Customer Reviews

The Literatures of Colonial America: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)

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Richard Gray calls this edition "that rare thing, a landmark anthology,"[...] "a significant contribution to the rewriting of American literary history." While he is absolutely correct, his words do not convey the excitement that simply browsing through this volume generates. This anthology is a gem, full of well-edited pieces and excerpts that come together in the colorful kaleidoscope that seems to reflect the Literatures of Colonial America more faithfully than any prior attempt at "politically correct" inclusiveness. Indeed, the title itself is indicative of the scrupulous respect afforded these works irregardless of their origin; hierarchy is seemingly anathema to the editors, who have organized their material chronologically for the most part in order to give account of the vast experience and varying reactions of all the peoples implicated: European "discoverers," settlers, natives as well as both willing and unwilling immigrants. The editors, sensitive to the increasingly essential questions of gender, `race,' class, culture, language and nationality, have managed to bring together for the first time texts which jostle each other for primacy of perspective even as they complement and complete a far-reaching vision of this brave "New World." Opening the book to any page is an invitation to re-read and re-envision what we thought we new of Early America.
I am personally and particularly impressed with the knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the editors and with the care with which this anthology has been elaborated. Each text is introduced effectively and succinctly with enough information to situate the reader before letting the voices of the writers take over. The translations from Spanish and Portuguese by Prof. Castillo are excellent, and seem to faithfully relay not only the content but the flourish and form of their originals. No instances here of that horrible enemy of good prose, "translationese." This of itself is commendable and demonstrates Prof. Castillo's solid grounding in both the language and the cultures of the Iberian peninsula.
I suppose that for the sake of scrupulousness one should have a personal "nit to pick," and mine hinge on two suggestions for the next reprint. First, this anthology takes Oladauh Equiano at his word and propagates as historical "truth" the story of his early life; recent research has challenged that stance, alleging that Equiano was not born in Africa at all. Perhaps future editions should simply acknowledge the debate, which in any case does not seriously affect the importance of Equiano's text as a literary response to his age. Secondly, as so many wonderful texts from the Spanish-speaking world have been included, I think that it might also be useful to include Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon's influential reports and letters in the early 16th century, imploring the King of Spain to renew his funding by speaking of "La Nueva Andalucia" and intentionally misrepresenting the coordinates of his exploration of the east coast of North America to bolster his claims. This misrepresentation, through the translation into English of his texts, subsequently influenced English settlers (including the Pilgrims) in their choice of destination. It seems to me to be a wonderful example of the interrelatedness of the cultural, literary, and geographical co-incidences to which this volume so eloquently speaks.
But these are certainly minor considerations. The editing is excellent, the texts are stimulating and exciting, and the volume a worthy addition to the field, which will be useful not only in the classroom but in the personal library for consultation, or just plain good reading.

This is a superb anthology. The texts selected by Castillo and Schweitzer ring with the conflicts of imperial expansion in the New World and provide fascinating new perspectives on writing in the early Americas. Annotation is painstaking and thorough, and the introductions provide useful contextual information without attempting to overshadow the texts themselves. A generous project, which will help to break down disciplinary barriers in new and exciting ways.

This anthology convincingly demonstrates that the geographical area which is today's USA has had a rich multicultural and multilingual heritage from its very beginning, contrary to what one might be led to believe when leafing through more traditional anthologies of 'American' literature that mostly include anglophone texts. Castillo and Schweitzer weave together a diverse collection of poetry, prose, songs, ballads, journal entries, oral narratives, letters, federal papers, cartoons, emblems and prints to illustrate the depth and breadth of American colonial culture. Special emphasis is given to previously not or only rarely anthologized texts, especially by Native Americans, women, and non-anglophone settlers and explorers. A must for all (American Studies) libraries. - W. W. Hoelbling, American Studies Department, University of Graz, Austria.

This kind of anthology is long overdue, which is why it is so unfortunate that this is the only one on the market. Although it is meant to correct the absence of a panamerican perspective in the study of early American literature, trained hispanists everywhere would be outraged by the substandard introductions and shoddy editorial work here. A collection like this one needs at least one editor with a *solid* background in colonial Latin American studies and some recognition in the field.