Bryn Mawr Authors

Ironic Freedom asserts that freedom from governmental interference may make people vulnerable to other sources of coercion; these affects vary by gender, race, and class. Increasing negative freedoms may reinforce existing asymmetrical power relationships within society.

The first sustained critical examination of the work of Dominican-American writer Junot Díaz, this interdisciplinary collection considers how Díaz's writing illuminates the world of Latino cultural expression and trans-American and diasporic literary history. Interested in conceptualizing Díaz's decolonial imagination and his radically re-envisioned world, the contributors show how his aesthetic and activist practice reflect a significant shift in American letters toward a hemispheric and planetary culture. They examine the intersections of race, Afro-Latinidad, gender, sexuality, disability, poverty, and power in Díaz's work. Essays in the volume explore issues of narration, language, and humor in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the racialized constructions of gender and sexuality in Drown and This Is How You Lose Her, and the role of the zombie in the short story "Monstro." Collectively, they situate Díaz's writing in relation to American and Latin American literary practices and reveal the author's activist investments. The volume concludes with Paula Moya's interview with Díaz.
Contributors: Glenda R. Carpio, Arlene Dávila, Lyn Di Iorio, Junot Díaz, Monica Hanna, Jennifer Harford Vargas, Ylce Irizarry, Claudia Milian, Julie Avril Minich, Paula M. L. Moya, Sarah Quesada, José David Saldívar, Ramón Saldívar, Silvio Torres-Saillant, Deborah R. Vargas

On April 15, 2018, seven prisoners were slaughtered and twenty-two seriously injured during a prison riot in South Carolina. This incident, prison conditions and mass incarceration were the inspiration for this book, Letters to Our Sons, which represents five years of research. Authors Dawn Simmons and Heru Mossiah Maat collaborated with over 80 prisoners from behind the steel fences of maximum security prisons in South Carolina and throughout the United States. These prisoners have "stepped up" in an effort to bring awareness to the mass incarceration of our youth in the United States of America. From their personal and collective experience, they use powerful heart-wrenching candid narratives to highlight that prison is a place of mental destruction, violence, poor living conditions and poor quality food. These incarcerated men also acknowledge that more adult males and teenage boys enter the prison system than those who enter college as well as lament that young men enter the prison system by the truck loads as if there were no other options. In response, these prisoners who are convicted burglars, drug dealers, rapists and murderers from diverse backgrounds hope to make a positive difference by telling their story.

Dawn Simmons and Heru Mossiah Maat have written a must read, tell all book. Letters to Our Sons describes the circumstances that have led many men to prison, the prison living conditions, and the frustration and dehumanization, which breeds violence within prison walls. For further insights about the current prison system, criminal justice activists, former and current correctional staff, and police officers provided their narratives, opinions and advice especially about hope for the future. Through infographics, research and essays, the book will educate readers about the truths of prison life.

In Letters to Our Sons, over 80 prisoners found the strength and courage to reveal their true wisdom and vulnerability in order to change the direction of future criminal justice and prison legislation. Most importantly, they hope to intervene in our children's lives before it is too late.

A modern love story with a Jane Austen twist...

Marine biologist Cassie Boulton likes her coffee with cream and her literature with happy endings. Her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, but Cassie has no patience when a modern-day Mr. Darcy appears in her lab.

Silent and aloof, Calder Westing III doesn't seem to offer anything but a famous family name. But there is more to Calder than meets the eye, and he can't get enough of Cassie Boulton. Especially after one passionate night by the sea. But Cassie keeps her distance. Frustrated by Cassie's evasions, Calder tells her about his feelings the only way she'll let him--by rewriting her favorite book, with the two of them in the roles of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. It's up to Cassie to supply the ending...

Praise for The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice:
This is the liveliest romp through an established tale you'll find on the romance shelves! --Best Romance Stories
Smart characters, lovely setting, excellent dialogue and rocking fine writing make this juicy romance a winner. --Bookfoolery and Babble
One of the best examples of the modern P & P story. --Queen of Happy Endings