Carla Mulford, ed. Teaching the Literatures of early America [Reseña]

Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos. n. º 8 (2001 ). pp. 119- 125 BOOK REVIEWS REVIEW OF CARLA MUJ.FORD. ed. Teaching he Li e a u es o Ea ly Ame ica. New Yo k: MLA. 1999. pp. VII-XII, 402. ISSN 1079-2562. Ca la Mul o d 's book is he i een h olume in he MLA's Op ions o Teaching se ies, which. like he se ies de o ed by his associa ion o indi idual au ho s. Appmaches o Teaching. e lec s hc g owing in e es in cs ablishing a close link bc wcen ad anced esea ch and eaching a unde g adua e and pos g adua e Ie els. Thus, his book. wi houl losing ack o i s didac ic o ien a ion. also e lec s hc con empo a. y deba e on so ne o he ques ions i aises in i s p ologue: wha hese «li e a u es» a e and wha cons i u es «Ame ica.» I «li e a iness» is ela ed. as i mos ly was be o e hc expansion o he canon om he six ies. o aes he ic o a is ic in en , i is no su p ising ha ea ly Ame ican li e a u e emained co npa a i ely unde s udied. Russell Reising. one o Lhe con ibu o s o he olume, is su ely no alone in ha ing begun o s udy Edga Allan Poe on hc ou h week o an Ea ly Ame ican Li e a u e cou se (268). Few ea ly ex s iued hose aes he ic and a is ic c i e ia. a ndas a esul hc e was a endcncy ci be o disca d cx s ha did no ul ill h em as non-Ji e a y. o o o e emphasize his aspec in ex s ha <lid ul ill hem. e en a he expense o dis o ing hei main pu pose o hei posi ion wi hin hei cul u e (such was hc case wi h Edwa d Taylo 's poe y). Thus, he w i ing o his pe iod has bene i ed emendously om he e hinking o he concep o li e a u e, and bis new in e esl has been mani es ed in nume ous eccn publica íons, which seek bo h o make mo e p ima y ex s a ailable -like he Thi d Edi ion o he H1:mh An lwlogy (1998). Go don Say e 's compila ion o cap i i y nan-a i es (2000) o Cas illo and Schwci zc 's The Li e a u es o Colonial Ame ica (2000)- and o sugges ways o analyzíng and in e p e íng hem on he e ms Rosalie Mu phy Baum sugges s in his olume: in ela ion o heí « he o ical e ec i eness in hci own pe iod,, ( 11 7). In his sense, he essays in he collec ion se ou wi b a e y clea heo e ical pu pose in mind; in ac , o cn wi h wha classical he o ic would e m a «co cc i e» pu pose. Thc mos ele an objecli e o hci co ec ion is no only he concep o «li e a u. e,» bu also he concep o «Ame ica,» in o de Lo p o íde a b oadc a nd mo e accu a e pic u e o he di e en cul u es and adi ions coexis ing in he 120 Book Re iew s No he n con inen , heyond he B i ish-Ame ican adi ion and pa icula ly beyond he ende nc y o encapsula e i in he w i ings o hc Pu i an co lonies. The i s sec ion ( «l ss ue s, Themes , Me h ods») deals wi h h ese cconcep ualiza ions, bo h wi hin and wi hou B i ish-A ne ican w i ing. So ne essays ea gene al issues such as mul icullu alism and colonialism, e nphasizing ano he o he p eoccupa ions which mak e his collcc ion so pe linen : he jo in didac ic aim s o connec ing he pas wi h p esen -day issues, and o using p i na y ex s as a means o csis ing « ccei ed wisdom,» as Shields and Nelson a guc in a la e essay (99). As a ule, he au ho s a e al so awa e h a his « c cei ed wis d om» m ay include n ew o e simpli ica ions dc i ed om he pos -six ies auemp o ese hc ideological balance. O he essays in his sec ion p o ide b ie , use ul in oduc ions o pa ic ul a adi ions such as A ican-Ame ican o women's w i ings, ex ending hei scope o includc ex s om wi hou he B i ish-Ame ican colonies. Th e e chap e s dcal mos di ec ly wi h cul u al p oduc ions in languages o h e han Eng lish: he Na i e Ame ican o al adi ion. and Spanish and F ench colonial ex s. The au h o s a e con incing as o hc pcninc ncc o explo ing hese adi ions, and as o he legi imacy o he use o ansla ions, sincc « ansla ion was a majo li c a y o m by which people o he J 61 h, 11111 and 1 g111 cen u ies ca ne o know abou he New Wo ld» (Shields