Gabriel García Márquez’s novel was published 50 years ago. It’s widely recognized as the masterpiece of 20th century Latin American literature – some would say all of 20th century literature. It’s the book that ushered in the Latino Boom, the ascension of Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Julio Cortázar to the world stage….
Category: great novels
“Damnificados” named finalist for Eric Hoffer Book Award
More pleasing news about my novel: Damnificados has been named as a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. According to http://www.hofferaward.com, “The Eric Hoffer Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its inception, the Hoffer has…
“All They Will Call You” by Tim Z. Hernandez
In 1948 there was a plane crash in Los Gatos Canyon, California. In the plane were 28 undocumented Mexican workers who were being deported, and four Whites – the pilot, co-pilot, stewardess, and immigration agent. Nobody survived. The papers carried the names of the four Whites, but the Mexicans at first went nameless. The Whites…
The Black Renaissance
A new Black Renaissance is dawning right now. Our literature is stronger than ever. Those great, great writers who came before us all have their heirs. For James Baldwin, read Ta-Nehisi Coates. For Ralph Ellison, read Colson Whitehead. For Zora Neale Hurston, read Toni Morrison. They aren’t like-for-like, but our modern black writers are hugely…
“American Tumbleweeds” – by Marta Elva
Those of us living on or near the Mexican-American border know the themes by rote. We feel, hear, and see the dichotomies every day: the interplay of Spanish and English; the struggles between the old (Mexican tradition) and the new (North American brutalism); the familial ties loosened in the quest for a better life across…
“A Manifesto for Social Change: How to Save South Africa” – by Moeletsi Mbeki and Nobantu Mbeki
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which…
The Importance of Publishing Black Writers: Elizabeth Nunez in “Poets & Writers” mag
It’s Martin Luther King Day, 2017. Yesterday I happened to pick up my copy of Poets & Writers magazine and came across a terrific piece by the novelist Elizabeth Nunez. Her theme is this: “How to get motivated to do one’s best work if one is … ignored by the gatekeepers of awards and reviews,…
“The Lost City of the Monkey God” by Douglas Preston
Douglas Preston’s new book is part memoir, part adventure, all thrills. The tale concerns a 500-year-old mystery in the heart of Honduras. For half a millennium, rumors have existed of the ruins of an ancient civilization hidden beneath the rain-forest, named the White City or the Lost City of the Monkey God. Preston recounts the…
J Journal
The latest edition of the awesome J Journal – New Writing on Justice – is out. The Fall 2015 edition contains my poem “Police Report on the Death of a Black Man.” I wrote this poem for Black History Month in 2015 and performed it with the Poet Laureate of Silver City and Grant County, Elise…
RIP E. L. Doctorow, Jan 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015
E. L. Doctorow. A hell of a writer. Not familiar with his work? Read Ragtime. His fictional characters mingle with the likes of Henry Ford, Booker T. Washington, and Harry Houdini. It’s a great novel, and Doctorow was a true New York original, now gone to the great melting pot in the sky. RIP, Edgar…
Playing as if the World Mattered: An Illustrated History of Activism in Sports – by Gabriel Kuhn
Elite sport has a lot to answer for. Rabid consumerism, blind nationalism, rampant cheating, endemic corruption. Just in the last couple of years we’ve witnessed FIFA’s corruption scandal, mass protests in Brazil against expenditure on huge stadia, and the saga of Lance Armstrong. And…
Obama makes e-books available to low income kids
Barack Obama has announced a plan to put $250 million worth of e-books into the hands of low income kids. With the help of all the major publishers, 10,000 e-books for children aged 4-14 will be made available via a free app developed by New York Public Library. This initiative marks a start on closing…
