Guest Literary Critic: Hugo Chavez

Thank you to the Justin and The Concept of Irony for allowing me to speak to the American People on a topic which is so near and dear to my heart:Good Books. That the Justin would allow me to do this at the end of a week devoted to the banning of books, is a testament to Justin’s Fine Sense of what Waynce C. Booth would call “Localized, Stable Irony.”

I wanted to take the opportunity to mention several more must reads for Americans.

First, I have to plug a book I am very proud of: ‘Uncle Hugo’s American Bed Time Stories.’ These stories have been selected by me, Hugo Chavez, for their simple entertainment value and straightforward morals.

This is neither the time nor the place to get into debates that have been going since Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Poetics outlined what counts as good art (both books all Americans should read.) No, I will save that for my next book club at the UN. But I believe that the stories in this collection have all of the characteristics that bed time stories should have: a sense of luminous wholeness, intertextuality that reminds us of our literary tradition and of course references to generative grammar.

Second, 'The Adventures of Huck Finn' and I would very much recommend reading the new Vintage edition. The good folks at Vintage have asked me to write a preface and in it I discuss the significance of the book for the American People. While the influence of the New Historicism on my methods is obvious, I do think the little essay I wrote (342 pages) will be invaluable reading for any American who wants to understand American humor in its historical context.

Finally, I am very disappointed that I am not able to recommend the McSweeney's Book of Lists. Perhaps the most essential list the American people could read has not been included.