David Bowles @DavidOBowles Twitter profile

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David Bowles

3 months

Woot! So happy to share that THE PRINCE & THE COYOTE has won a Pura Belpré YA Author Honor! Congrats to the other winners, especially gold medalists @AriTison and Pedro Martín.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

In Spanish, when someone has the same name as you, they're your "tocayo" or "tocaya." I've loved the word since childhood. I minored in Spanish (for BA & MA); the consensus among my professors as to its origin was the same. In Roman marriages, a bride would say a phrase: 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Arabic is tightly wound up within Spanish, more so than most people know. For 781 years, from 711 to 1492, all or large parts of modern Spain were under Arabic, Muslim rule. Iberian Romance languages were spoken alongside Andalusi Arabic. Every few days, I'll share a word. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

2 years

Duolingo has the fictional language High Valyrian, but not Nahuatl (spoke by 1.5 million people).

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

6 years

I often read this question: "Why is Mexico spelled 'México' in Spanish, especially if in Nahuatl Mēxihco was pronounced [me: SHIʔ ko]? What's up with that 'x'?" The answers given are usually partially right or totally wrong. Guess what? I'm going to explain it to you. 1/???

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

I’ll let you in on a secret. I have a doctorate in education, but the field’s basically just a 100 years old. We don’t really know what we’re doing. Our scholarly understanding of how learning happens is like astronomy 2000 years ago. Most classroom practice is astrology.

Oona Marie Abrams

@oonziela

4 years

Here's something I am wondering... as a parent... Why are there so many tests happening during remote learning? Aren't there other ways to assess at this point that would be more logically aligned with the type of learning environment students are in?

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

My wife has 3 pet names for me: Güero, Amor, & PENDEJO. I'd say the last is her favorite, given how often she uses it. 🤣 If you don't speak Spanish, you may not get the joke. “Pendejo” has a few meanings, but the most common? “Dumb-ass.” Want to know its origin? Okay! 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

As a result of the "güero" thread, several of you have asked me to explain where the word "gringo" came from. It's actually really simple (IMO), but first we have to dispel some folk etymologies and learn a couple of linguistic processes by which words evolve. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

"Why do people keep writing 'Latinx'? And yikes, how do you pronounce it?" Alright, deep breath. It's the 10th & final edition of my Mexican X series for 2018 (& for 7 Reed ... the Mesoamerican calendar aligns with ours this year). MEXICAN X PART X: WHAT THE HEX A LATINX? 1/?

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

A year and a half ago, I created an online Basic Classical Nahuatl course. Thirteen, self-paced modules with narrated slides and exercises. I'm now giving everyone free access to the course. As you shelter in place, study a vital indigenous language.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Güeros mexicanos, ahí les van unos pasos a seguir. 1) Admite que existe el racismo en tu país y que te beneficia. 2) Entiende que no te puedes deshacer de o renunciar al privilegio blanco. No lo habrás pedido, pero lo tienes. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Nobody with a shitty, reactionary, regressive take on the classics in the classroom today ... ... actually knows a GODDAMN THING about literacy or the point to English instruction in public schools. Hint, dumbasses: it's NOT to churn out English majors. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

"Hey, so were there gay, trans, non-binary, or otherwise queer folx in pre-Colombian Mesoamerica, especially in the Aztec Empire?" Okay, here we go. MEXICAN X PART XII: JUST WHAT DID XOCHIHUAH "POSSESS"? 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Spanish is not a foreign language, pinche @ABC .

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

2 years

Apropos of nothing (ahem), I'd like to remind everyone that the vast majority of Mexican Americans do indeed have *significant* Indigenous heritage. Some of us actually know *which* Indigenous nation our ancestors were from; others have a vaguer notion; many had that erased. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Once again, for the fools who didn't listen the first time: "Latinx" was coined by queer Latinx folks. You don't get to dismiss it as coming from academia or white people. It's valid and important, even if you don't like it, even if the majority of Latinx people don't accept it.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

