RURAL ODYSSEY IV PARALLELS

About the Book

"RURAL ODYSSEY IV - PARALLELS Abilene - Cowboys - "Cordel" is a return to the "Rural Odyssey" series, a narrative in fiction telling of Professor Mike O'Brien's work on a "History of Abilene," life with his young wife, Professor Mariah Palafox O'Brien, and their jobs at DDEC (Dwight D. Eisenhower College) in Abilene. After telling of his "History of Abilene," the book recounts Mike and Mariah's trip to Brazil in the summer of 1971 via Fulbright Lecture Grants. Mike gives talks on Eisenhower, Abilene and the Cowboy days, cowboys and "cordel," and Mariah lectures on American Literature. "The Great Gatsby," "The Sound and the Fury," and "To Kill a Mockingbird" are a few highlights. They meet important military, literary, and folkloric figures in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Bahia and Recife and visit Brazil's famous tourist and cultural sites as well. Mike's Catholic and Mariah's Jewish heritages come into play.

About the Author

Mark J. Curran is Professor Emeritus from Arizona State University where he worked from 1968 to 2011. He taught Spanish Language as well as the Survey of Spanish Literature, a seminar on "Don Quixote," Civilization of Spain and Latin American Civilization. He also taught the Portuguese language (Brazilian Variant) as well as Survey of Luso-Brazilian Literature, Luso-Braziliian Civilization, and seminars on Chico Buarque de Hollanda and Brazil's Folk-Popular Literature ("Literatura de Cordel"). He has written forty-one books, eight in academic circles before retirement, thirty-three with Trafford in retirement. Images of the covers and summaries are on his website: www.currancordelconnection.com. His e-mail address is: profmark@asu.edu