A new semester begins tomorrow. I am excited to meet my students and get things going, but I will also miss the free time that this summer has afforded. I’ve had a very productive three months, writing two conference presentations, a book chapter, and some productive brainstorming notes for another book chapter that is dueContinue reading “The End of the Summer”
Author Archives: danielshankcruz
Books Acquired Recently
Aldrich, Nelson W., Jr., ed. George, Being George: George Plimpton’s Life as Told, Admired, Deplored, and Envied by 200 Friends, Relatives, Lovers, Acquaintances, Rivals–and a Few Unappreciative Observers. New York: Random, 2008. I am fascinated by George Plimpton as a sort of public intellectual who was one of the last of his kind. However, this fascinationContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
I finished reading William Faulkner’s Requiem for a Nun this evening. I was reading it partly because I’m teaching it’s prequel, Sanctuary, this semester, but also because I am fond of the famous quote from it about the past not being past, and wanted to learn more about its context. I had always thought theContinue reading ““The past is never dead. It’s not even past.””
Books Acquired Recently
Faulkner, William. Requiem for a Nun. 1951. New York: Vintage, 2011. I am teaching Faulkner’s Sanctuary in an independent study this semester, and bought its sequel Requiem to read as part of my preparation. Reading Faulkner is a guilty pleasure–his writing is beautiful, and he is an essential figure in the development of American literature, butContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Books Acquired Recently
Castillo, Ana. The Mixquiahuala Letters. Tempe: Bilingual, 1986. This is Castillo’s first novel, and wow have I missed out waiting this long to acquire and read it! I began reading the book this afternoon as soon as I unwrapped it from its shipping envelope (as C.S. Lewis writes in Surprised by Joy, there is really nothing likeContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Ana Castillo’s Loverboys
Ana Castillo’s short story collection Loverboys is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It’s so smooth, it feels like someone is talking to me and in doing so enchanting me instead of me actively reading. I feel like I’m in a dream while reading it to the point that I sometimes lose senseContinue reading “Ana Castillo’s Loverboys”
An Odd Typewriter
Yesterday I was at one of my favorite non-bookstore stores in Salt Lake City, the vintage shop Unhinged, when I came across a nifty green typewriter. Upon taking a closer look, I discovered that, though it was completely intact, it didn’t have a 1. I have never seen a qwerty keyboard without all ten numeralsContinue reading “An Odd Typewriter”
Books Acquired Recently
Castillo, Ana. Loverboys. New York: Norton, 1996. —. My Father Was a Toltec and Selected Poems 1973-1988. 1995. New York: Anchor, 2004. Ana Castillo is an author that I really enjoy, especially her novel The Guardians, which I’ve taught several times. She is the writer-in-residence this semester at my college, so I thought I wouldContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada
If you weren’t watching the Olympic Women’s Soccer semifinal between the U.S. and Canada this afternoon, you suck. It was one of the most thrilling, well-played soccer matches I have seen in my twenty-plus years as a fan. Both teams played their guts out, with the U.S. scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minuteContinue reading “The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada”
Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix
Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix is a fantastic printed object that deserves space in the canon of American postmodern fiction. It is the 1999 version of Invisible Monsters in its original intended form, which asks the reader to jump back and forth throughout the volume, kind of like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book from the 1980s. ForContinue reading “Chuck Palahniuk’s Invisible Monsters Remix”
