Languages & Literatures 2011 | 1 | - Peter Lang

60 Romance Languages and Literatures · Romanistik · Langues et littératures romanes
Rhina Toruño-Haensly (ed .)
Crossing Cultures
Hispanic Authors and the Challenges
they Overcame in the United States
Cruzando culturas
Autores hispanos y sus desafíos
superados en los Estados Unidos
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles,
Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2011 .
214 pp ., num . ill .
Currents in Comparative Romance Languages
and Literatures . Vol . 183
General Editors: Michael G . Paulson
and Tamara Alvarez-Detrell
hb . ISBN 978-1-4331-1253-9
CHF 77 .– / € D 53 .10 / € A 54 .60 / € 49 .65 /
£ 44 .70 / US-$ 76 .95
C
rossing Cultures/Cruzando culturas focuses
on the creation of literary works
and how these works reflect the life experiences
of the authors . The purpose of this book
is to inspire young Mexican-American, Hispanic,
and Latino people by demonstrating
that education is the key to life through the
example of authors who have become successful
in spite of their modest beginnings .
Their love for education and their drive to improve
themselves has turned them into nationally
and internationally known authors
recognized by major publishing companies .
Their books in English have been translated
quickly into other languages . The interviews
reveal not only the authors’ origins but also
how they were able to overcome difficulties
and challenges in their lives . The interviewed
novelists include Mario Bencastro, Aristeo
Brito, Rolando J . Díaz, Graciela Limón, and
Demetria Martínez . Interviews conducted in
English with Mexican-American writers are
included in their original English version
along with a proper Spanish translation . This
book comprises a valuable resource for university
students who are pursuing a degree in
Spanish, Chicano studies, and ethnic studies
that facilitates understanding the various
dynamics of the Hispanic experience through
literature .
Rhina toRuño-haenSly is Professor of
Spanish at The University of Texas of the Permian
Basin . Her two doctoral degrees are in
Latin American literature from Indiana University
and in contemporary French philosophy
from the University of Leuven in Belgium
. She has published five books and more
than 50 papers in academic journals .
€ D inkl. MWSt. – gültig für Deutschland · € A inkl. MWSt. – gültig für Österreich
I
Peter W . Vakunta
Indigenization of Language in
the African Francophone Novel
A New Literary Canon
ndigenization of Language in the African
Francophone Novel: A New Literary Canon
discusses the question of indigenization in
the African Francophone novel . Analyzing
the prose narratives of Nazi Boni, Ahmadou
Kourouma, and Patrice Nganang, this book
contends that African literature written in
European languages is primarily a creative
translation process . Recourse to European
languages as a medium of expressing African
imagination, worldview, and cultures in
fictional writing poses problems of intelligibility
. Developed to express and reflect Western
worldviews and sensibilities, European
languages are employed by African writers
to convey messages that seem to be at variance
with European imagination . These writers
find themselves writing in languages they
wish to subvert through the technique of literary
indigenization . The significance of this
study resides in its raising awareness to the
hurdles that literary creativity in a polyglossic
context may present to readers and translators
. This book provides answers to intrigu-
Deborah Weagel
Words and Music
Camus, Beckett, Cage, Gould
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles,
Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2010 .
XVI, 160 pp ., num . fig .
American University Studies . Series 20:
Fine Arts . Vol . 38
I
hb . ISBN 978-1-4331-0836-5
CHF 73 .– / € D 50 .30 / € A 51 .70 / € 47 .– /
£ 42 .30 / US-$ 72 .95
n the twentieth century there were certain
creative individuals, both authors
and musicians, who became particularly involved
in exploring the relationship between
words and music . French author and philosopher
Albert Camus (1913-1960); Irish writer,
dramatist, and poet Samuel Beckett (1906-
1989); American composer and writer John
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2011 .
XII, 166 pp .
Francophone Cultures and Literatures . Vol . 59
General Editors: Michael G . Paulson and Tamara Alvarez-Detrell
hb . ISBN 978-1-4331-1271-3
CHF 69 .– / € D 47 .60 / € A 49 .– / € 44 .50 / £ 40 .10 / US-$ 68 .95
ing questions centering on the problematic
of translation in contemporary African literature
. It is a contribution to current research
aimed at unraveling the conundrum
surrounding the language question in African
Europhone fiction, particularly the cultural
functions of translation in literature .
Potential translation problems have to be addressed
in order to make African literature
written in European languages intelligible
to global readership . With the advent of globalization,
transcultural communication has
become an activity of enormous importance
to the international community . It is a subject
of great interest to translators, linguists,
language instructors, and literary theorists .
PeteR w. vaKunta is a professor of French
and English at the Defense Language Institute
in Monterey, California . He has taught
literature and literary theory courses at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison . Vakunta
has been a practicing translator/interpreter
for over fifteen years . He is a novelist, storyteller,
poet, and essayist .
Cage (1912-1992); and Canadian pianist Glenn
Gould (1932-1982) all experimented with the
interconnections between words and music
in various ways . Camus incorporated musical
terms and structures in some of his
writing; Beckett treated words in a musical
manner in some of his plays; Cage experimented
with silences and rests in his work
and created innovative scores for vocal solos
in the Song Books; and in his radio documentaries
Gould created complex contrapuntal
musical textures with a mélange of
words and music . Words and Music delves
into some of the specific ways these powerhouses
of the twentieth century moved beyond
the boundaries of tradition and helped
to redefine our perception and understanding
of words and music in contemporary society
. This text offers a unique perspective
to scholars, teachers, and students of literature,
music, performance, radio, and film,