ILAN STAVANS
Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture
Amherst College
Amherst, MA 01002
Tel. (413) 542-8201
Fax. (413) 542-2759
Cell. (413) 519-4376
E-mails:
BIRTH: April 7, 1961
ACADEMIC LIFE
Amherst CollegeLewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture, 2000-
Full Professor, 1993-
Five College 40th Anniversary Professor, 2005-2009.
University of LondonResearch Fellow, 1998-99
Bennington CollegeAssociate Faculty, Creative Writing, 2000, 2002, 2007.
Oberlin CollegeVisiting Professor of Jewish Studies, March 2004.
Columbia UniversityVisiting Professor of Poetry, Fall 2004, Spring and Fall 2005.
Mount Holyoke CollegeFive College-40th Anniversary Professor, Spring 2006.
Smith CollegeFive College-40th Anniversary Professor, Fall 2006.
University of Texas-San AntonioBrackenridge Distinguished Visiting Professor, 2008.
Stanford University-ChileDistinguished Visiting Professor, June 2008, June 2009.
Universidad Diego Portales, ChileCátedra Roberto Bolaño, May 2009.
Distinguished Visiting Professor, May 2014
University of Massachusetts, AmherstFive College-40thAnniversary Professor, Spring 2010.
Doshisha University, JapanDistinguished Exchange Professor, May 2010.
Muhlenberg CollegeMellon Humanities Scholar-in-Residence, March 2015.
DEGREES
Columbia UniversityPhD1990
M. Phil 1989
MA 1988
The Jewish Theological SeminaryMA 1987
Universidad Autónoma MetropolitanaBA1984
COMPANY
Restless Books, a division of ESH (Ellison, Stavans, and Hochstein), LLC, Publisher, 2013-present.
Quixote Productions, LLC. Chairman and CEO, 2003-present.
Great Books Summer Program (Amherst, Stanford, Oxford), Co-Founder and Academic Director at Large, 2001-present.
GENERAL
W.H.A.T. (Wellfleet Harbor Actor’s Theatre)—The Lab, Advisory Board, 2010-2014.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Latino American Affair Commission, head of Education Subcommittee, 2008-present.
Oxford Bibliography:Latino Studies, general editor, 2011-present.
Honorary Curator: Latino Collection, Amherst College, 2002-present.
Project Director: Salpica: Visual Artists from Latin America and the United States in Dialogue, 2008-2010. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department through the Institute of Training and Development; Isaac Bashevis Singer Centennial, 2004. Sponsored by the NEH and in cooperation with The Library of America, the American Library Association, The Mercantile Library, 92nd Street Y, Skirball Center, National Yiddish Book Center, Henry Ransom Humanities Center, etc.
Series editor: [1] Jewish-Latin America, published by the University of New Mexico Press. Twice nominated to the National Jewish Book Award, 1997-2006. [2] Latino Voices, published by Northwestern University Press, 2003-2009.
General Advisor: The Latino American Experience. ABC-CLIO Online, 2007-2012.
Editor: The Ilan Stavans Library of Latino Civilization, ABC-CLIO, 2008-2012.
Founder and Senior Faculty: Great Books Summer Program, Amherst College, Stanford University, and Oxford University, 2000-.
Film: Morirse está en hebreo. [English: My Mexican Shivah.] Based on the story of the same title by Ilan Stavans. Directed by Alejandro Springall, co-produced by John Sayles. Springall Productions. Release: New York Jewish Film Festival, January 2007. Audience Award for Best Comedy, Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, 2007. Shown in over 35 festivals worldwide.
TV: Conversations with Ilan Stavans. PBS-WGBH. Produced by Joseph Tovares for La Plaza, 2001-2006. Distributed to more than 70 stations nationwide. The dozens of guests include John Leguizamo, Rubén Blades, Linda Chavez, Paquito D’Rivera, Jimmy Smits, Carlos Castaneda, Julia Alvarez, Esmeralda Santiago, Richard Rodriguez, Jorge Ramos, and Junot Díaz. Nominated for an Emmy Award, 2004; nominated for two Emmy Awards, 2003.
Theater: The Disappearance, adapted to the stage by Double Edge Theatre. Music by Paquito D’Rivera. Premiered in Poland, 2008. World tour: 2008-2010; The Oven, dir. Matthew Glassman, fall 2014-.
Board: National Yiddish Book Center, 2000-2009; DoubleEdge Theater, 2007-;Journal of Modern Jewish Studies; Review: Latin American Literature and the Arts, 1999-2009;El País/Culturas (Montevideo); Encuentro; The Literary Review; Forward; Tablet; World Literature Today; The Massachusetts Review; The Bloomsbury Review; Habitus; The Common.
