Entre el terror y la irrealidad: La narrativa poetica postmoderna de Reinaldo Arenas

This study focuses on the works of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, one of the most prolific and controversial Latin American authors in the second half of the twentieth century. First, I propose Arenas as the creator of the Cuban revolutionary novel (a term coined by critics when referring to the narrative written after the revolution), within the scope of postmodern historiographic metafiction and against the trend of the official revolutionary novel promoted by the political establishment. Through the analysis of the five novels of the pentagony and other texts, my study follows the tragic journey of the antihero protagonist, from adolescence into adulthood, registering the correlation between his existential crisis and the narrative historical discourse. Contemporary Cuba from 1959 onwards—the historical-political circumstances that afflicted and overwhelmed him the most—becomes the point of reference to deconstruct reality and reaffirm the existence of a “self” threatened by the violence of a totalitarian discourse. Out of the fragments of this reality, Arenas undertook a radical reconstruction in which he inverted and questioned every inherited cultural value, as well as the power structures. Within this context, Arenas projects what I call “the Cuban hideous unreal”, an ontological and literary vision antagonistic to the carpentirean concept of the American “marvelous real”. ^ Despite the ostracism Reinaldo Arenas suffered for ten years, this study shows how he established through his work a meditative dialogue with himself and the common man. This perspective formulates a permanent literary and philosophic reflection with thinkers and writers of his country and the West, as the basis for a rejection of the Cuban reality. The resultant interdisciplinary and postmodern dialogue constitutes one of the most significant and distinctive contributions of his work. ^

“I had a different way of governing”: The evangelical presidential style of Jimmy Carter and his mission for Middle East peace

President Jimmy Carter once said, "I had a different way of governing." In attempting to explain what he meant by this, Carter has been variously described as a political amateur, a trustee, a non-political politician, an "active-positive" president, and a forerunner of the 1990s' New Democrats. It is argued here, however, that mere secular descriptions and categories such as these do not adequately capture the essence of Carter's brand of politics and his understanding of the presidency. Rejecting Richard Neustadt's prescriptions for effective presidential leadership, Carter thought political bargaining and compromise were "dirty" and "sinful." He deemed the ways of Washington as "evil," and considered many, if not most, career politicians immoral. While he fully supported the institutional separation of church and state, politics for Carter was about "doing right," telling the truth, and making the United States and the world "a better demonstration of what Christ is." Like two earlier Democrats, William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, Carter understood politics as an alternative form of Christian ministry and service. In this regard, Carter was a presidential exception. Carter's evangelical faith gave his politics meaning, skill, vision, and a framework for communication. Using Fred Greenstein's categories of presidential leadership, Carter's faith provided him with "emotional intelligence", too. However, Carter's evangelical style provoked many of his contemporaries, including many of his fellow Democrats. To his critics at home and abroad, Carter was often accused of being arrogant, stubborn, naive, and ultimately a political failure. But as evinced by his indispensable role in negotiating peace between Israel and Egypt, his leadership style also provided him some remarkable achievements. The research here is based on a thorough examination of President Carter's many writings, his public papers, interviews, and opinion pieces. Written accounts from former Carter administration officials and from Israeli and Egyptian participants at Camp David are also used. This project is largely descriptive, qualitative in approach, but quantitative data are used when appropriate and as supplements.

