Submitted by Prairie Schooner on Mon, 11/03/2014 - 08:29
In “Christopher Columbus Was a Damn Blasted Liar,” Matthew Shenoda criticizes the parochialism of U.S. literary circles and discusses the problem of the narrative of “discovering” new writers, particularly writers of color. Read the article here. In his own work, the poet seems to attempt to push against some of the disappointing features of the literary landscape around him—for example, the “inability to see outside of one’s self, one’s own confines, geographies, institutions, regions, and nation.” Shenoda’s most recent work is Tahrir Suite, published by Northwestern University Press earlier this year. A book-length poem, Tahrir Suite follows a couple as they move from their home country of Egypt to the United States.
