Something I really enjoyed about the reading was how direct Gurba was. Gurba from the start let Cummins know that she did not like what she said about Mexicans. Gurba expressed how Cummins lacked the qualifications to write about Mexican culture. If Cummins would have done more research I don’t think Gurba would have been mad with her. Something I would change in Gurba’s writing would probably be her tone towards Cummins. Even though Cummins did not write good about Mexicans and Mexican culture, I still think that Gurba should have eased her tone towards her and just let her know where she was wrong about Mexicans. Other than that I really enjoyed how straightforward she was and also how impassioned she was.
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
I’ve gotta admit, I disagree on one point to some degree. You had mentioned that if Cummins had done her research, then Gurba wouldn’t have been so aggressive. The problem is that this is about the immigration experience to the states. Research does not compare to the experience in many cases, and you consider this to be one of them. Gurba’s message could have been said a different way surely, but the way it was expressed would have been just as aggressive seeing how blunt of an author she is.
I do agree that Gurba should have eased her tone a bit. but who knows how much she has put up with until this point.
I feel like she has almost every right to pop off on the author of dirt. I disagree with having to ease down on her tone. She was told she was just a small time reviewer or something a long those lines. The author was talking about people like gurba.