Column: Lengua fresca. Syndicated weekly in Spanish-language newspapers like El Diario (New York) and El Planeta (Boston).2007-present; El ‘heart’ en la palabra, Cuadernos Cervantes, Madrid, Spain 2002-2005.
Judge: Paul and Daisy Soros Foundation, 2010; NEH, 2004, 2009; Jewish Book Award, 2007, 2008,2009; PEN, 2005; NEH, 2004, 2015; Guggenheim Foundation, 2004; IMPACT-Dublin Prize, 2003; Koret Prize, 2001; The 100 Most Important Modern Jewish Books, sponsored by The National Yiddish Book Center, 2002; El Andar magazine, 1999; Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, 1995; McArthur Foundation Nominator; NYSCA, 1993; Cintas Foundation, 1993, 1998, 2002; etc.
Museum Exhibit: Monsters and Miracles: Jewish Picture Books through the Ages. Curated by Ilan Stavans, Neal Sokol, and Tal Gozani. Los Angeles: Skirball Cultural Center, April 2010. Amherst, MA: Eric Carle Museum, 2010; Once@9:54am. Museo de la Memoria, Rosario, Casa Roberto Artl, Buenos Aires, 2011, National Yiddish Book Center, 2012; Idols and Murals: The Life of Anita Brenner. Senior Curatorial Advisor, Ilan Stavans. Los Angeles: Skirball Cultural Center, April 2017.
Selected Books
English
Borges, the Jew. Buffalo, New York: SUNY Press, 2016.
Words in Transit: Stories of Immigrants. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 2016.
Once @ 9:53am, fotonovela with Marcelo Brodsky. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2016.
Lazarillo de Tormes, translated and edited by Ilan Stavans.Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016.
Oy, Caramba! An Anthology of Jewish Stories from Latin America, edited by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 2016.
I LoveMy Selfie. Essay by Ilan Stavans. Self-Portraits by Adál. Durham: Duke University Press, 2016.
Quixote: The Novel and the World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2015.
Reclaiming Travel, with Joshua Ellison. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2015.
I Was a Schizophrenic Mambo Dancer for the FBI. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Galleria Paraíso, 2014.
Julio Cortázar: Hopscotch, Blow Up, We Loved Glenda So Much. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York: Everyman’s Library, 2014.
The Underdogs, by Mariano Azuela. Translated by Ilan Stavans, with Anna More. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014.
Latin Music: Rhythms, Themes, and Musicians, edited by Ilan Stavans. 3 vols. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2014.
A Most Imperfect Union: A Contrarian Cartoon History of the United States, with Lalo Alcaraz. New York: Basic Books, 2014. A New York Times Bestseller.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Latino Art. Ilan Stavans and Jorge J. E. Gracia. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2014.
All the Odes, by Pablo Neruda. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2013.
Golemito, illustrated by Teresa Villegas. Atlanta, Georgia: New South Books, 2013.
The United States of Mestizo. Atlanta, Georgia: New South Books, 2013.
¡Muy Pop! Conversations on Latino Popular Culture. Ilan Stavans and Frederick Aldama. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2013.
Once@9:53: A Fotonovela with Marcelo Brodsky. E-book. New York: Restless Books, 2012.
El Iluminado, a graphic novel by Ilan Stavans and Steve Sheinkin. New York: Basic Books, 2012.
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Norton Critical Edition of Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition. Edited by Ilan Stavans. Translated by David Frye. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012.
Singer’s Typewriter and Mine: Reflections on Jewish Culture. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2012. [Portions translated into Spanish, Hebrew, Chinese, and French.]
The Plain in Flames, by Juan Rulfo. Translated by Ilan Stavans, with Harold Augenbraum. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2012.
The Centaur in the Garden, by Moacyr Scliar. Translated by Margaret A. Neves. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Madison, Wisc.: Texas Tech University Press, 2011.
Return to Centro Histórico: A Mexican Jew Looks for His Roots. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2012.
José Vasconcelos: The Prophet of Race. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2011.
What is la hispanidad? Ilan Stavans and Iván Jaksic. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2011. [Translated into Spanish and Chinese.]
The FSG Book of 20th-Century Latin American Poetry, edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011; paperback, 2012.Best book 2012, Kansas City Star, The San Francisco Chronicle. [5th printing; paperback 2012]
Ernesto Galarza: Barrio Boy. Introduction to the 40th Anniversary Edition by Ilan Stavans. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame University Press, 2010.
The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature. Ilan Stavans, general editor. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. [Paperback with Online component, 2011.]