"Unfair'' Restaurant Reviews:To Sue Or Not To Sue

In their discussion entitled - “Unfair” Restaurant Reviews: To Sue Or Not To Sue - by John Schroeder and Bruce Lazarus, Assistant Professors, Department of Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management at Purdue University, the authors initially state: “Both advantages and disadvantages exist on bringing lawsuits against restaurant critics who write “unfair” reviews. The authors, both of whom have experience with restaurant criticism, offer practical advice on what realistically can be done by the restaurateur outside of the courtroom to combat unfair criticism.” Well, this is going to be a sticky wicket no matter how you try to defend it, reviews being what they are; very subjective pieces of opinionated journalism, especially in the food industry. And, of course, unless you can prove malicious intent there really is no a basis for a libel suit. So, a restaurateur is at the mercy of written opinion and the press. “Libel is the written or published form of slander which is the statement of false remarks that may damage the reputation of others. It also includes any false and malicious publication which may damage a person's business, trade, or employment,” is the defined form of the law provided by the authors. Anecdotally, Schroeder and Lazarus offer a few of the more scathing pieces reviewers have written about particular eating establishments. And, yes, they can be a bit comical, unless you are the owner of an establishment that appears in the crosshairs of such a reviewer. A bad review can kneecap even a popular eatery. “Because of the large readership of restaurant reviews in the publication (consumer dining out habits indicate that nearly 50 percent of consumers read a review before visiting a new restaurant) your business begins a very dangerous downward tailspin,” the authors reveal, with attribution. “Many restaurant operators contend that a bad review can cost them an immediate trade loss of upward of 50 percent,” Schroeder and Lazarus warn. “The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a restaurant owner can collect damages only if he proves that the statement or statements were made with “actual malice,” even if the statements were untrue,” the authors say by way of citation. And that last portion of the statement cannot be over-emphasized. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution does wield a heavy hammer, indeed, and it should. So, what recourse does a restaurateur have? The authors cautiously give a guarded thumbs-up to a lawsuit, but you better be prepared to prove a misstatement of fact, as opposed to the distinguishable press protected right of opinion. For the restaurateur the pitfalls are many, the rewards few and far between, Schroeder and Lazarus will have you know. “…after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of a lawsuit against a critic...the disadvantages are overwhelming,” the authors say. “Chicago restaurant critic James Ward said that someone dumped a load of manure on his yard accompanied by a note that read - Stop writing that s--t! - after he wrote a review of a local restaurant.” Such is a novel if not legally measurable tack against an un-mutual review.

Is There Hospitality for Disabled Travelers?

There is a plethora of options about what constitutes “accessibility.” Countries like England and Canada are making significant progress in improving accommodations. The Americans with Disability Act is being revised, but critics say hotels are not complying with either the letter or the spirit of the law. The author, a retired FIU professors who writes about disabled travel from his wheelchair, explores these issues from a very personal point of view.

The Impact of the Restaurant Critic

Restaurant critiques have an effect on the sales volume of restaurants following the publication of the critique in the target markets’ media. The author discusses data from restaurant operations in the greater Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area which have had their operations publicly critiqued, and also addresses the credibility of critics.

Space-for-Time Substitution Works in Everglades Ecological Forecasting Models

Space-for-time substitution is often used in predictive models because long-term time-series data are not available. Critics of this method suggest factors other than the target driver may affect ecosystem response and could vary spatially, producing misleading results. Monitoring data from the Florida Everglades were used to test whether spatial data can be substituted for temporal data in forecasting models. Spatial models that predicted bluefin killifish (Lucania goodei) population response to a drying event performed comparably and sometimes better than temporal models. Models worked best when results were not extrapolated beyond the range of variation encompassed by the original dataset. These results were compared to other studies to determine whether ecosystem features influence whether space-for-time substitution is feasible. Taken in the context of other studies, these results suggest space-for-time substitution may work best in ecosystems with low beta-diversity, high connectivity between sites, and small lag in organismal response to the driver variable.

Space-for-Time Substitution Works in Everglades Ecological Forecasting Models

Space-for-time substitution is often used in predictive models because long-term time-series data are not available. Critics of this method suggest factors other than the target driver may affect ecosystem response and could vary spatially, producing misleading results. Monitoring data from the Florida Everglades were used to test whether spatial data can be substituted for temporal data in forecasting models. Spatial models that predicted bluefin killifish (Lucania goodei) population response to a drying event performed comparably and sometimes better than temporal models. Models worked best when results were not extrapolated beyond the range of variation encompassed by the original dataset. These results were compared to other studies to determine whether ecosystem features influence whether space-for-time substitution is feasible. Taken in the context of other studies, these results suggest space-fortime substitution may work best in ecosystems with low beta-diversity, high connectivity between sites, and small lag in organismal response to the driver variable.

Miami Art Show, June 1, 1974

Dahlia Morgan with Charles Perry. In the late 1970s, FIU had an enrollment of less than 5,000 and two buildings made up the entire campus. Adjunct professor, at the time, Dahlia Morgan was asked to take over the art museum, which was then called the Visual Arts Gallery. During her long career with Florida International University, Dahlia Morgan transformed a modest student gallery on the Miami campus into an internationally celebrated art museum. In 1980, after teaching for five years in the visual arts department she accepted the directorship of the university’s Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum (formerly the Art Museum at FIU). As director and curator, Morgan instituted a lecture series, increased the frequency of exhibitions and developed numerous other programs including a student internship program. The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series was started by Morgan in 1981 and has now organized, hosted and presented over 100 lectures by internationally renowned artists, critics and scholars who include Pierre Rosenberg, former Director of the Louvre; Hilton Kramer, Art Critic; Helen Frankenthaler, American artist; and Michael Graves, architect and designer. In 1985 Morgan started the exhibition series “American Art Today,” which featured an annual examination of a specific subject or concept in American Art. Morgan curated and organized over 200 exhibitions during her directorship. Under Morgan, the Frost Art Museum grew to achieve local, national and international recognition as one of South Florida’s key cultural institutions. In 1999 the museum received accreditation from the American Association of Museums and in 2001 became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. With the turn of the 21st Century the initiative to build a new facility took shape and in 2008, the new 46,000 square foot Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum opened to the public. Morgan is a four time National Endowment for the Arts Grants Panelist and member of the Art Basel Miami, Host Committee. She is listed in “Who’s Who in American Art” and in “Who’s Who of American Women.” Morgan’s largest accomplishment was seeing the completion of the 45,000 square foot Frost Art Museum built across from the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Morgan’s fund raising techniques helped her raise over $12 million for its development. For 25 years, Morgan has served as director of FIU’s Frost Art Museum.

