Ilan Stavans

Ilan Stavans is the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities, Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, the publisher of Restless Books, and the host of the NEPR podcast In Contrast. He has written Quixote: The Novel and the World (2015), Oy, Caramba!: An Anthology of Jewish Stories from Latin America (2016), Borges, the Jew (2017), and The Wall (2018). He has recently written The Seventh Heaven: Travels through Jewish Latin America (Pittsburgh), and his book-long poem “The Wall” (also Pittsburgh) won the 2019 Massachusetts Book Award in Poetry.

Articles

How Dictionaries Define Us: Margaret Boyle and Ilan Stavans in Conversation
What can dictionaries tell us about cultural crises and the politics of nationality?
Ilan Stavans, Margaret BoyleMar 30, 2022
- Cultural Studies
After the Expulsion: An Excerpt from “Jewish Literature: A Very Short Introduction”
Ilan Stavans explores Sephardic literature in this excerpt from “Jewish Literature: A Very Short Introduction.”
Ilan StavansAug 14, 2021
- History
Can Literature Teach Us How to Die?: A Conversation Between Ilan Stavans and Priyanka Champaneri
What can literature teach us about our inevitable trip to “the undiscovered country”?
Ilan Stavans, Priyanka ChampaneriJul 27, 2021
- Fiction
On Packing Up My Library
How a scholar built a world-class Latin American Judaica collection, and then shipped it away.
Ilan StavansMay 16, 2021
- Memoir & Essay
Translation and Hallucination
Ilan StavansFeb 23, 2021
The Fallacy of American Studies: A Conversation
On xenolinguaphobia and the provincialism of American Studies.
Ilan Stavans, Steven G. KellmanDec 19, 2020
On Fear
Ilan StavansMar 26, 2020
The Old in the New: Introducing “How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish”
Ilan Stavans and Josh Lambert introduce their new anthology, “How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish.”
Ilan Stavans, Josh LambertJan 21, 2020
We Are the Clarion: An Immigrant Manifesto
Ilan Stavans provides his opening essay for the "My America" itinerant exhibition of American Writers Museum.
Ilan StavansNov 23, 2019
Bongo Explosion: The Rebellious Dimension of Latin Music
Ilan Stavans and Alex Nava discuss the rhythmic, political, and spiritual dimensions of Latin American music.
Alex Nava, Ilan StavansAug 11, 2019
The Thief: On the Rediscovery of Luis de Carvajal the Younger’s Memoir
Ilan Stavans narrates the rediscovery of Luis de Carvajal the Younger’s long-lost memoir.
Ilan StavansJun 20, 2019
Mario Santiago: Infrarrealist and Terrorist
Ilan Stavans introduces “Poetry Comes out of My Mouth,” a collection of Mario Santiago Papasquiaro’s poems translated by Arturo Mantecón.
Ilan StavansMay 4, 2018
- Around the World
- Poetry
On Jealousy: A Conversation Between Ilan Stavans and Max Page
Ilan Stavans and Max Page discuss the perils and virtues of jealousy.
Ilan StavansMar 10, 2018
- Philosophy & Religion
- Religion
The Ghost of Piglia: A Conversation with Emilio Renzi
Ilan Stavans interviews Emilio Renzi, the alter ego of his late friend, Argentine novelist Ricardo Piglia.
Ilan StavansNov 20, 2017
Disincarnation of the World: On Octavio Paz’s “The Monkey Grammarian”
Ilan Stavans introduces a new edition of Nobel Prize–winning Mexican poet Octavio Paz’s “The Monkey Grammarian” (1974).
Ilan StavansJul 4, 2017
- Around the World
- Poetry
I Love My Selfie: An Essay
Cultural critic Ilan Stavans contemplates the selfie.
Ilan StavansApr 14, 2017