El mundo al revés/The World Upside Down. Fables by Ilan Stavans. Artwork by Teresa Villegas. Limited edition. Scottsdale, Arizona: Santo Press, 2010.
Cesar Chavez: A Photographic Essay. El Paso, Texas: Cinco Puntos Press, 2010.
One Hundred Years of Solitude: Critical Insights,edited by Ilan Stavans. Pasadena, CA and Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press, 2009.
With All Thine Heart: Love and the Bible. Ilan Stavans with Mordecai Drache. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2010.
Euclides da Cunha:Backlands: The Canudos Campaign. Translated by Elizabeth Lowe. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York: Penguin Classics, 2010.
Gabriel García Márquez: The Early Years. Volume one of a two-volume set. New York and London: Palgrave, 2009. [Translated into Chinese.]
Gabriel García Márquez: Critical Insights, edited by Ilan Stavans. Pasadena, CA and Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press, 2009.
Jimmy Santiago Baca: Selected Poems: Bilingual Edition. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York: New Directions, 2009.
Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing. Edited by Ilan Stavans. Introduction by Pete Hamill. New York: Library of America, 2009. [Paperback 2014.]
A Critic’s Journey. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2009. [Portions translated into Spanish, Hebrew, and French.]
Mr. Spic Goes to Washington. Illustrated by Roberto Weil. New York and Los Angeles; Soft Skull/Counterpoint, 2008.
Resurrecting Hebrew. New York: Schocken, 2008.
César Vallejo: ‘Spain, Take This Chalice from Me’ and Other Poems. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. Edited and with an introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Penguin Classics, 2008.
Knowledge and Censorship (with Verónica Albin). New York and London: Palgrave, 2008.
Cesar Chavez: An Organizer’s Tale. Speeches. Edited and with an introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Penguin Classics, 2008.
Delano, by John Gregory Dunne, Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 2007.
Love and Language (with Verónica Albin). New Heaven, Con.: Yale University Press, 2007.
A Luis Leal Reader. Edited and introduced by Ilan Stavans. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2007.
Pablo Neruda: I Explain a Few Things: Selected Poems. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. [12th printing.]
Collins Q&A: Latino History and Culture. New York: Collins Publishers, 2007.
The Disappearance: A Novella and Stories. Evanston, Il: Northwestern University Press, 2006.Foreword Top 10 Pick, 2007. A “Big Ten” pick, ForeWord Magazine, January/February 2007. [Paperback, 2008]
Lengua Fresca. Edited by Ilan Stavans and Harold Augenbraum. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, scheduled 2006.
Rubén Darío: Selected Writings. Edited and with an introduction by Ilan Stavans. Translated by Andrew Hurley, Greg Simon, and Steve F. White. New York: Penguin Classics, 2005.
My Sax Life, by Paquito D’Rivera. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Chicago, IL: Northwestern University Press, 2005.
Dictionary Days: A Defining Passion. St. Paul, Minnesota: Graywolf, 2005.[Spanish translation.]
Conversations with Ilan Stavans. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2005.
Encyclopedia Latina. 4 vols. Ilan Stavans, editor-in-chief. New York: Grolier/Scholastic, 2005. Named best Reference Book, Library Journal, and Editor’s Choice, Booklist, 2005.
The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Schocken, 2005.
Deborah, by Esther Kreitman. Translated by Maurice Carr. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York: The Feminist Press, 2004.
The Letters that Never Came, by Mauricio Rosencof. Translated by Louise Popkin. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2004.
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories. Edited by Ilan Stavans. 3 vols. New York: The Library of America, 2004.
Isaac Bashevis Singer: Album. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: The Library of America, 2004.
Ilan Stavans: Eight Conversations, by Neal Sokol. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004.
¡Lotería! Art by Teresa Villegas. With an essay and riddles by Ilan Stavans. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003.
Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language. New York: Rayo/HarperCollins, 2003. [7th printing;paperback: Rayo, 2004; new paperback, Harper, 2007.]
The Poetry of Pablo Neruda. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003; London: Allan Lane, 2003. [17th printing; paperback: FSG, 2005]
Tent of Miracles, by Jorge Amado. Translated by Barbara Shelby. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003.
The Centaur in the Garden, by Moacyr Scliar. Translated by Margaret A. Neves. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Madison, Wisc.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. [5th printing. New edition, Texas Tech University Press, 2011.]
1492: The Life and Times of Juan Cabezón of Castile, by Homero Aridjis. Translated by Betty Ferber. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.
The Scroll and the Cross: 1,000 Years of Jewish-Hispanic Literature. Edited by Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Routledge, 2003.