Miami Art Show, June 1, 1974

In the late 1970s, FIU had an enrollment of less than 5,000 and two buildings made up the entire campus. Adjunct professor, at the time, Dahlia Morgan was asked to take over the art museum, which was then called the Visual Arts Gallery. During her long career with Florida International University, Dahlia Morgan transformed a modest student gallery on the Miami campus into an internationally celebrated art museum. In 1980, after teaching for five years in the visual arts department she accepted the directorship of the university’s Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum (formerly the Art Museum at FIU). As director and curator, Morgan instituted a lecture series, increased the frequency of exhibitions and developed numerous other programs including a student internship program. The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series was started by Morgan in 1981 and has now organized, hosted and presented over 100 lectures by internationally renowned artists, critics and scholars who include Pierre Rosenberg, former Director of the Louvre; Hilton Kramer, Art Critic; Helen Frankenthaler, American artist; and Michael Graves, architect and designer. In 1985 Morgan started the exhibition series “American Art Today,” which featured an annual examination of a specific subject or concept in American Art. Morgan curated and organized over 200 exhibitions during her directorship. Under Morgan, the Frost Art Museum grew to achieve local, national and international recognition as one of South Florida’s key cultural institutions. In 1999 the museum received accreditation from the American Association of Museums and in 2001 became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. With the turn of the 21st Century the initiative to build a new facility took shape and in 2008, the new 46,000 square foot Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum opened to the public. Morgan is a four time National Endowment for the Arts Grants Panelist and member of the Art Basel Miami, Host Committee. She is listed in “Who’s Who in American Art” and in “Who’s Who of American Women.” Morgan’s largest accomplishment was seeing the completion of the 45,000 square foot Frost Art Museum built across from the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Morgan’s fund raising techniques helped her raise over $12 million for its development. For 25 years, Morgan has served as director of FIU’s Frost Art Museum.

Miami Art Show, June 1, 1974

In the late 1970s, FIU had an enrollment of less than 5,000 and two buildings made up the entire campus. Adjunct professor, at the time, Dahlia Morgan was asked to take over the art museum, which was then called the Visual Arts Gallery. During her long career with Florida International University, Dahlia Morgan transformed a modest student gallery on the Miami campus into an internationally celebrated art museum. In 1980, after teaching for five years in the visual arts department she accepted the directorship of the university’s Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum (formerly the Art Museum at FIU). As director and curator, Morgan instituted a lecture series, increased the frequency of exhibitions and developed numerous other programs including a student internship program. The Steven and Dorothea Green Critics’ Lecture Series was started by Morgan in 1981 and has now organized, hosted and presented over 100 lectures by internationally renowned artists, critics and scholars who include Pierre Rosenberg, former Director of the Louvre; Hilton Kramer, Art Critic; Helen Frankenthaler, American artist; and Michael Graves, architect and designer. In 1985 Morgan started the exhibition series “American Art Today,” which featured an annual examination of a specific subject or concept in American Art. Morgan curated and organized over 200 exhibitions during her directorship. Under Morgan, the Frost Art Museum grew to achieve local, national and international recognition as one of South Florida’s key cultural institutions. In 1999 the museum received accreditation from the American Association of Museums and in 2001 became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. With the turn of the 21st Century the initiative to build a new facility took shape and in 2008, the new 46,000 square foot Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum opened to the public. Morgan is a four time National Endowment for the Arts Grants Panelist and member of the Art Basel Miami, Host Committee. She is listed in “Who’s Who in American Art” and in “Who’s Who of American Women.” Morgan’s largest accomplishment was seeing the completion of the 45,000 square foot Frost Art Museum built across from the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Morgan’s fund raising techniques helped her raise over $12 million for its development. For 25 years, Morgan has served as director of FIU’s Frost Art Museum.