and Nelson 10 l ). They a e also ex emely conscious o he di icul ies in ol ed in app oaching ex s whosc p oduc ion. ansmission and ecep ion may ake place unde condi ions e y di e cn o hose o he p esen . This awa eness, incidcn ally. is ye ano he o he s eng hs o hc collec ion: almosl all co ll abo a o s s ess hc need o con ex ualize he mndes o li e a y p oduc ion, au ho ship and cade ship in he pe iod. and sugges use ul ways o con eying o hei s uden s he e ec s o h ese modes. Howe e , in spi e o he au ho s' ca u ion, and while welcoming he b oade hi nking encou aged by such s udies. i s cems necessa y o wonde whe h e he l ack o a mo e spcci ic aining -whe he in his o y, an h opology, o speci ic philol ogies o he han English-may no lead o an o e simpli ied o biased app oach o hese ma e ials.1 This conside a ion is mos ce ainly n o an a gum en agains hei use, bu a call o collabo a ion and o uly in e disciplina y s udies. The essays on he mo e amilia B i ish-Ame ican adi ion (which co mp ose he es o Scc iou 1 and he body o Sec ion II. «Gen e S udies») also ake up he heo e ical issues o he na u e o li e a u e and Ame ican iden i y, and mos ly o e simila ly use ul in oduc o y app oaches in which di ec eading and mode n c i i ca ] conside a ions a e ccnnbined wi h a clca ly didac ic in en . The a ie y o gen es and l adi ions discussed -ca p i i y na a i cs. Pu i an ex s, poe y, d ama, he no el, au obiog aphies. Sou he n w i ing, poli ical essays- comple es he «Wo ld ision» o a pe i od o g e a co mplexi y , alw ays e mph as izing i s ele an ce o he A me ican p esen . ~ l is in hís sec ion, howc e , whe e some hin s o a ailing no uncommon in 1. Fo in ,l ance. Baum's cx cn,i e >Cconda y bibl io g aphy on F ench colonial w i!ings d ocs nol in dudc a single F ench sou cc. 2. In his sen se, l wo uld likc 10 ca ll special allcn ion u ank Shu le on 's essay 011 hc A1m: ican Enligh enmen o i s lucid analysis o he esis anccs o Enligh cned houghl on he pa o p esen -day s udcn s and o í s c qu ally lucid c i icism and alida ion u Enlígh ened ideas. Book Rei•iews 121 his MLA se ies ma y be dc ec ed: wo o h ee pape s h ea en o oil in o he de elopmen o a pa icula , almos! punc ual hesis in ela ion o speci ic ex s a he han deal wi h lhe issues in ol ed in eaching ha pe iod o gen e as a whole. Sec ion lII, «Selec ed Cou ses,» is in heo y he mos eaching-o ien ed, as i o e s speci ic examples o cou ses based on Ea ly Ame ican ma e ial. Whilc acknowledging ha . li ke he es o che book, lhis sec i on is ex emely well <locumen ed and heo e ically a gue<l, i seems o me he leas ele an o non- Ame ican eache s. Condi ions in mos Spanish uni e si ies, o ins ance, p eclude he high-in ensi y, small- g ou p amewo k ha is assumed in hes e p oposals; pos g adua e cou ses may o e he 1ighl numbe s, bu gene ally ca nnol o e he ighl le e] o oil- ime commi men . E en gi en ideal condi ions, mos o he cou ses o e ed seem o me o e -ambi ious in he amoun o ma e ial hey in end o co e , especially i i is o be accompanied by sophis ica ed heo e ícal discussion.·~ Thus. pa adoxically. as a whole hese «Selec cd Cou ses» a e less help ul om he didac ic pe spec i e han he p e ious sec ions, whe e s ug ges ions o eaching abound. So ne o hem, again. a e unlikely lo be ca ied ou in a Spanish con ex : whe he i be ou o a eluc ance o es ablish highc <leg ees o in imacy wi h s uden s, o ou o he di icul y o shee numbe s. un o una ely T canno imagine many eache s he e ca<ling and discussing s uden s' sel -na a i es in imi a ion o Ea ly Ame ican au obiog aphical onns, o engaging hem in dialogue abou hei pe sonal concep ion o « eedom» o « he people.» Howe e , e en less ad en u ous eade s o Mul o d's olume will ind a a ie y o adap able ideas, anging om he conscious in oduc ion o heo y h ough guided ea<ling o he use o elec onic discussion g oups, heal ical eadings. o isual ma e ial such as acsimilcs