THERE IS NOTHING INHERENTLY IMPORTANT ABOUT YOUR GODDAMN FAVORITE CLASSICS. Have you read THE TALE OF GENJI? JOURNEY TO THE WEST? POPOL VUH? RAMAYANA? NO? Then please shut the fuck up. You know a tiny fucking SLIVER of the world's literature, ignorant assholes. 5/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

7 months

I often get asked, "Weren't the Aztecs bloodthirsty people who engaged in massive human sacrifice?" No. Let me explain. Most Aztecs—the name we use for the Nahua peoples ruled by the Triple Alliance of Anahuac—had little connection to human sacrifice. They were farmers. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Earlier today my wife and my daughter were speaking to each other in Spanish. Wife: No, güey, así no se hace. Daughter: Ya sé, güey. Espérame tantito. My home has reached MAXIMUM GÜEY. How did this happen? What, you may ask, does that word even mean? Let's see. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

THAT is why modern education is a failure. Its basic premise is monstrous. "Why should I learn to read, Dr. Bowles?" Because reading is magical. It makes life worth living. And being able to read, you can decode the strategies of your oppressors & stop them w/ their own words

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

:sees that "Jesus Is the Son of God" is trending, wonders whether "Quetzalcoatl Is an Unfolding of the Dual God Ometeotl" would be as viral:

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

In fact, studies have shown repeatedly that forcing kids to read work well outside their zone of proximal development, books that have no relevance to children's lives, actually HAMPERS their literacy. It raises their affective filter, turning them AGAINST reading & writing. 3/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Hey, "Science" Channel ... WTF? There are millions of Maya living in Mexico and Central America. THEY. NEVER. VANISHED. Quit attempting cultural erasure and promoting genocidal messages, you irresponsible fools.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Eva Longoria: "What made me really upset was when the publisher said, 'We had to cancel the book tour because of safety concerns,' which made my community look like we're crazy people going to cause trouble. We're not." 1/2 #DignidadLiteraria

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

You disgusting worms, I can read in TWELVE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES. I have a MA in English and a doctorate in Education... ... and EVEN I think that the "classics" are shit for modern kids. You're not on my level, trust me. So take a MOTHERFUCKING SEAT & leave my people alone. 6/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

The last and most disgusting reality? The thing I hear in classroom after freaking classroom? Education is all about capitalism. "You need to learn these skills to get a good job." To be a good laborer. To help the wealthy generate more wealth, while you get scraps.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

REPORT: Barnes & Noble canceled tonight's panel. the books were not on display, but they will be behind the cash wrap at 6 p.m. Had a great conversation in the store with Sanyu Dillon, who oversees corporate marketing at Penguin Random House. She gave me more backstory. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

PPS. tl;dr version—Literally NO ONE is saying people SHOULD NOT read the classics. We're saying that they shouldn't be forced on modern young people in the classroom. There's no data demonstrating the instructional soundness of that approach, and lots that shows it's harmful.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

We teach English to foster reading & writing in young people's lives, to guide them to mastery of skills they really need, to instill in them a love for and ability to use written language that will last them a lifetime. We don't need the old books y'all fools love for that. 2/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

My Uncle Dan Garza just called to tell me-- My dad has died. But I can't ... I can't mourn him. I haven't seen him since I was 16. Almost 34 years. He left one morning, before dawn, supposedly on a business trip to Florida. But that was a lie. He abandoned us. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Do you want kids to learn? Here's something we've discovered. Kids learn things that matter to them, either because the knowledge and skills are "cool," or because ... ... they give the kids tools to liberate themselves and their communities. Maintaining the status quo? Nope.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Things we (scholars) DO know: -Homework doesn't really help, especially younger kids. -Students don't learn a thing from testing. Most teachers don't either (it's supposed to help them tweak instruction, but that rarely happens). -Spending too much time on weak subjects HURTS.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

I don't know which white people need to hear this, but the US has never been a white nation, despite the best efforts of white people down the centuries. First, it was founded by murdering and displacing the indigenous inhabitants of the continent. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Your supercilious, privileged, frankly RACIST tirades against middle-grade and young-adult literature come from a place of DEEP IGNORANCE about the books that have been written over the past 30 years by writers that could MOP THE FUCKING FLOOR with your out-dated asses. 7/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

I'm always dumbfounded at how monolingual speakers or English can say "bedroom" but insist on pronouncing "Pedro" as "PAY-drow." The "e" is the same in both words, folks.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Especially when you propose we force the canon on children from oppressed, under-represented groups. They need literacy, not to conform to your egregiously backwards notions of literary quality, BUT TO LIBERATE THEMSELVES FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU!!! Written language is a tool. 10/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

So curl up with the books you love & let us help young people discover the ones THEY love. They won't be the same titles, I'm afraid. Millions of books exist. We're not sticking to the few dozen you've declared holy writ. Our kids deserve more. They deserve freedom. 12/12

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Many Chicanas & Mexicanas I admire have begun calling themselves "Xingonas," a tweak of the Mexican Spanish word "chingona." To me, this "reclaiming" is awesome. Others are offended by the root word, "chingar." Why? Let's investigate! Mexican X Part XIV: Xigonx Power 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

This is especially true for children from communities of color, where different dialects of English or different languages may be the principal means of communicating. Literature that isn't even written in the PRESENT-DAY VERNACULAR / TARGET DIALECT consigns them to failure. 4/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

The teachers you're attacking? Fools, they KNOW PEDAGOGY. They understand that their job is to TEACH KIDS TO READ, deeply and critically, and then to set those kids free in the world to dive into the books THEY choose, not what your simple-minded adherence to custom dictates. 8/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

1 year

Without getting in to just how much #DiaDeMuertos or #DayoftheDead in Mexico is Indigenous or syncretic, I wanted to share some basic (mostly linguistic) information about similarly-named holidays among the Mexica ("Aztecs") and other Nahuas before the Spanish invasion. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Kids are acutely aware of injustice and by nature rebellious against the systems of authority that keep autonomy away from them. If you're perpetuating those systems, teachers, you've already freaking lost. They won't be learning much from you. Except what not to become.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

CONTENT WARNING: translated Nahuatl vulgarity will abound in this thread. When I was a kid, my tíos, abuelos & Dad used to warn me about screech / barn owls. "Witches in disguise," they said. "Looking to steal kids." Among the many ways to escape them? Bad words. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

PS. Penguin Random House has announced it'll donate up to $10,000 to the Hurston Wright Foundation, which works to develop, discover, & support black authors. PRH says it'll give a dollar every time people tweet the hashtag #BlackStoriesHavePower So ... start tweeting!

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Raza, do NOT be like this pinche pendejo in McAllen (a few minutes from my house, my parents' hometown). RGV protestors, be safe. There are evil people out there.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

For what? It's all smoke and mirrors. All the carefully crafted objectives, units and exams. WE. DON'T. KNOW. HOW. PEOPLE. LEARN. We barely understand the physical mechanisms behind MEMORY. But we DO know kids aren't empty piggy banks. They are BRIMMING with thought.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Fuck you, Republicans. A $500 billion slush fund, without oversight, so Trump can shovel money to his rich friends? And a measly $1200 for the rest of us? You're playing with fire, you rich, racist pieces of shit.

Marty Golingan

@mgolingan1

4 years

#VirusVote : Senate fails to advance phase 3 #coronavirus stimulus bill 47-47, after Democrats opposed Big business bailout money, with limited relief for working families. After vote @senatemajldr blasts @SpeakerPelosi for blowing up deal last minute

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

"Ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia" ("where you are Gaius, I'm Gaia," i.e., we now share a name). The groom would repeat the phrase, inverted. That "tu Gaius," professors assured me, evolved into "tucayu" and then "tocayo." But it seems they were mistaken. The word is Nahuatl. 2/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

So in 1971, Michael Moorcock said of John W. Campbell: "The man was an out-and-out fascist. I mean, he was a straightforward, old-fashioned American fascist, you know, pre-war fascist as it were, in that he believed that blacks should be re-enslaved. This is the truth." 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Reconciliation and healing? Nope. First we need a sort of Truth and Reconciliation Commission that takes a look at the past four years ... and then the past 150. Restorative justice for oppressed communities of color, especially Indigenous and Black folks. Then we'll see.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

In the next few days, throughout Mexico, the US Southwest, & beyond, the orange-gold shimmer of marigolds will help us honor the dead. In Mexican Spanish, we call this flower cempasúchil. The name, as you might suspect, comes from Nahuatl. Shall we? Come. Take my hand. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

YOU want your own children to read the classics? Buy those books for them. Read them with them, like you do whatever scripture you hold dear. Ain't nobody stopping you, friends. But this pearl-clutching and browbeating? It needs to stop. You look petty, cruel, small. 9/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

People have asked me where the Mexican Spanish word "güero" comes from. I hope you're in the mood for some etymology! We have to go far back in time, to the Celtic languages that once dominated Western Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

1 year

I respect and sympathize with those who find the AI "art" boom horrifying, especially artists—already undervalued—who perceive a potentially slippery slope looming. But I'd like to add my own two cents, arguing that the threat to real art is a lot less than it may appear. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

As you know, I love Nahuatl. Translate it, teach it, write original work in it. What you probably didn't know is that the huge influence that language had all over what is now Mexico & Central American is not just due to the expansion of the "Aztec Empire." Spain did it. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Happy #InternationalNonbinaryDay to all my wonderful non-binary friends, followers & readers! A reminder that language does not HAVE to embrace oppressive gendering. Languages around the world, including many Indigenous ones in the Americas, don't. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

A two-fer today in honor of @GustavoArellano Loco. From Classical Arabic "lawqāʔ" through Andalusi Arabic "láwqa," feminine of "alwáq" or "stupid." In other words, "loca" was first adopted into Spanish, then the masculine "loco" was derived from it. Patriarchy, anyone? 3/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Just like tomate aguacate chocolate tamal etc. It filled a void that needed filling. And the world's a slightly more satisfying place as a result. 11/11

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Because several people have asked, I'll remind you all that I have a self-paced, online course in basic Classical Nahuatl available for anyone interested in learning.

Basic Classical Nahuatl 101

An intensive, on-line course on the basics of the Aztec language. Entry level. No previous knowledge required.

nahuatl.thinkific.com

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

PS. Thanks for all the kind words. I love you all. BTW, this will seem strange, but I'm very thankful for the government safety net, such as it is. It wasn't FUN to live in Section 8 housing & receive food stamps, but we wouldn't have survived otherwise. Welfare MATTERS.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Before the late 19th century, no human society had ever attempted to formally educate the entire populace. It was either aristocracy, meritocracy, or a blend. And always male. We’re still smack-dab in the middle of the largest experiment on children ever done.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

A tool we wield to carve our happiness out of the crude stuff of reality. to stave off the darkness of existential despair to fight against those who would snuff out our spark, our essential dignity & humanity to assert our right to EXIST in the face of fools like you. 11/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Harsh writing advice #1 . You won't ever be successful if you don't figure out how to sit your ass down and write. A lot.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

There is no record of the word "tocayo" in Spanish before 1700. If it had evolved from "tu Gaius," we'd see it developing in multiple texts from Medieval to modern dialects. Its use would be greatest in Spain. None of that is true. Its use is greatest in Mexico. It spread. 10/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

PS. The trolls replying to this thread (especially the tweet with my credentials) with a variation on "shut up, nerd" are not doing their side any good. "Shut up, nerd! We'll keep forcing classics on children." What an absurd string of words. JFC.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

What’s worse, the key strategies we’ve discovered, driven by cognitive science & child psychology, are quite regularly dismissed by pencil-pushing, test-driven administrators. Much like Trump ignores science, the majority of principals & superintendents I’ve known flout research.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

I am proudly antiracist, antifascist, anti-Trump. Come arrest my ass, Barr. Te reto, pendejo.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Quick moment of personal celebration. Four years ago, at age 46, I left a 20-year career in public K-12 education to accept a position at @utrgv . It's now official. On September 1st, I will be awarded tenure. Sweet!

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

From time to time, I come across a meme or smirking tweet that claims the following: "Avocado comes from the Aztecs' word for testicle." :lewd snicker: And I'm like, "WTF? No, güey, absolutely not. Gah." A Mexican X-plainer thread: "Balls, Nuts, Jewels, Eggs and Avocados" 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Step one in slowing climate change? Stop. Electing. Fascist. Right-wing. Capitalist. Assholes.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

1) Queer Latinx folks invented the word "Latinx," not white people. 2) The majority's opinion isn't automatically RIGHT or JUST. 20 years ago, most Latinx folks opposed marriage equality for LGBTQ individuals & thought too many immigrants lived in the US. That's flipped now.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

CDC: Social distancing. Stay at home. Me: Okay, time to write! My wife, Angélica: Voy a instalar un pinche aire acondicionado en el loft que le construí a m'ija. Me: 😯🤯

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

It's been a week since Roberto, Myriam, Matt & I sat down across the table from Macmillan execs & got them to agree to increase Latinx rep. Lots of strategy went into the negotiations. Each of us brought a unique sets of skills to bear. My job was presenting the proposal. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Sure, you can wear them down. That's what happened to most of you, isn't it? You saw the hideous flaw in the world and wanted to heal it. But year after numbing year, they made you learn their dogma by rote. And now many of you are breaking the souls of children, too.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

In Classical Nahuatl, the word for "name" (and reputation) is "tōcāitl," pronounced "toh KAH itl," with the first and second vowels held longer than the last. In its possessed form, it drops that last syllable: notōcā - my name motōcā - your name ītōcā - his/her/its name 3/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

There's so much bad-ass beauty in Mexican Spanish. I've written about some of it in "Mexican X-plainer" threads & Medium articles. One of my favorite things about my dialect is an odd construction emphasizing (irritating) repetition. I call it the "chingue y chingue" form. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Look, like other folks living outside the state of Mexico, I was surprised to learn that "quesadilla" doesn't necessarily mean "a folded tortilla full of cheese" in Mexico City, but just "a folded tortilla with ... like ... anything inside." Surprised, but not scandalized. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Mexicanas/Chicanas: " #AmericanDirt is harmful, misappropriating trauma porn." Me: "Listen to my hermanas, y'all. This book is bad on so many levels." White Women: "You evil man! How dare you attack a woman with your patriarchal nonsense!" Me: ... 😶 #dignidadliteraria

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Quit questioning Kamala's identity. Her father was a Black man. She identifies as a Black woman. Period. I'm so done with ethnic/racial purists. My mom's a white non-Latina. My dad was a Mexican American. I identify as Mexican American, & nobody has the right to contradict me.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Okay, gente. IF and ONLY IF you are Latinx/a/o and are FINE with the term "Latinx," reply to this tweet saying so (something like "I use Latinx"). Share widely. I'm trying to prove to, uh, certain raza out there that it's not just "White SJWs" imposing this term on us.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Since I've gotten my official notice of termination, I feel safe sharing (though details are still covered by an NDA) the secret I hinted at last year: I translated the scripts for the Amazon / Amblin miniseries about Cortés and Moctezuma into Classical Nahuatl and Spanish.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Yes, I’ve had to lock my account. People are coming after me, hard, and I need a break. See you in a few days, folks.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

BTW, I spent a decade learning Nahuatl and doing all the research necessary to craft FEATHERED SERPENT, DARK HEART OF SKY (which retranslates, adapts, and interweaves essential Mesoamerican sacred stories). We asked Sandra to blurb. She declined.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Thread about Latinx authors without Spanish surnames. Yesterday, someone posted to FB a photo of me on a #stbf18 panel w/ two other authors (neither Latinx). Someone commented, "Why no Latinx?" I replied, "I'm Mexican American." So I'd like to take a moment to explore this. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

A white man says that of Campbell, and no one bats an eye. But Ng makes the same observation NOW, at this time of rising fascism, and SFF fanboys lose their shit attacking her. Sounds ... pretty fucking racist to me. 3/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Check out my opinion piece in the online New York Times: "‘American Dirt’ Is Proof the Publishing Industry Is Broken"

Opinion | ‘American Dirt’ Is Proof the Publishing Industry Is Broken (Published 2020)

