Robert Patrick Newcomb
@rpnewcomb.bsky.social
Professor and Chair, Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese, UC Davis
Director, UC Iberian Studies Consortium
CompLit | Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies | Iberian Studies | Translation (Port. to Eng.)
Western New Yorker, naturalized Californian, runner, punk fan.
Director, UC Iberian Studies Consortium
CompLit | Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies | Iberian Studies | Translation (Port. to Eng.)
Western New Yorker, naturalized Californian, runner, punk fan.
Looking forward to presenting on Tuesday, January 13 at #KULeuven and the Centre for Global Governance Studies on "Sovereignty and Iberian National Literatures: Comparing Catalonia and Portugal." #academicsky
January 10, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Looking forward to presenting on Tuesday, January 13 at #KULeuven and the Centre for Global Governance Studies on "Sovereignty and Iberian National Literatures: Comparing Catalonia and Portugal." #academicsky
January 9, 2026 at 4:12 AM
Drove into Canada today for #MLA2026 in Toronto and the minute I crossed the border the "Kids in the Hall" theme popped into my head. Couldn't be helped.
Kids In The Hall intro theme song by Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet
YouTube video by marcjamesb
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:07 AM
Drove into Canada today for #MLA2026 in Toronto and the minute I crossed the border the "Kids in the Hall" theme popped into my head. Couldn't be helped.
I mostly listened to old reggae and dub in 2025. But I did listen to some new songs. Favorites:
Crush Your Soul, Living Gracious
Die Spitz, Pop Punk Anthem
Suede, Dancing With the Europeans Nothing, Cannibal World
Real Daze, Shulgin
Sharon Van Etten, Live Forever
Mil-Spec, When the Music Ends 6.52
Crush Your Soul, Living Gracious
Die Spitz, Pop Punk Anthem
Suede, Dancing With the Europeans Nothing, Cannibal World
Real Daze, Shulgin
Sharon Van Etten, Live Forever
Mil-Spec, When the Music Ends 6.52
January 5, 2026 at 4:05 AM
I mostly listened to old reggae and dub in 2025. But I did listen to some new songs. Favorites:
Crush Your Soul, Living Gracious
Die Spitz, Pop Punk Anthem
Suede, Dancing With the Europeans Nothing, Cannibal World
Real Daze, Shulgin
Sharon Van Etten, Live Forever
Mil-Spec, When the Music Ends 6.52
Crush Your Soul, Living Gracious
Die Spitz, Pop Punk Anthem
Suede, Dancing With the Europeans Nothing, Cannibal World
Real Daze, Shulgin
Sharon Van Etten, Live Forever
Mil-Spec, When the Music Ends 6.52
Reposted by Robert Patrick Newcomb
UC Davis tied for No. 9 among the nation’s top public universities and earned accolades for innovation, social mobility and more in the 2026 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings. This is the 5th consecutive year the campus has been ranked among the top 10 public universities: ucdav.is/46Pv7qx
September 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
UC Davis tied for No. 9 among the nation’s top public universities and earned accolades for innovation, social mobility and more in the 2026 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings. This is the 5th consecutive year the campus has been ranked among the top 10 public universities: ucdav.is/46Pv7qx
Rereading “Nostromo.” From a Latin Americanist perspective, it seems preoccupied with the binarisms of the day (Latin/Anglo-Saxon, North/South America), partly recalling writers like Rodó - despite Conrad’s stereotyping and second-hand knowledge. A Latin Americanist novel?
#booksky
#academicsky
#booksky
#academicsky
September 23, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Rereading “Nostromo.” From a Latin Americanist perspective, it seems preoccupied with the binarisms of the day (Latin/Anglo-Saxon, North/South America), partly recalling writers like Rodó - despite Conrad’s stereotyping and second-hand knowledge. A Latin Americanist novel?
#booksky
#academicsky
#booksky
#academicsky
Congrats to my childhood friend, the incredible writer and artist, Sophie Campbell, @mooncalfe1.bsky.social, for her work on Supergirl! 🏳️⚧️
Sophie Campbell Gives Us a Hot Supergirl(s) Summer | DC
Kara Zor-El deserves her own spotlight and to exist far beyond Superman’s shadow, and she’s getting both right now thanks to writer/artist Sophie Campbell, who’s taking Kara back to her roots in a mod...
www.dc.com
July 17, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Congrats to my childhood friend, the incredible writer and artist, Sophie Campbell, @mooncalfe1.bsky.social, for her work on Supergirl! 🏳️⚧️
Just finished Dan Flores’s “Coyote America.” The coyote is impressive for so many reasons, not least of which is that it’s prospered and expanded its range immensely despite all attempts to destroy it. Coming to a North American city near you, if not there already!
