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Short Prose Reader, 10/e
Authors
Annie Dillard
Henry Louis Gates
George Orwell
Russell Baker
Judy Brady
Judith Ortiz Cofer
Gloria Naylor
Brent Staples
Shelby Steele
Rachel Carson
Molly Ivins
Richard Selzer
Stephen King
Jonathan Kozol
Lewis Thomas
Langston Hughes
Maxine Hong Kingston
Virginia Woolf
E.B. White
Martin Luther King...
Amy Tan
Barbara Ehrenreich
Judith Viorst
Ellen Goodman
Anna Quindlen

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Short Prose Reader book cover

Brent Staples

Biographical

Here is some biographical information from PBS. This page includes some notes about Staples's life, a photo, and a link to a video about the author in both RealVideo and Quicktime.

This biography is from his speaking agency, Royce Carlton. There, you'll find a photo of Staples and a book cover, as well as a biographical essay and a quote.

How about taking a look at a caricature of Staples drawn by David Levine for The New York Review of Books. How does this drawing compare to the other pictures of the author you've seen? What do you make of it?

Cultural

Here's a response to Staples's “Just Walk On By” posted to a web bulletin board. Read it and decide whether you would feel comfortable using information here in a paper about Staples. What leads you to your decision?

Staples has often written about intercultural communication. A pioneer in this field is Edward T. Hall. Here is a page with some information about Hall, a bibliography, and some related links.

Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White is the title of an autobiography by Staples. Read this essay about the state of memoir from Christianity Today. How does the author of the essay use Staples as an authority?

Here are some short reviews of Parallel Time from Kirkus Reviews, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, and other sources. Now that you know a bit more about the book would you like to read it? Why or why not?

Bibliographical

Let's take a look at some more writing by Staples. Here is a review he did of the book All Souls: A Family Story From Southie. (Free registration required.)

Here's a quotation from Staples about modern historical documents from Simpson's Contemporary Quotations.

“Con Men and Conquerors” is the title of a book review Staples wrote in 1994 for V. S. Naipaul's A Way in the World. How does Staples's title relate to Naipauls' book? (Free registration required.)