This post is written by 起点传媒member Michael Guevara.聽
Before it became all the rage as a super grain for hipsters and people who drop the names Terry Gross and Ari Shapiro like they were childhood friends, my wife and I discovered a recipe for a black bean and lime quinoa salad in the now tragically defunct Gourmet magazine.
Up to the point of finding that recipe, we had no idea what quinoa was. We would have, like most of those who saw our salad at a pot luck, called it couscous.
We knew not. We were uninformed. We were inexperienced.
We now love quinoa.
As is often the case, when we try new things, we find new loves.
Sadly, we also know not and are uninformed and inexperienced on one of the greatest writers to ever live鈥擬iguel de Cervantes.
Born 469 years ago today in Spain, Cervantes is widely regarded as a writer so consequential and influential on Western literature that Spanish is often called the language of Cervantes. But we know Shakespeare, not Cervantes.
A few weeks ago, right around the beginning of a new school year, Crest toothpaste ran a without any doubt that audiences would recognize the ubiquitous bard. In 2017, TNT will introduce a bawdy bard in the new drama , which examines Shakespeare as someone no one knows鈥攜et.
And now Miguel.
Not recognizing Cervantes beyond what is found in is a crime against humanities, and we are diminished for it.
In a world of turmoil and terrorism, how do we not gnaw on the words of Cervantes in his poem 鈥淎 la guerra me lleva鈥�:
A la guerra me lleva
mi necesidad;
si tuviera dineros
no fuera en verdad
To war I鈥檓 called
And I must go;
If I had money
It wouldn鈥檛 be so
And how in a society where pooches parade through life in designer bags and pet owners are now pet parents do we not acknowledge the author who gave us the first talking dog story in Western literature? In , Cervantes gives us a raucous tale within a tale where the better-than-humans dogs recount the tribulations of their lives at the hands of a flawed humankind.
Even the life of Cervantes merits our merit.
He was a man who participated in duels, a man sold into slavery by pirates, a man who lost his arm in battle, and a man who conceived his most iconic work while locked away in prison.
Our lives are broadened, enriched when we dare to break away from the familiarity of what we鈥檝e always been fed. In an earlier this year about Cervantes, I wrote: 鈥淚 want students to recognize, appreciate, understand that people all over the world write. I want them to understand that wondrous literature happens in a multitude of languages. I want teachers to examine their lesson plans and their own biases, and challenge themselves to fire the canon they are so accustomed to teaching.鈥�
And I still believe this.
But I also believe something else: maybe we need to stop thinking about ourselves as English teachers. Maybe it鈥檚 time to think of ourselves as teachers of great works, as tour guides to the wonders of words鈥攐ur own and those of others鈥攁waiting discovery.
A few weeks ago, I heard a wonderful interview with the writer about her debut novel U, which was originally written in Spanish. As Jufresa discussed the relationship she had with the woman who translated her novel to English, I was struck by these words: 鈥淚t’s such a treat to have someone translating your work because no one ever will read your work as closely as a translator does.鈥� This gives me a hope as I seek to discover more Cervantes.
My own Spanish doesn鈥檛 rise too far above the ability to order off the menu at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Lee鈥檚 El Taco Garage, without need of a translator, but the language of Cervantes is too rich to let language get in the way. Earlier I debated whether I should say 鈥淭o war I鈥檓 called鈥� or 鈥淭he war takes me鈥� (thanks, Mom for your input), but the more salient point isn鈥檛 whether I went too literal or too interpretive with my translation. No, the point is that I鈥檓 still gnawing on the words and ideas of Cervantes, a man who knew war.
Our students need more gnawing in their lives.
If you want the recipe to our black bean and lime quinoa salad, I鈥檓 happy to share it with you. If you want to add some Cervantes to your literary menu that you may just grow to love, I鈥檓 simply happy.
And to Miguel de Cervantes: feliz cumplea帽os.
Michael M. Guevara is a former high school English teacher and former district English language arts and reading coordinator. Most recently he served on the 2016 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills review committee. Michael is a writer and an independent educational consultant.