Explores the pros and cons of postcolonial criticism through a zombie, a sensationalized symbol of Afro-Antillean bondage. How reworking the zombie in various cultural and political contexts lays bare the pleasures and perils of postcolonialism; Information on the novel Beso de la mujer araña, by Manuel Puig; Description of the book Wild Saragasso Sea, by Jean Rhys; Discussion on the book The Famished Road, by Ben Okri.;
Fischer reviews the two-volume work Blackness in Latin America and the Caribbean: social dynamics and cultural transformations, by Norman E. Whitten Jr. and Arlene Torres>
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Originally published: Afro-American folktales. c1985., 327 p, These tales range from the earthy comedy of tricksters to stories explaining how the world was created and got to be the way it is, to moral fables that tell of encounters between masters and slaves. They includes stories set down in travelers' reports and plantation journals from the early nineteenth century, tales gathered by collectors such as Joel Chandler Harris and Zora Neale Hurston, and narratives tape-recorded by Roger Abrahams himself during extensive expeditions throughout the American South and the Caribbean.
Reviews Mullen's examination (Greenwood Press, 1998, 236p) of Afro-Cuban literature. Notes that this study is "perceptive" and "important" to the field of Afro-Hispanic literary criticism.;
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Website presents information about African culture in Cuba, including resources on music, dance, festicals, events, authors, teachers, theater, film, conferences, local news and organizations.
Interviews Afro-Costa Rican writer Quince Duncan. Discusses the lack of critics who are familiar with Black literature in Costa Rica; asks Duncan to compare North American and Latin American criticism of his work, asks Duncan about his latest projects and the direction of his work; and compares Duncan's work with that of Alejo Carpentier and Manuel Zapata Olivella. Also touches upon language usage, the theme of literature of combat, and Duncan's future plans.;