o ea ly edi ions. The e a e also in e es ing sugges ions o assignmen s, such as lhe p epa a ion o an an hology en y o a 1101 yel an hologi zc<l ea ly au ho . e iew essays on seconda y sou ccs, o he clabo a ion o annola ed bibliog aphics. Ye beyon<l hese speci ic ideas. wha is mos p aiscwo hy is ha hc book's app oach as a whole p ac ically always kccps he eaching-Jeaming p occss in mind. The las sec ion o he wo k is an ex ensi e anno a c<l bibliog aphy p epa ed by E<lwa d Gallaghe which includes u he bibliog aphies, ilms. CD-ROMs, and o he elec onic esou c cs . Apa om hc ine i able - a nd some imes qui e in en ionally hum o ous- lippancy in ol ed in one- line summa ies o comp lex a gumen s. his sec ion is in aluable, pai1icula ly in i s spec i i c e e ence o a icles an<l chap e s in book collec ions. Al hough g owing in e es in he icld has led o an inc ease in he publica ion o olume-leng h s udies, much ali<l esea ch s ill appea s in a icles in such jou nals as he William and Ma y Qua e ly o Ea ly Ame ican S udies. Toge h e wi h he gene ally ex ensi e an<l «u se - iendly» bibliog aphies ha ollow each essay, his sec ion ende s he wo k o g ea alue as a e e ence guide. 3. Incidcn all y. while nol ully a oiding his <.Jan gc . José F. A anda 's imp obabk -sounding jnx aposi ion o Chicano/a an<.J Pu ilan w i e s in a pns · g adua c cou sc seemed o me a mosl en li gh ening way o analyzing lhe cons uc cd na u c o na ional «my hs o o igins». 122 Hook Re iews In conclusion, his is a book well wo h ecommending. I p o ides a b oad and se ious in oduc ion o a ela i ely unde - esea ched ield ; i is, o he mo s pa , consis en ly o ien e<l owa ds eaching; i supplies ample bibliog aphical e e ence. Fu he mo e, wi h a consis ency o en lacking in mul iple-au ho ed ex s, i add esses, and success ully deals wi h. so ne o he cen al heo e ical issues in ol ed in he s udy o he li e a u es o Ea ly Ame ica. WORKS CITED MARÍA ÁNGELES TODA IGLESIA Uni e sidad de Se illa Cas illo. Susan P., and l y Schwei ze , e<ls. The Li e a w'E' . ' o Colonial Ame ica: A11 An hology. Ox o d: Blackwell. 2000. Lau e . Paul, e al., eds. The Hea h An lwlogy o Am e icun li e a u e. 3 d Ed i ion. Bos on: Hough on Mi lin. 1998. Say e, Go don M .. ed. Ame icun Cap i1·i1y Na a i es. Bos on: Hough on Mi ílin, 2000. Book Re ie11·s 123 MARÍA EUGENIA D AZ SÁNCHEZ, and V OR!CA PATEA B1RK, eds. Ana chy and Dissen . Ame ican Li e a u e in he Six ies. Salamanca: Plaza Uni e si a ia Ediciones, 2000. 254 p. Pape back. Once he wen ie h cen u y has inally come o an end, i seems indispu able ha in he Uni ed S a es he 1960s was a pe iod o p o ound changes, a decade only co mpa able pe haps o he «Roa i ng Twen ies.» The social, poli ical, and cul u al nns o ma ions und e gone by he na ional ab ic in he J 960s ha e g ea ly shaped how we nowadays concep ua li ze bo h U. S. Li e a u e and U. S. S udies: i was he ime o John Kennedy , Woods ock, S onewall, Pop A , he Chicago Democ a ic Con en ion, Césa Chá ez, Vie nam, Malcolm X, o The Feminine Mys ique. A con e ence was he ld a he Uni e si y o Salamanca (Spain) in 1998 o assess he li e a y p oduc ion o ha decade and he p oceedings ha e jus been published. a aluab le con ibu ion ha inc lude s 10 a icles bo h in English and Spanish app oaching he li c a y legacy o he J 960s om a a ie y o pe spec i es. A he ou sc u he in oduc ion, «Re isi ing he Six ies: A View om he Pos mode n Age», coedi o Mª Eugenia Díaz s a es ha « he in e es in he decade has admi ably esis ed becoming jusi ano he d ydus subjec o schola ly inqui y» ( 13), and she hen es ablishes he wo majo p emises o he collec ion: o ques ion he logic o dissen and o s ess he links be ween he li e a u e and he a s o he ! 