We “gave away everything that was given to us and kept none of it”
Over the last few semesters, I have taught the first half of American Literature to a roomful of students who aren’t quite sure what to think about the two large anthologies sitting in front of them. After spending the first day plodding our way through the syllabus and an overview of the themes we will be discussing, I try to overcome the major misconception the average college sophomore has about literature: that the essays, letters, personal narratives, and Puritan sermons we will be reading are not literature. This is about the time that the students in my 8:00 a.m. class who haven’t nodded off begin to roll their eyes and consider dropping the course. But most of them hang on for a day or two, willing to give it a try, and after fighting our way through a handful of Native American poems and creation stories, something happens. We get to Cabeza de Vaca, and they begin to talk.
In the 16th Century, the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca wrote an account of his experiences among the native peoples of the area that would later become known as Texas and the American Southwest. A detailed account of his exploration, La Relación was intended to be a vehicle for social change. Outraged at the way his countrymen were destroying native homes, food supplies, and families, de Vaca wrote La Relación to illustrate to the king of Spain the compassion and humanity of the “savages.” His hope was that the king would intercede and build peaceful relations with the native people.
While de Vaca’s hopes of saving the indigenous people of the New World ultimately failed, La Relación becomes a moving portrait of an individual’s experience. We watch de Vaca evolve from Spanish explorer to an outsider who rejects his country’s values in order to do what is right. His narrative becomes deeply personal, and the reader watches him slowly shed his European skin (both literally and figuratively) as he adopts the native way of life, thus emerging as an individual, a leader, and a symbol of inherent goodness in a terribly violent time.
What my students don’t fully understand yet is that all literature, whether a novel, a poem, or a personal narrative like de Vaca’s, is powerful and moving. Works based on personal experience have just as much ability as fiction or poetry to touch us personally while making a powerful statement about the world we live in. I try to get them to see that today’s increased interest in creative non-fiction, and memoir specifically, owes something to early writers like de Vaca. Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking is as personally touching and socially powerful as La Relación.
While it is still too early in the semester (and in the morning) for them to make all of these connections, at least they are reacting. De Vaca makes them feel, even if they don’t understand how or why. It’s the point in my class where I see my students for the first time begin to connect with the literature, seeing the power of the metaphors and the narrative while learning something about themselves and our world today.
When the semester ends and the students file out of the room for the last time, I pretend they have walked away with this idea and an appreciation of all forms of literature, even though I know that most of them will probably not remember who Cabeza de Vaca is by the time they graduate.
But for those who retain some interest in literature and who are eager to see what the literary world has to offer, iddie is here! Issue 3 has arrived and is bigger and better than ever. For the first time, we are happy to include Creative Non-fiction in the journal (see there was a point), including an interview with CNF writer Phyllis Barber. We are also happy to introduce a number of new voices in both fiction and poetry. Look also for the return of poets Charlotte Gann, Robert Lee Johnson, and Kenneth Pobo!
We would also like to send a special thank you to our readership, which continues to grow exponentially. We will continue to work hard to share with you the best new writing out there. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you. Feel free to contact us at iddie.subscribe@gmail.com and let us know your thoughts on the issue. Thanks for reading and spreading the iddie word!