Neglected Masterpieces of Cinema

This article will acquaint you with ten of the more important leftwing films I have reviewed over the past sixteen years as a member of New York Film Critics Online. You will not see listed familiar works such as “The Battle of Algiers” but instead those that deserve wider attention, the proverbial neglected masterpieces. They originate from different countries and are available through Internet streaming, either freely from Youtube or through Netflix or Amazon rental. In several instances you will be referred to film club websites that like the films under discussion deserve wider attention since they are the counterparts to the small, independent theaters where such films get premiered. The country of origin, date and director will be identified next to the title, followed by a summary of the film, and finally by its availability.

Feasts of power : how food reveals Eve's influential role in John Milton's epic poem, "Paradise Lost"

This writing explores how food in Paradise Lost reflects Eve's power in the story of man's (and woman's) fall from grace. Critics often emphasize Adam in Paradise Lost; however, I challenge the notion of the first man as the most influential character of the poem. By examining Eve's role and her abilities with food, one sees the first woman as a well-rounded, complete being, albeit the first to succumb to temptation. Notwithstanding her transgression, -- certainly no trivial act of disobedience -- Eve should be viewed at least as Adam's equal, if not his superior. Her uncanny understanding of matters related to food points to skills Adam does not enjoy, and even Milton acknowledges Eve's importance in this arena. By studying the food in this epic, we see Eve sheds much light on all the other elements of Paradise Lost, and her personal strengths become obvious.

La mujer en defensa de la mujer: voces femeninas del romanticismo cubano (Poesía y cuento)

Throughout history, women have played an important role in literature. Nevertheless, since Sappho's poetry until now, feminine voices have had to struggle for recognition of their works. Before the nineteenth century, women were almost ignored in Spanish literature. Society kept them as "ángeles de la familia," taking care of their homes, husbands, and children. Some of them, such as María de Zayas y Sotomayor in Spain and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in Mexico, complained about their situation in their writings. However, they expressed their fight not as a generation but as individuals. In the nineteenth century, the ideas and ideals of Romanticism, were brought to Latin America from Europe. Cuba was among those countries where the new movement took roots. Initiated by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, a group of women began to participate in literary reunions, and to found newspapers and magazines where works authored by women, dedicated to feminist ideas, were published. They indeed through literature started to live out womanhood in order to intellectually leave the ideological prisons where society had been keeping them. This study scans the literary works of all Romantic women writers in Cuba. It specifically analyzes poetry and short stories, and investigates how these authors expressed themselves in their works against the patriarchal society, where they lived and wrote their books. An eclectic critical method has been used. Findings were very revealing. Only three of the fourteen writers studied in my dissertation had been previously mentioned by major critics. Most of them had been ignored. However, the greatest discovery was that they prompted something new: For the first time they projected themselves as a group, as a collective consciousness, and this fact established a difference with former women writers in Cuban literature before Romanticism. In other words, they produced a "Renaissance" in Cuba's literature. In spite of how they lived between 1820 and 1900, their struggles for women's rights have linked them to our current times.

Relectura del discurso novomundista de Alejo Carpentier y Abel Posse en el contexto de la nueva novela histórica

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the narrative works of Alejo Carpentier and Abel Posse within the context of the new Latin American historical novel that revises the Old World-New World Encounter. Focusing on El arpa y la sombra and Los perros del paraíso, the dissertation studied the particular manner in which Latin American novelists, and particularly Alejo Carpentier and Abel Posse, approach and question traditional historiography. The research also compared different novels to identify various trends within the new historical novel that rewrites the foundational period of Latin American literature. This study considered the theories of the new historical novel as proposed by critics such as Seymour Menton, Fernando de Aínsa, Linda Hutcheon, and Brian MacHale. The new novel was examined within the frameworks of postmodern literary and historiographic theories. The study also contemplated the philosophical views that have influenced postmodern thought, and, especially, the ideas of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Lyotard, Harbermas, and Foucault. Research showed two major trends within the new Latin American historical novel. In the case of the first trend, initiated by Alejo Carpentier in 1949 with El reino de este mundo, the novelist’s approach is founded on historicism and factual rigor. The second trend, initiated by Reinaldo Arenas with El mundo alucinante in 1969, is marked by irreverence, parody, irony, and carnavalization. Characterized by intertextuality, dialogism, and anachronism, novels such as Carpentier´s El arpa y la sombra and Posse´s Los perros del paraíso, undermine the values and beliefs instituted by the traditional historiographic paradigm and the discourse of power.