#booksky
#booksky
June 30, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Just finished Dan Flores’s “Coyote America.” The coyote is impressive for so many reasons, not least of which is that it’s prospered and expanded its range immensely despite all attempts to destroy it. Coming to a North American city near you, if not there already!
#booksky
#booksky
Just finished Kei Miller's novel "Augustown." A really nice novel about historical repetition and cyclical injustice and resistance in contemporary Jamaica. Despite the narrator's assertion that it's not a magical realist novel, it compares with Alejo Carpentier's "El reino de este mundo."
#booksky
#booksky
June 15, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Just finished Kei Miller's novel "Augustown." A really nice novel about historical repetition and cyclical injustice and resistance in contemporary Jamaica. Despite the narrator's assertion that it's not a magical realist novel, it compares with Alejo Carpentier's "El reino de este mundo."
#booksky
#booksky
Finishing up Wilson Harris's hallucinatory, occasionally maddening novel "Palace of the Peacock." An account of a hellish journey upriver in Guyana, it doubles as a lament for and denunciation of colonialism. Worth a look for readers of Joseph Conrad, Alejo Carpentier, and Juan Rulfo.
#booksky
#booksky
June 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Finishing up Wilson Harris's hallucinatory, occasionally maddening novel "Palace of the Peacock." An account of a hellish journey upriver in Guyana, it doubles as a lament for and denunciation of colonialism. Worth a look for readers of Joseph Conrad, Alejo Carpentier, and Juan Rulfo.
#booksky
#booksky
Reposted by Robert Patrick Newcomb
'The author of Girl, Woman, Other and Mr Loverman has been rewarded for her entire body of work, as well as her “transformative impact on literature and her unwavering dedication to uplifting under-represented voices across the cultural landscape”.' Kudos richly merited.
Bernardine Evaristo scoops Women’s prize outstanding contribution award
One-off £100,000 prize awarded to Girl, Women, Other writer for entire body of work and ‘dedication to uplifting under-represented voices’
www.theguardian.com
June 4, 2025 at 6:56 AM
'The author of Girl, Woman, Other and Mr Loverman has been rewarded for her entire body of work, as well as her “transformative impact on literature and her unwavering dedication to uplifting under-represented voices across the cultural landscape”.' Kudos richly merited.
The UC Iberian Studies Consortium just started a listserv. University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) faculty interested in Iberian Studies are welcome to join. Email me at rpnewcomb@ucdavis.edu if interested.
June 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The UC Iberian Studies Consortium just started a listserv. University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) faculty interested in Iberian Studies are welcome to join. Email me at rpnewcomb@ucdavis.edu if interested.
Planning to teach a seminar next year on Latin American literature in translation, focusing on three countries that are “peripheral” to Latin America: Brazil, Jamaica, & Haiti. I’d appreciate any recommendations of scholars of Jamaican or Haitian literature. I have questions!
#academicsky
#booksky
#academicsky
#booksky
April 18, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Planning to teach a seminar next year on Latin American literature in translation, focusing on three countries that are “peripheral” to Latin America: Brazil, Jamaica, & Haiti. I’d appreciate any recommendations of scholars of Jamaican or Haitian literature. I have questions!
#academicsky
#booksky
#academicsky
#booksky
If no one has done this yet, someone should write a paper on the circulation of William DeVaughn‘s song “Be Thankful for What You Got” (1974) between the US, Jamaica, and the UK (via Massive Attack) as an example of cultural exchange across the Black Atlantic.
Bunny Clarke - Be Thankful
YouTube video by Roots and Message
m.youtube.com
April 9, 2025 at 6:07 PM
If no one has done this yet, someone should write a paper on the circulation of William DeVaughn‘s song “Be Thankful for What You Got” (1974) between the US, Jamaica, and the UK (via Massive Attack) as an example of cultural exchange across the Black Atlantic.
Reposted by Robert Patrick Newcomb
Delighted to see 'Strategies for Writing Gibraltar into the World'! Congratulations to guest editor, @rpnewcomb.bsky.social, contributors: Edwige Tamalet Talbayev, David Álvarez + José Juan Yborra Aznar. @antonpujol.bsky.social @acis46.bsky.social intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/ijis/38/1
Strategies for Writing Gibraltar into the World | Intellect
Intellect Discover is the platform where Intellect's content lives: Browse publications for scholars and practitioners teaching and researching in the arts, media and creative industries.
intellectdiscover.com
March 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Delighted to see 'Strategies for Writing Gibraltar into the World'! Congratulations to guest editor, @rpnewcomb.bsky.social, contributors: Edwige Tamalet Talbayev, David Álvarez + José Juan Yborra Aznar. @antonpujol.bsky.social @acis46.bsky.social intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/ijis/38/1
Pleased to announce that the new issue of the International Journal of Iberian Studies features a dossier, "Strategies for Writing Gibraltar into the World," which I edited. It features articles on Gibraltarian literature by me, David Alvarez, José Juan Yborra Aznar, and Edwige Tamalet Talbayev.