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Translated by Fanny Bandelier, revised by Harold Augenbraum. New York: Penguin, 2002. [8th printing.]
H. M. Hudson: The Purple Land. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002.
Mariano Azuela: The Underdogs. Translation by E. Murguía and Berth Jorgensen. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York: The Modern Library, 2002. [3rd printing]
Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number. Translated by Tobby Talbot. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2002. [3rd printing.]
Wachale! Poetry and Prose on Growing Up Latino. Edited by Ilan Stavans. Chicago, IL: Cricket Books, 2001. [Selected as one of Los Angeles’ 100 Best Books, 2001 by the Los Angeles Unified School District Library Services.]
On Borrowed Words: A Memoir of Language. New York and London: Viking, 2001; paperback: Penguin, 2002. [10th printing. Sections translated into Polish, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.]
Martin A. Cohen: The Martyr. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of NewMexico Press, 2001.
Octavio Paz: Intellectual in Motion. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001. Nominated for the James Russell Lowell Prize.
Efraín Huerta: 500,000 Azaleas. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Willimantic, CT: Curbstone Press, 2001.
Nina Barragán: Losers and Keepers in Argentina. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
The Inveterate Dreamer: Essays and Conversations on Jewish Literature. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2001.
Peter Matthiessen: Sal Si Puedes: César Chávez and the New American Revolution. Introductionby Ilan Stavans. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. [3rdprinting]
The Essential Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Routledge, 2000. [Portions translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, and German.]
Latino U.S.A.: A Cartoon History. Illustrations by Lalo López Alcaráz. New York: Basic Books, 2000. [10th printing; Selected as a 2001 Books for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library. Expanded 15th Anniversary Edition, 2012.]
Teresa Porzecanski: Sun Inventions and Perfumes of Cartage. Preface by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.
Ricardo Feierstein: Mestizo. Translated by Stephen Sadow. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.
Mutual Impressions: Writers of the Americas Reading One Another. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1999.
Moacyr Scliar: Collected Stories. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999. Nominated to the National Jewish Book Award, 2000.
Sergio Troncoso: The Last Tortilla and Other Stories. Forward by Ilan Stavans. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1999.
Isaac Goldemberg: The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1999.
The Oxford Book of Jewish Stories. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. [10th printing. Alternate selection of Book of the Month Club and Quality Paperback Book Club]
Domingo F. Sarmiento: Facundo: or, Civilization and Barbarism. Translated by Mary Mann. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Penguin Classics, 1998. [20th printing.]
Hopscotch: A Cultural Review (1998-2001), published by Duke University Press. Ilan Stavans, Editor-in-Chief. Recipient an Alternative Media Award, 1999, and runner-up for the Best New Learned Journal, 1999. Described by Library Journal as “one of the ten best magazines of 1999.”
Ana María Shúa: The Book of Memories. Translated by Dick Gerdes. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.
Calvert Casey: The Collected Stories. Edited and with an introduction by Ilan Stavans. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1998.
Alicia Freilich: Cláper. Translated by Joan Friedman. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.
Alberto Gerchunoff: The Jewish Gauchos of the Pampas. Foreword by Ilan Stavans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998. [3rd printing.]
The Riddle of Cantinflas: Essays on Popular Hispanic Culture. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998. [4th printing; segments translated into German, French, and Spanish. Expanded 15th Anniversary Edition, 2012]
The Urban Muse: Stories on the American City. New York: Delta, 1998. [4th printing]
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Poems, Protest and a Dream. Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden. Introduction by Ilan Stavans. New York and London: Penguin Classics, 1997. “One of the best of 1997,” The Los Angeles Times. [25th printing; Spanish version, 2012]
The Oxford Book of Latin American Essays. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
New World: New Latinos Writers. New York: Delta, 1997. [3rd printing]
Antiheroes. Mexico and Its Detective Novel. Translated from the Spanish by Jennifer Mattson and Jesse H. Lytle. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1997.
Masterpieces of Latin American Short Fiction.Novellas by Gabriel García Márquez, João Guimaraes Rosa, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Alvaro Mutis, Felisberto Hernández, et al. Introduced by Ilan Stavans. Edited by Cass Canfield, Jr. New York: HarperCollins, 1996; paperback: Westview, 1997. [Quality paperback selection; 5th printing.]
Art and Anger: Essays on Politics and the Imagination. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996. [Segments translated into German, French, and Spanish. Paperback reprint: Palgrave/St. Martin’s Press, 2001.]
The Uncollected Works of Oscar "Zeta" Acosta. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1996.
Julio Cortázar: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996.
The One-Handed Pianist and Other Stories. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996. [Segments translated into German, Spanish, and French.] [Paperback, 2007]