Huckleberry Finn
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Literary Matters a THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LITERARY SCHOLARS, CRITICS, AND WRITERS Aut nuntiare aut delectare www.bu.edu/literary Round Table: Teaching VOLUME 4.1 WINTER 2011 Huckleberry Finn Inside this issue [Editor’s Note: As you will recall, the last issue of Literary Matters featured an essay, co-winner of our first annual Secondary School Essay Contest, entitled “All Kinds of 1 Round Table: Teaching Huckleberry Finn Signs: Superstition in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” 2 The President’s Column In the submitted version of the essay, author David Gore had opted not to spell out the word nigger in quotations 11 Report on the 2010 Annual Conference taken from the novel, replacing the letters after “n” 15 Great Books and the World of Ideas with dashes. When notified that the essay had won and queried about the offending word, however, David chose 16 Aristophanes in Middle School: Frogs to restore the original diction of the text. This exchange 17 News and Announcements drew our attention yet again to a controversy about the 20 Meringoff Matching Fund novel that has a long history, and which has recently received much media attention, with the 2011 publica- 21 Welcome, New Members! tion of Alan Gribben’s new edition of the novel, which replaces “nigger” with “slave.” The following is a collection of reflections on this debate by instructors at both the college and secondary school levels, as instructors, as critics, and even as parents. We begin with introductory comments by ALSCW Immediate From the Editor Past President Susan Wolfson. Many thanks to Janice Miller, Brad Evans, Christina Zwarg, Renate Von Huetz, Dear ALSCW Members and Literary Matters Readers, and William Gleason for sharing their thoughts as well.] I hope that this first issue of 2011 finds you well and warm, sheltered from a winter that has been particularly Introduction severe for us in the Northeast. During these cold, dark months, I find myself thinking how glad I am that litera- Susan J. Wolfson, Princeton University ture is not like aging snow or re-heated soup: I return to a Alan Gribben’s high-school oriented, nigger-purged favorite poem, or reread a short story, and am reassured redaction of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (NewSouth, in noting that they have not lost their crispness, nor their 2010) reflects a well-intentioned desire for a version of flavor. this classic American novel that will avoid the discomfort, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately with the poems of dismay even, of encountering this pervasive word and Miguel de Unamuno. This is largely because I’m writ- experiencing its poisonous effects—both in the historical ing a dissertation on his work; you may have noticed world of Twain’s fiction and in the historical present of that he has come up in my Editor’s Note in the past. A the classroom. On the embarrassment of 219 instances couple of months ago, I came across one of Unamuno’s of nigger, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been more well-known poems, one that he wrote late in life, purged from many high-school curricula, sparing the and which beautifully distills his understanding of the political problem of an institutional imprimatur, sparing literary realm. The first line of this poem, number 828 students distress, and remanding the classic to mature in Unamuno’s Cancionero, reads, “Me destierro a la college courses. Gribben was not out to sanitize the (continued on page 4) (continued on page 3) WINTER 2011 1 The President’s Column BY GREG DELANTY There is plenty to be happy about this coming year. First, those held at LSU, hosted by council member Adelaide we have achieved a stable financial condition which Russo. Keep an eye out for meetings that are upcoming should take us easily into 2012. This has been partly here in Vermont at Saint Michael’s College, at BU and managed with the help of many members who donated elsewhere. In addition, if you are setting up a local meet- money to match the Meringoff $10,000 fund. The ing, please let us know. names of these members are listed within these pages As I am finishing this piece more good news has just with a formal thank you. Stephen Meringoff contributed come to light. Another ALSCW Past President, Clare a separate donation of $15,000. Liam Cunningham Cavanagh, has shared the news that her recent book in Ireland committed another $5,000, as did Francis Lyric Poetry and Modern Politics: Russia, Poland, and O’Neill. We need this money mainly to keep the office the West is one of the five finalists for the 2010 National running efficiently. Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism this year. Congratu- The other financial good news is that we received lations, Clare. Please let us know of any of your own $11,500 from the Humanities Foundation at Boston successes and we will herald the news. It is important University (Director, Professor James Winn) to help us and good to know and make known each of our literary with this year’s conference, October 14th-16th at BU. The achievements and works. Not all receive prizes, but that application was shaped by Tim Peltason, our Treasurer, does not mean that they are not just as valuable. So, let with ALSCW Past President Christopher Ricks. I have us know when you have books out, and so on, please. seen a draft of the program and it looks remarkable. That we know and relish each others’ work will help each We thank all the members of the conference committee of us and our own work (even if we are envious at times for this and we look forward to hearing more. of each other—let it be a good envy). Our latest initiative is to get people to renew their mem- Finally, this is one of the last issues that Leslie Harkema bership, and to get others to join or to give a gift mem- is editing and I don’t want to leave it till the spring issue bership. At the start of January I sent out a letter regard- to thank her. She has done a great job with Literary Mat- ing this, and the renewals and new memberships have ters over the years. We wish her the best with everything been pouring in. Thank you. If you haven’t renewed your as she moves on. membership then please do, and also get someone to join or give a gift membership. I promise to give five gift memberships this month. I also ask that you set up a local meeting for this com- ing year. Last year we had great local meetings, such as LITERARY MATTERS Editor Literary Matters is published and distributed Leslie Harkema quarterly by the Association of Literary Scholars, The Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Critics, and Writers (ALSCW), 650 Beacon Street, Writers (ALSCW) promotes excellence in literary Design, Layout, and Suite 510, Boston, MA 02215. Tel: 617-358-1990; Production Manager fax: 617-358-1995; [email protected]; criticism and scholarship, and works to ensure that Katherine Hala www.bu.edu/literary. literature thrives in both scholarly and creative envi- Literary Matters is provided to all ALSCW members. ronments. We encourage the reading and writing of Editorial Assistant Membership dues start at $37 for the first year ($32 literature, criticism, and scholarship, as well as wide- Samantha Madway for students) and are charged on a graduated scale thereafter. Premium Memberships are also available. ranging discussions among those committed to the Designer for Vol. 4.1 reading and study of literary works. E. Christopher Clark No part of this newsletter may be copied or reproduced without permission from the ALSCW. 2 LITERARY MATTERS | VOLUME 1.1 From the Editor (continued from page 1) memoria” [“I’m exiling myself into memory”*], and the at BU. Thanks to so many of you who have contributed opening stanza invites the poem’s readers to look for the pieces and suggested wonderful projects for the newslet- poet (“buscadme”) in the wasteland of history (“el yermo ter. I have learned a great deal from this experience, and de la historia”). Written during Unamuno’s exile from have enjoyed having this opportunity to peer outside of Spain, the poem begins with isolation—that of the politi- my field to see what’s going on in the world of literature cal objector and of the writer—but then goes on to insist at large. And thanks to Office Manager Katherine Hala, on the trans-national and trans-historical communion to who has helped me so much with LM over the past year; be found in the act of reading. In the third stanza, the and to Chris Clark, who worked on the newsletter with poet announces that he will take his readers—“you”; i.e., me in the past, and has stepped in to help with the lay- us—with him on his journey, thus populating the barren out of the current issue. landscape in which he finds himself (“para poblar mi Finally, I want to introduce you to the new Editor of Liter- desierto”). Though he might be dead, he declares, he will ary Matters, Samantha Madway. Samantha is finishing revive and resound (“retemblaré”) in the reader’s hands. her BA/MA degree in the University Professors Program The poem finishes with the oft-quoted couplet: at Boston University this spring. She has worked as an ALSCW intern for the past year, and currently holds the Cuando vibres todo entero, titles of Supervising Intern and Assistant Office Manager.