Professor Ato Quayson’s weekly YouTube series, Critic.Reading.Writing, is back!

The Stanford University Professor of English launched the series in 2020. It became a weekly favorite of literature lovers. After a recent hiatus, Quayson returns with a fresh lineup of three episodes that explore themes of magical realism, inter-species relationships, and myth-making. He examining how classic works invite us to consider worlds beyond the everyday.

The first episode centers on Amos Tutuola’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Quayson looks at the Yoruba concept of the bush as a mysterious domain of transformation and trials, where the boundaries between human and spirit blur in unexpected ways. This “inter-species ontology,” as Quayson calls it, pushes readers to rethink notions of identity and the natural world.

The last two episodes focus on the magical realist classic One Hundred Years of Solitude. Quayson talks about how the town in the story Macondo, is alive with both myth and history. In the town, people levitate and beauty is otherworldly; yet, these events are just part of daily life. Quayson explains how Márquez’s use of magical realism weaves together the real and the fantastic to tell a story rooted in Latin American history, from Colombia’s civil conflicts to La Violencia. Through the symbolic lineage of the Buendía family and struggle with solitude, memory, and identity, Quayson shows how fantastical elements in stories can mirror the complexities of human existence.

There are so many insights in these episodes for people who love mythology, fantasy, the uncanny, and the otherworldly. The series is an invitation to see what is powerful in stories. And Quayson, a professor of literature, brings so much excitement, knowledge, and joy to the exploration of literature.

For those who do not know, Critic.Reading.Writing with Ato Quayson is the show for booklovers hankering for meaningful conversations about books.

Join Prof. Quayson each week on his YouTube series Critic.Reading.Writing!. In the mean time, check out the recent videos.

New episodes of Critic.Reading.Writing with Ato Quayson will be posted every Friday.

In order not to miss out on any updates, follow Prof. Quayson on Instagram @critic.reading.writing  and subscribe to the channel on YouTube!