MELUS, MELUS, and the Crossroads of Cultures

Abstract

When I was in graduate school at Columbia a few decades ago, the American literature curriculum, with a few exceptions, hovered around the shrines of mostly dead white male writers. There were no courses in African American literature; one, maybe two, black graduate students; and no black faculty. I was excited, therefore, when one of my friends ran up to me, face glowing, saying, “John, I have some good news and some bad news.” “What’s the good news?” I asked. He replied, “You won’t believe it, but they’ve actually scheduled a seminar on African American literature next term.” “Great!” I exclaimed, “but what’s the bad news?” “They’ve hired a German hippie to teach it.” The “German hippie” turned out to be a visiting assistant professor named Werner Sollors, who at this period in his long career favored leather and had long hair. However, his seminar was a revelation and started me off on my decades-long exploration of a great literature and culture, one that spoke powerfully to my Southern roots. Werner was master of almost all US ethnic literary traditions, and he soon introduced me to classics, such as Jewish American Henry Roth’s Call It Sleep (1934). One of the best things he did for me, however, was encourage me to join something called MELUS, which I learned stood for The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. Werner loaned me a few copies of the outfit’s journal, and I was hooked for life, literally, as I hold a lifetime membership in the Society.