exhibit and have been buying everything by her since -- she's really a historian's poet. I would loooooove to be in a master class like the one here: http://www.hurstonwright.org/poetry-prose-and-the-historical-imaginationsophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-47056084691745904232015-05-27T16:02:24.142-07:002015-05-27T16:02:24.142-07:00Thanks, Susan! I appreciate your contributions.Thanks, Susan! I appreciate your contributions.Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-75731771780011118102015-05-27T16:01:44.871-07:002015-05-27T16:01:44.871-07:00I would love you to expand, please, Shane! These ...I would love you to expand, please, Shane! These are helpful, thank you!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-3358492243136625382015-05-27T16:00:47.715-07:002015-05-27T16:00:47.715-07:00Super, thank you! (I've actually seen her rea...Super, thank you! (I've actually seen her read, and she's really good!)Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-51804745950773312552015-05-27T16:00:18.821-07:002015-05-27T16:00:18.821-07:00These area great! Thank you! (I love We Real Coo...These area great! Thank you! (I love We Real Cool)Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-22981986142383754992015-05-27T15:59:45.136-07:002015-05-27T15:59:45.136-07:00Langston Hughes for sure, and short stories by Wal...Langston Hughes for sure, and short stories by Walker, I think. Thanks!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-73675316655775324212015-05-27T15:59:20.499-07:002015-05-27T15:59:20.499-07:00That's interesting! Thanks!That's interesting! Thanks!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-89528017001834298382015-05-27T11:36:25.923-07:002015-05-27T11:36:25.923-07:00So, what do I know? But I'd echo the Adichie ...So, what do I know? But I'd echo the Adichie recommendation - I loved Half a Yellow Sun. Also, Jumpa Lahiri, and I think her short stories are better than her novels.<br /><br />Also, Ruth Ozeki's Tale for the Time Being is really good, and plays both with her identity and those of various people around her on a small island of the west coast of Canada. It might be interesting for your students who come from small rural places because some of the dynamics are global, some very local...<br /><br />Caryl Phillips, too -- I read The Atlantic Sound, which is non-fiction, but his new novel plays with Wuthering Heights. Don't know his other fiction, others here will know more.<br /><br />Zadie Smith: I haven't read her more recent work (NW6) but enjoyed both On Beauty and White Teeth.<br />Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09716705206734059708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-50482752172936043842015-05-27T07:54:39.250-07:002015-05-27T07:54:39.250-07:00I second Shane in Utah's suggestion of Chimama...I second Shane in Utah's suggestion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Teju Cole. In addition to being very interesting writers and thinkers (and photographers, in Cole's case), they seem to be interested in engaging directly with their audiences. You might be able to swing an appearance, electronic if not in the flesh. richardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-82579040639932768982015-05-27T07:21:06.107-07:002015-05-27T07:21:06.107-07:00I'm a twentieth century guy and a "postco...I'm a twentieth century guy and a "postcolonialist," so most of the literature posts around here go over my head. At last, a comments field I can contribute to!<br /><br />Let me second (or third) the suggestion of Claude McKay, who was obsessed with the sonnet form throughout the 1910s and 20s ("If We Must Die" being the most famous example).<br /><br />I'd vote for any of Langston Hughes's poems from Montage of a Dream Deferred, or any of his short stories from Ways of White Folks.<br /><br />Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (novel) or "Sweat" (short story)<br /><br />Derek Walcott's "Light of the World" (poem) and/or Ti-Jean and his Brothers (play)<br /><br />Andrea Levy's Small Island (novel, set in Jamaica and England in mid-C20; on the long side, but a quick and appealing read)<br /><br />Salman Rushdie, short stories from East/West<br /><br />Octavia Butler yes!<br /><br />And then there's Africa: Chinua Achebe, Zoe Wicomb, Ama Ata Aidoo, Ben Okri are some old favorites. And then there's a whole new generation of writers especially from Nigeria, whom I confess I haven't explored much: Chris Abani, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole. I can expand if you want to explore...Shane in Utahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-3294887252955959902015-05-26T13:45:23.958-07:002015-05-26T13:45:23.958-07:00Also, I've been reading Tracy K. Smith's ...Also, I've been reading Tracy K. Smith's Life on Mars lately and really liking it. sophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-59455656693434381732015-05-26T11:12:26.894-07:002015-05-26T11:12:26.894-07:00Third the Natasha Trethewey recommendation. She ha...Third the Natasha Trethewey recommendation. She has a fabulous historical sensibility, and her latest book of poetry "Thrall" touches on earlier time periods in ways (colonial racial categories) that might work for you. sophylouhttp://girlhistorian.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-58845129969903205422015-05-26T09:55:12.417-07:002015-05-26T09:55:12.417-07:00Ooo, ooo, ooo! I have the novel for you: Kindred b...Ooo, ooo, ooo! I have the novel for you: Kindred by Octavia Butler. I used it in my Intro to Fiction class this semester (and I've taught it before) and the kids loved it. There's just so much you can do with it; we taught in conjunction with introducing feminist theory but it's exceptionally versatile. Really, I love this novel and I love teaching it. Highly recommend!