960s anda c.le e mining end o be pe ioc.l like pos modc nism. App op ia ely enough, he opening con ibu ion is an enligh ening app oach o he sociopoli ical a mosphe e o he ime, in which his o ian Richa d F ied de elops a e isionis idea ha has gained much cu ency la ely: he o igin o many changes o he !960s mus! be aced back o he seco n c.l ha l o he p e ious decade . F ied pe suasi ely sugges s ha 1955 ma ks he beginning o a new e a in con empo a y U. S. his o y wi h seminal e en s such as he pub lica ion o Lo/i a, he i s public eading o Howl, musical inno a ions like be-bop o ock ·n oll, o he eme gence o Ma ín Lu hc King as he leade o he Ci il Righ s Mo emen . In he only a icle in he collec ion de o ed o poe y, «T es ace cam ien os poé icos pa a la nue a conciencia,» Manu el B i o also s esses he conn ec ion be wcen lhe l 950s and he l 960s as he s udies h ce poe s whose ce leb a ion o he se l goes back o Eme son. Whi man, o Tho ea u: Allen Ginsbe g. Robe Duncan. and Jackson Mac Low. In books like Kaddish ( 1961) o Plan e News ( 1968) Ginsbe g insis s on his de ense o indi idual eedom while Vie nam was nging and di iding he na ion. A membe o he San F ancisco li e a y scenc, Duncan also opposed he wa and con ibu ed o he ca use wi h a poe ic se ies en i led «Passages,» which in B i o's analysis exhibi s an inno a i e echnique c.le i ec.l om Pound, Williams o Zuko sky. Less well-known, in he mid-l 950s Mac Low cle eloped in he wake o a gu u o pos mode nism likc John Cage an expe ime n al poe ics which in he la e l 960s le c.! him o w ilc inl1uenced by compu e s and cy be ne ics. In «T he New Black Consciousness: W i ing and he Cons uc i on o a Bl ack Acs h ic; o . Looking Baá al he Hanc.lw i ing on he Wall» Isabel Caldei a uses Ha nld Bloom 's concep o .. he anxie y ~ inJlu cn ce" o elabo a e a dense analysis o how hc na ionalisl a c.lica li ~m o he Black Aes he ic was no only an answc !o whi e 124 Book Re ie ws cul u al hegemony, bu o he Ha le n Rcnaissance as well. In he s udy o mani es os like Black Fi e (1968) o The Bluck Aes he ic (1971) Caldei a s esses ha Lany Neal's ex emism made hi n epudia e W. E. B. Du Bois' seminal no ion o "double consciousness" and explo es hc hea ed deba es ha he legacy o he Black Aes he ic has gene a ed o e he yea s. including he one be ween Hous on Bake and Hen y Louis Ga es. In «F om Nausea o De ea : No man Maile in he l 960s» Juan José C uz ocuses on a polemical and p oli ic au ho he de ines as «an exis en ialis ebel» ( J 00) and his main con en ion is ha «[l]n he 1960s Maile clea ly in ended a holis ic opposi ion agains he Es ablishmen ha os e ed be "plague" o pos wa Ame ica» (99). C uz also goes back o hc l 950s when he asse s ha he s a ing poi n o unde s and he e olu ion o Maile 's opposi ional discou se du ing he six ies is his much-deba ed 1957 essay «T he Whi e Neg o», in which he o mula ed his concep o he «hips e »; one o he ex s discussed is A mies o he Nigh ( 1968), M aile 's pos mode n ew i ing o he Pen agon Ma ch. In he second con ibu ion in he collec ion, M.° Eugenia Díaz o e s in «The On ological Powe o Language: William Ga ss in he Tunnel o he Wo d» a hough ul me li a ion on pos mode n U. S. li e a u e o he l 960s, cen e ing on one o i s o emos spokesmen. Díaz con incingly aces he philosophical leaning o Gass' ex s, a w i e who sha cd Naboko 's belie ha h e wo d is an au onomous en i y dissocia ed om he so-called « eal wo ld»; she d aws in e ex ual connec ions wi h Wi gens ein an l Vale y. wi h F ench expe imen al g oups like Te! Quel o he No eau Roman. o wi h Ba hes and Foucaul 's heo ies o he au ho . Chuck G ey's «"Se pa a e Mys e ies": S alinism, he F agmen a ion o he Ma xis Me a-Na a i e, and he Pos mode ni y in E. L. Doc o ow's The B ook o Daniel» o e s a lucid neo-his o icis eading o one o he majo poli ical no els in con empo a y U. S. li e a u e, a ex om 1971 which illus a es he complexi ies and con adic ions o he New Lc and i s ambi alen ela ion wi h he Ol l Le . G ey demons a es ha Do c o ow's young p o agonis esis s he dogmas o Ma xis hc o ic his a h e ha<l blindly