literature – dara t. mathis

Uncle Toms, Aunt Jemimas, and Other Distant Relatives

Harriet Beecher Stowe has likely rolled 500 miles in her grave by now. She wrote the second best-selling novel in the 19th century, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, only for it to be boiled down to the grime of an epithet over 200 years later: Uncle Tom. The title character she illustrated in 1852 laid down his life for escapingContinue reading “Uncle Toms, Aunt Jemimas, and Other Distant Relatives”

Getting Bookish: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Internet and graduate school killed my previously life-long love affair with printed books. I now read blogs and articles upon articles, but find it harder to pick up an actual, physical book. My husband suggests that I get a Kindle or some other book-gadget…but I’m old school. I like cracking spines, the fresh smell ofContinue reading “Getting Bookish: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie”