Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain

Awarded the MLA's Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione prize for a translation of a literary work (December 2024)

The prize committee's citation:"In the three Spanish comedias included in Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain, which appear together and in English for the first time, the seemingly rigid social hierarchies that form the setting of so many comedias are put to the test when three talented Black men break through the racial barriers. Michael Kidd's selection of plays will appeal to students of literature, history, cultural studies, and the African diaspora. The plays themselves are framed between a highly informative preface and introduction and an extensive annotated glossary of people and places. However, it is the accessibility, fluidity, and vibrancy of language that make this volume an excellent choice for all readers to experience and enjoy in English the same kind of wordplay that was integral to the Spanish comedia of the early modern period."

From the back cover: Remarkable products of a nation deeply implicated in the Atlantic slave trade, the seventeenth-century Spanish plays Juan Latino, The Brave Black Soldier, and Virtues Overcome Appearances appear together in English for the first time in this volume. The three protagonists not only defy the period's color-based prejudices but smash through its ultimate social barrier: marriage into the white nobility. Michael Kidd's fluid translations and extensive critical introduction, bibliography, and glossary are enhanced by Hackett's title support webpage. Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain is essential reading for students of theater history, Spanish literature, and the African diaspora.

"Kidd’s book on Black protagonists in early 17th century Spain is a remarkable introduction to a little-known world of drama that explores the racial realities of a society of Christians, Muslims, and Africans. His three specimen plays include the slave Juan Latino, a Black scholar, whose learning earns him a noble white wife and a university chair. Juan de Merida is The Brave Black Soldier who captures Prince William of Orange, thus ending the war in Flanders. He is a free man and wins his woman. Filipo, the accidental prince of Virtues Overcome Appearances, is an aberration, the result of coitus during which his father, Lisandro, imagines the Ethiopian Queen Saba. Filipo, the Black prince, is immured until he frees himself and proves his worth by his virtue. The play ends with his becoming the king and acting like an absolute monarch. Kidd’s scholarly commentary is illuminating and his analyses are a great aid in understanding the complexities of the racial content of the plays. I found this an extraordinary eye-opening read that will be exciting to use in a classroom."
—Lee A. Jacobus, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Connecticut
"As someone with a background and interest in Early Modern Spanish literature but who is not a part of a language department, I was thrilled to see this book. Its contribution to diverse literary histories and the language and complex pasts of black representation are clear. The very existence of this book expands the possibilities of teaching, learning, and study."
—Margo Kolenda-Mason, Hendrix College

Michael Kidd is Professor of Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies, Augsburg University. His other translations include Caldern de la Barca's Life's a Dream (bilingual edition 2011 Aris & Phillips) and Garca Lorca,Four Key Plays(2019, Hackett).

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