Luis Leal: An Auto/Biography

Chapter Three: Mississippi and Emory

Chapter Three Mississippi and Emory Leal (left) with colleague William Strickland, Oxford, Mississippi, 1955. Oxford, Mississippi MG: Don Luis, after you finished your Ph.D., did you apply for teaching positions elsewhere? LL: I taught one more year at Chicago, but during this time I also looked for a new position because I couldn’t stay at the University of Chicago. I attended the MLA [Modern Language Association] in 1951, which was in Detroit that year, to see about other positions. I unexpectedly met up with Professor Arthur Campa, who was at the University of Denver. I had read some of his studies on popular culture in New Mexico and admired his work. Were you introduced to him? No. I introduced myself. As a matter of fact, I asked him if he had an opening in his department. But he said, ‘‘We don’t have anything now, but give me your address and I’ll write to you if we do.’’ So you knew of Campa’s work? Yes, because I was interested in folklore and Campa had written extensively on this subject. I also had read the work of Professor Aurelio Espinosa from New Mexico. Both were pioneers in studying the cuento popular—the folk stories of Hispanic New Mexico. Did you ever meet Espinosa? No, but I later met his son, J. Manuel Espinosa, who is also an important folklorist. What was your reaction to Espinosa’s and Campa’s work? Their work was very similar. They both were interested in folk tales, folk poetry, folk theater. You know that I have one chapter on Campa in my book Mexican Americans .1 One of the things that struck me about Campa was that he had a critical perspective on the folk culture of New Mexico. Specifically, he Leal (back, standing) with Jaime Torres Bodet (on extreme left), Secretary of UNESCO. Chicago Westside Committee, Hull House, Chicago, 1952. questioned the ‘‘authentic’’ Spanish culture in New Mexico. He saw more of the Mexican influence because he found similar examples of folk tales and folk songs not only in New Mexico but in northern Mexico as well. He recognized the connection between Mexican and New Mexican cultures. You’re right. In Espinosa you can also see that he recognizes that not all of New Mexican folk culture comes directly from Spain. But Espinosa has not been studied very much, especially by Chicano scholars, because he is seen as stressing too much the Spanish connection. Yes. What I also found interesting about Campa’s work was his emphasis on popular culture. It is this emphasis that the Chicano cultural movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s would also stress: the culture of the people—la cultura de la gente. So, Don Luis, when you went to the MLA in Detroit, you were interviewed by the University of Mississippi? No, I didn’t have an interview at the MLA. What happened was I had this friend, Jean Autrei, who was from France and who was also a student at Chicago. He was writing his thesis on the influence of artists on Proust. He attended a meeting someplace and met the chair of the Romance languages department at the University of Mississippi, a Professor Harrison. Autrei recommended me to Harrison, who wrote to me asking if I might be interested in going to Mississippi. As a result, I went for an interview in Oxford, where the university is located. They right there offered me a position with tenure! Associate professor right away! They did this because I already had publications. So I accepted and agreed to start in the fall of 1952. Did you know any of the faculty there? No. They were all Anglos. No one there was from Spain or Latin America. Was the offer from Mississippi the only one you had? I actually had two offers. The other one was from Emory University in Atlanta. But by the time I got the offer from Emory, I already had accepted at Mississippi. I told Emory that I had signed with Mississippi, but if they were willing to wait a couple of years I would go to Emory. Of course, Mississippi was offering me tenure, while Emory was not. But Emory agreed to be patient and to see if I would later accept their offer. How did Gladys feel about moving to Mississippi? She didn’t like...