ollowed: om his skep ical pos mode n s an ce Daniel decons uc s he logic ha in he l 9 30's legi imized he Nazi-So ie Pac o he S alinis pu ges, episodes ha sha e e<l he Communis Pai y and pa ed he way o he an icommunis hys e ia o he pos wa yea s. Depa1 ing om he p e ailing li e a y one o he collec ion, in «Comedy, Jazz, an i Dissen : The Case o Len ny B uce» Will Kau nan discusses one o he mos con o e sia! and ebellious ai is s o he decade. F om a Cul u al S udies app oach Kau man links B uc e's imp o is in g echoiques wi h he jazz aes he ic, especially be- bop. Adhe ing o he goals o he book, his essay sc u inizes bo h ana chy an l he log ic o dissen . since he opposi ional discou se o Lenny B uce's i iolic monologues aliena e d him inc easiogly no only om his audiences, bu also om he au ho i ies, which cu ailcd his eedom o exp ession un il his ca ee was ended. As Kau man ap ly no es, B uce's s ong sel -des uc i e impulse was pa ly esponsible o his a ll. In a mo e s aigh o wa d e in. in «Richa d B au igan: el mundo mágico de T ou Fisliing in Ame ica» Daniel Pas o escues om obli ion one o h e w i e s who bcs symholized he mood he l 960s wi h no eis likc A Cm! ede a e Gene al om Bi~ Book Re iews 12 5 Su (1964) o T ou Fishing in Ame ica (1967). Pas o sugges s ha B au igan was o go en as soon as he decade ended p obably because bo h in his public image and in his ex s he was he ul ima e enca na ion o he hippie s e eo ype. Thus, a ex as agmen a -y and ansg essi e as T ou Fishing in Ame ica becomes a joumey in o he hea o da kness o a coun y ha has be ayed i s e y d eams and ideals. The wo inal essays bo h deal wi h ano he cen al igu e o he coun e cul u al mo emen , he no elis Ken Kesey. E en mo e i nsc ibed in a Cul u al S udies amewo k han Kau man's s udy, Ma hew Robe s' «Ali-Ame ican Acid A an - Ga de: Masculini y, Whi eness and Technological Ecs asy in he Six ies Psychcdelic Mo emen » o e s a long and dense in e p e a ion o a signi ying p ac ice ha dly s udied so a : he d ug expe imen s ha Kesey's g oup o he Me y P anks e s unde ook in Cali o nia in he mid-six ies. Robe s challenges he logic o dissen o he 196 0s when he con ends ha « he Kesey g oup we e s aigh o wa dly na ionalis ic and qui e se iously de o ed o consume echnology; he y we e also ... whi e sup emacis and c yp o - ascis ic in hei a i udc» ( 198); om a much-needed dcmy hologizing pe spec i e, Robe s p o es ha he ideolo gy o he Me y P anks e s was ne e as sub e si e as belie ed, especially conce ning hei acial iews. Qui e di e en is Da id R. Williams' app oach in «Madness and Dea h: Two Ways Ou o he Cage: Ken Kesey's Libe a ion Ame ican S y le», an analysis o Kesey·s mos ce leb a ed wo k . One Flew O e lze Cuckoo ·s Nes ( 19 62). a pa adigma ic ex o he 1960s. Acco ding o Williams, he hospi al and he chie nu se a e me apho s o dec y he con ol exe cised by he S a e o e he indi idual in mode n socie y. whe eas he p o agonis is a (pos )modem einca na ion o Eme son 's concep o "sel - eliance." While he no ion ha he dea h o he p o agonis links him wi h icons o he J 960s like John and Robe Kennedy. Ma 1in Lu he King. Malcolm X, Janis Joplin, o Jimmi Hcnd ix is con incing, less sa is ying is Willia ns' eligious eading o he no el, acco ding o which he cen al cha ac e is a Ch is -like igu e who sac i ices h is li e o o he s. The publica ion o c i ica! s udies like Ana chy and Diss en . Ame ican Li e a u e in he Six ies is an e en o be celeb a ed bo h na ionally and in c na ionally. since i s di e en con ibu ions p o ide a hough ul e eading o he cul u e o one o he mos ascina ing pe iods in U. S. his o y. Undoub edly, a s onge e nphasis on gen es like poe y o d ama o on li e a u e p oduced by g oups who cclaimed hei oice p ecisely in he 1960s -namely wo nen and e hnic mino i ies- would ha e enhanced e en mo e he me i o his collec ion. JUAN IGNACIO GUIJARRO ÜONZÁ LE Z Uni e sidad de Se illa