International Journal of Iberian Studies | Intellect
The International Journal of Iberian Studies (IJIS) is the academic journal for scholars from around the world whose research focuses on contemporary Spain and Portugal from a range of disciplinary pe...
intellectdiscover.com
March 22, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Pleased to announce that the new issue of the International Journal of Iberian Studies features a dossier, "Strategies for Writing Gibraltar into the World," which I edited. It features articles on Gibraltarian literature by me, David Alvarez, José Juan Yborra Aznar, and Edwige Tamalet Talbayev.
My review of Earl E. Fitz’s “The Literatures of Spanish America and Brazil” is out now in the Luso-Brazilian Review.
Project MUSE - The Literatures of Spanish America and Brazil: From Their Origins through the Nineteenth Century by Earl E Fitz (review)
muse.jhu.edu
March 19, 2025 at 1:20 AM
My review of Earl E. Fitz’s “The Literatures of Spanish America and Brazil” is out now in the Luso-Brazilian Review.
My translation of the great, dearly missed Alfredo Bosi's "An Ideological Knot - On Interlaced Perspectives in Machado de Assis" has been published in a special issue of Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies dedicated to Bosi, a major Brazilian literary and cultural critic.
Volume 11 | Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies - UC Santa Barbara
sbps.spanport.ucsb.edu
March 7, 2025 at 5:05 PM
My translation of the great, dearly missed Alfredo Bosi's "An Ideological Knot - On Interlaced Perspectives in Machado de Assis" has been published in a special issue of Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies dedicated to Bosi, a major Brazilian literary and cultural critic.
The United States are, have been, and will be a multilingual country, whether or not it has an “official” language. //
EEUU son, han sido, y serán país plurilingüe, teniendo o no lengua “oficial.”
EEUU son, han sido, y serán país plurilingüe, teniendo o no lengua “oficial.”
February 28, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The United States are, have been, and will be a multilingual country, whether or not it has an “official” language. //
EEUU son, han sido, y serán país plurilingüe, teniendo o no lengua “oficial.”
EEUU son, han sido, y serán país plurilingüe, teniendo o no lengua “oficial.”
Compiling a list of non-current books that uncannily help explain the current political moment. I nominate Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent.” Share your picks and thoughts in the comments.
#booksky
#booksky
February 28, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Compiling a list of non-current books that uncannily help explain the current political moment. I nominate Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent.” Share your picks and thoughts in the comments.
#booksky
#booksky
Reposted by Robert Patrick Newcomb
'An Interview with Cristina Martins' by Robert Newcomb on the Mirandese language. Fascinating! Both Robert Newcomb and Cristina Martins were keynote speakers at the 44th ACIS Conference in Porto back in 2023 🗣 ➡️ escholarship.org/content/qt93...
escholarship.org
February 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
'An Interview with Cristina Martins' by Robert Newcomb on the Mirandese language. Fascinating! Both Robert Newcomb and Cristina Martins were keynote speakers at the 44th ACIS Conference in Porto back in 2023 🗣 ➡️ escholarship.org/content/qt93...
Your periodic reminder to listen to Kate Bush.
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love - Official Music Video
YouTube video by KateBushMusic
m.youtube.com
February 20, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Your periodic reminder to listen to Kate Bush.
Really enjoying Ava Mendoza’s “The Circular Train”: dazzling solo guitar and occasional vocals. Sounds like it belongs on a Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. Thanks to KDVS for yet another recommendation.
Pink River Dolphins
YouTube video by Ava Mendoza - Topic
m.youtube.com
February 12, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Really enjoying Ava Mendoza’s “The Circular Train”: dazzling solo guitar and occasional vocals. Sounds like it belongs on a Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. Thanks to KDVS for yet another recommendation.
What Camus’s “The Plague” was for the early Covid years, Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent” should be for our current moment. It has domestic extremism, political bad actors, a diffuse fear of foreigners, gaslighting, and a tenacious desire to get at the truth. Read it.
#booksky
#booksky
February 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM
What Camus’s “The Plague” was for the early Covid years, Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent” should be for our current moment. It has domestic extremism, political bad actors, a diffuse fear of foreigners, gaslighting, and a tenacious desire to get at the truth. Read it.
#booksky
#booksky