The clumsy high-profile rollout of the polarizing novel points to a larger issue concerning how new books are promoted.

www.nytimes.com

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

If you come to the US Southwest / Northern Mexico, you'll hear a certain word quite a bit, especially if kids are around: HUERCO (also spelled güerco). It means "kid" (with a slight nuance of "brat," to my ear). But where did it come from? A special Mexican X Explainer. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

Spanish has some 1,000 Arabic roots and about 3,000 derived words, so nearly 4,000 total, 8% of the language, the largest influence on Spanish lexicon (not counting Latin). Before the "Reconquista," that percentage was much higher. Swahili has around 2,300 by comparison. 4/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

Hands-down, MY MISTER is one of the best TV shows I have ever seen. No hyperbole. I bawled my eyes out during every episode, yet felt healed & uplifted. But I wish there were a 2nd season (uncommon for K-dramas, I know). I'd like to see the friendship that evolves grow. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

NAHUATL WORD OF THE WEEK: Tlahcuilōlpīquini - false writer. A compound of "tlahcuilōlli" (writings) and "pīquini" (one who forges, falsifies, pretends, dissembles). "In tlahcuilōlpīquini mocuiltōnoa." The false writer is enjoying her riches.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Dear non-Latinx folks in the US (mostly y'all, White people): Hey, heads-up. You may be making things harder on the Latinx community by how you've been using Latinx, Latino, Latina, Latinos. Let me break it down for you so that you don't deploy those terms the wrong way. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

My thread for White Mexicans is doing well. Here's something similar in English. White Latinx, follow these steps. 1) Admit that racism exists & that it benefits you. 2) Understand that you can't reject / renounce white privilege. You didn't ask for it, but you have it. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

5 years

I'm going to break your hearts & teach you Nahuatl at the same time. Each Friday, I'll tweet a line of one of the most poignant speeches ever given, the final words of Cuauhtemoc, last king of Tenochtitlan. He spoke them on August 12, 1521. The city fell the next day. 1/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

@YalitzaAparicio @oprahsbookclub Yalitza, No caigas en la trampa. El libro es grotesco, una distorsión completa de la situación en México, lleno de estereotipos y personajes inverosímiles, escrito por alguien que no sabe nada de nuestra cultura. Va destinado a gente que disfruta de leer sobre el dolor ajeno.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

I'd like to point out that in Classical Nahuatl, "Schadenfreude" is "telchitl." Sometimes the same word DOES exist in another language, y'all. Just sayin'.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

"It was [S. Nazario's] Enrique's Journey, [O. Martínez's] The Beast—many Latino authors have written this story! Oprah didn't pick them." "I will not read the book. The gatekeepers of the industries do not reflect the people and the consumers that they serve." Chingona. 3/3

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

3 years

In my Mexican American / Latinx family, there are brown folks, sure, but also Black and white / güerx relatives. Equating "Brown" with Latinx is a bad idea. It's erroneous and erasing.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

I turn 50 today! I'm celebrating by doing school visits as part of @texasbookfest 's Reading Rock Stars program, followed by a reception at UTRGV for #FESTIBA and a dinner with my fellow authors. Fifty feels great, btw. I'm the happiest and most fulfilled I've ever been.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

Most teachers perpetuate the “banking” model (Freire) used on them by their teachers, who likewise inherited it from theirs, etc. Thus the elite “Lyceum” style of instruction continues even though it’s ineffectual with most kids.

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

4 years

If you add a POSSESSIVE prefix, look what happens: notōcāyoh - my name possesser Person who has my name. The same one as me. tinotōcāyoh - eres mi tocayo - you are my namesake nimotōcāyoh - soy tu tocayo - I am your namesake Pretty cool, huh? 7/

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David Bowles

@DavidOBowles

6 years

I've received many variations on this question: "Shouldn't 'chocolate' be 'xocolate'? What happened to that 'X'?" The short answer is NO. There was never an "x." Don't feel bad. I was once fooled, too. Here we go. MEXICAN X, PART III: DUDE, WHERE’S THE XOCOLATE? 1/?

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