Ishmael Reed and academia

[Jay Herzog]

On Wed, 5 Feb 1997, C. Endicott wrote:

> whatever became of Robert A. Wilson & Ishmael Reed?
> 
> Robert Wilson is still going strong putting out humorous, mindfucking
> books and carrying Leary's torch... Reed gave a speech last week here at
> the U of Washington on the current state of black Lit ( I didn't get a
> chance to ask him about Ebonics, tho...)
> 
> CLE
> 
> 
	Reed's most recent novel Japanese by spring is another good
example of a novel set in academia that shouldn't be consigned to the
wastebin. It's a wicked excoriation of PC attitudes(and coopted black
conservatives) while at the same time celebrating true multiculturalism.
The main character, Chappie Puttbutt (I love that name) is a black
professor(at a college suspiciously like Reed's own UC Berkeley)  who
shifts with whatever academic breeze that's blowing at the moment. After
reading the novel my first thought was "I hope he has tenure..