<br /><br />As for poetry, here are a few things I've used before:<br />Claude McKay's If We Must Die (sonnet!)<br />Yusef Komunyakaa's Facing It<br />Gwendolyn Brooks's We Real Cool<br />Faiz Ahmed Faiz's When Autumn Came<br />Nikki Giovanni's Sometimes<br />Langston Hughes' Dreams<br />Judith Ortiz Cofer's El Ovido<br />Agha Shahid Ali's The Wolf's Postcript to Little Red Riding Hood<br />Nellie Wong's Can't Tellphd mehttp://probablyphdme.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-58971812756854215692015-05-26T09:40:12.469-07:002015-05-26T09:40:12.469-07:00I know I am REALLY old fashioned but I have always...I know I am REALLY old fashioned but I have always liked Mother to Son by Langston Hughes and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. <br />ChrisinNY Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-86050664429985424392015-05-26T07:58:11.791-07:002015-05-26T07:58:11.791-07:00I like Richard Wright's haiku which have been ...I like Richard Wright's haiku which have been collected and published as Haiku: This Other World (and have the advantage of being not only a haiku, a form that students are familiar with, but haiku done with attention to the Japanese tradition, which means you have seasonality and pivot words—which students often aren't familiar with. The analysis in the back of this volume covers these aspects, so it should be easy to get up to speed.).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-6590401320802603052015-05-26T06:36:09.443-07:002015-05-26T06:36:09.443-07:00Great suggestions, Anon. I've only read a bit...Great suggestions, Anon. I've only read a bit by Butler, but the short story sounds good!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-7417795245763555772015-05-26T06:35:31.882-07:002015-05-26T06:35:31.882-07:00I should have decided already, but as long as I pi...I should have decided already, but as long as I pick stuff that's readily available, I probably have until mid June. Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-46948749853990992102015-05-26T00:49:21.317-07:002015-05-26T00:49:21.317-07:00I suppose Toni Morrison is too obvious, but I'...I suppose Toni Morrison is too obvious, but I've had great success with *The Bluest Eye*. How about Louise Erdrich, Linda Hogan, or Leslie Marmon Silko? (I'm more familiar with their prose, but they all write poetry too.) And Octavia Butler, of course - "Speech Sounds" is a great post-apocalyptic short story.<br /><br />A third Anon.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-13298007785440256122015-05-25T21:59:25.578-07:002015-05-25T21:59:25.578-07:00I read Native Speaker years ago and would not have...I read Native Speaker years ago and would not have thought of it as an exciting book to teach undergrads, though Chang-Rae Lee is certainly a good literary writer. How soon do you have to decide?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-32662624444211690222015-05-25T17:37:47.977-07:002015-05-25T17:37:47.977-07:00BEST play by an African-American woman: "Trou...BEST play by an African-American woman: "Trouble in Mind" by Alice Childress. It's about a company of black actors putting on a play about slave time. The director is a well-meaning white liberal man who is trying to help the black actors. It comes to a head, and the female lead has a confrontation with the white man. It is tremendous. It shows how even well-meaning whites can really, truly screw up, and how important it is to be self-aware when it comes to race and gender. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I found it in this short anthology, but I think that you can buy single editions from a script company or something: http://www.amazon.com/Plays-American-Women-1930-1960-Applause/dp/1557834466/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1432600604&sr=8-4&keywords=trouble+in+mind+alice+childress. Fie upon this quiet life!https://www.blogger.com/profile/12047096700049201873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-79615633996588475012015-05-25T17:17:34.964-07:002015-05-25T17:17:34.964-07:00I second the Natasha Trethewey suggestion. She wro...I second the Natasha Trethewey suggestion. She wrote a particularly interesting series of poems about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. And when it comes to Sherman Alexie, I really prefer his poetry to his prose, although I think my students would disagree. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is good because then you can show the movie Smoke Signals, which is fun.Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05412883073330413390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-75195234640065905882015-05-25T15:52:41.746-07:002015-05-25T15:52:41.746-07:00Oh, this is great! Thanks second Anon!Oh, this is great! Thanks second Anon!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-14962308270698031162015-05-25T14:47:40.517-07:002015-05-25T14:47:40.517-07:00For sonnets, there is no one better than Claude Mc...For sonnets, there is no one better than Claude McKay! I've also used some poetry by recent US laureate Natasha Trethewey in the classroom (for example, check out "Flounder" and "History Lesson") and they went over well - a nice mixture of formal elements, images, and metaphors to talk about. (a second Anon, not the 11:24 one!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-30145341364941826912015-05-25T14:40:51.026-07:002015-05-25T14:40:51.026-07:00Thanks, Anon! That's very helpful!Thanks, Anon! That's very helpful!Bardiachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.com