Category Archives: Literature & Cultural Criticism

Literary criticism, authors, books by others, cultural interpretation, and literature-centered essays.

“Teaching” Alice Walker

Posted on September 17, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In preparation for a lecture in the course I teach, African American Literature in the 20th Century, I am re-reading excerpts from Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. In her prose, Walker makes nearly perfect sense. … Continue reading →

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Rereading Richard Wright’s Black Boy

Posted on July 12, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

When I first read Richard Wright’s Black Boy more than 40 years ago when I was a teenager, little that I knew about literature,  I thought the writing was superb.  I was doing a little writing then and thought Wright … Continue reading →

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Netflix’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Posted on October 20, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I just finished binge-watching Netflix’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” ostensibly about Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the same name, with a modern twist.  People familiar with Poe’s works will see that much of his work beyond … Continue reading →

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NYC Subway Story

Posted on September 14, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On my morning commute, as my train approaches the station, I see a Brother reading The Idiot, by Dostoevsky.  (People who know my literary tastes, know that I had a “Russian Period,” when I was reading many Russian authors.  Dostoevsky … Continue reading →

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James Baldwin’s Journey Through Politics

Posted on May 6, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Thirty years ago I wrote an essay, “The Election Time Blues.”  It spoke about how political discourse in America was depressing; at least, it depressed me, and it continues to do so.  When crime is on the platform, it becomes … Continue reading →

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Maya Angelou Redux

Posted on April 4, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On this, Maya Angelou’s birthday, I thought I would repost a blog, “Maya Angelous: A Muse for All.” On this Day of Love, also known as Valentine’s Day, I want to uplift an author and one of her books, I … Continue reading →

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A Constantly Evolving Lifespan: A Review of “This Life” by Quntos KunQuest

Posted on February 8, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

A life sentence in prison is life, that is, there is living to do in prison, even under a life sentence.  Quntos KunQuest, in his novel, This Life, demonstrates that life goes on inside of prison.  Since 1996, KunQuest has … Continue reading →

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Conundrums of Law: Insights from Jailhouse Lawyer Stories

Posted on October 10, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In light of the December release of my collection of short stories, Conundrums: Stories of Law & Justice, I retooled my review of one of James Patterson books. Continue reading →

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The Nineteen Sixties

Posted on June 7, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I have written elsewhere about the “Decisive Decade,” a phrase coined by Samuel Yette, about the 1960s.  I found this poem, “SOS,” by Imamu Amiri Baraka, in The Black Poets, edited by Dudley Randall, in the section about poetry of … Continue reading →

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Poets Are Revolutionaries: Drop Poetry, Not Bombs!

Posted on March 21, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Poets, at heart, are revolutionaries.  In addition to being incurable romantics, they are idealists.  Even in their poetry, they seek the ideal.  They are always in search of the ideal. I also met Susan Rosenberg through my work with PEN … Continue reading →

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