Gary Totten

Vice Provost Faculty Affairs, U of Nevada, Las Vegas • Editor-in-Chief, MELUS • late 19th- & 20th-C US literature • all views my own • be kind • he/him

[Joe Biden @JoeBiden]

Let us honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by choosing love and light over division and hate; carry his dream forward and keep marching toward a more perfect union.

[BMB Empower Network @Bmbempower]

18 years ago: "On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama stood in the holding room beneath the U.S. Capitol, moments away from taking the oath of office as America's 44th President—a transition of power that would draw an estimated 1.8 million people to the National Mall in freezing temperatures, making it the largest attendance of any event in Washington D.C. history. In those final private minutes, Obama carried the weight of 143 years since the end of slavery, 44 years since the Voting Rights Act, and the hopes of millions who never thought they'd witness this moment in their lifetimes. The temperature hovered around 28 degrees Fahrenheit that morning, but nothing could chill the electricity in the air as Chief Justice John Roberts waited to administer the oath that would make history tangible. Obama, who had served just four years in the Senate before his improbable rise, was about to place his hand on the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used at his 1861 inauguration—a deliberate choice connecting two presidents who would define their eras through crisis and transformation. Pete Souza, his official photographer, captured these intimate pre-inauguration moments that revealed the quiet contemplation behind the public spectacle, showing us a man gathering himself before stepping onto the world stage. That day, people across the globe paused their lives to watch democracy's promise expand in real time, proving that the arc of history, though long, truly does bend when courage meets opportunity. The oath Obama would take wasn't just words—it was a declaration that in America, the impossible becomes inevitable when we dare to believe it. #InaugurationDay #HistoricMoment #PresidentialHistory #AmericanDemocracy #BarackObama

[TerryTempestWilliams @TempestWilliams]

The Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026 https://t.co/RDQkDZd3xD via @NYTimes Honored to have “The Glorians” in such good company. @groveatlantic

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

https://t.co/rqnI3an4Hs

If you're at MLA 2026, check out Session 407 on the Rhetoric of Academic Leadership or Session 538 on Journal Special Issues.

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

Coming January 22! Academic friends, please consider suggesting this to your library if you're able.
https://t.co/nrXTTxIwab

[Rafael Walker @raf_walk]

My book, Realism after the Individual: Women, Desire, and the Modern American Novel, is now out with @UChicagoPress! Use discount code UCPNEW for 30% off. I'm so excited! 🥳
https://t.co/5CtWwPua02

[Kevin Brooks @kab13]

Good read.

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

Race in the Multiethnic Literature Classroom has won the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Book Award for an edited collection. Thanks to my coeditor Cristina Stanciu, our wonderful contributors, and the University of Illinois Press for supporting and promoting the book!

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

@KeeneJarret @huntershea1 Scary... 🤡

[Jarret Keene @KeeneJarret]

I’m the 38th Annual Nevada Writers Hall of Fame inductee! I owe it all to the Silver State’s supportive arts and literary communities. Thank you all. https://t.co/QfMobccfJX

[Wu Tang is for the Children @WUTangKids]

George Stephanopoulos cuts off JD Vance mid sentence 🤣🔥

[W. W. Norton & Company @wwnorton]

Congratulations to @murmurshewrote! HOW TO FALL IN LOVE IN A TIME OF UNNAMEABLE DISASTER is the winner of the 2025 Lammy Award for Bisexual Fiction!
https://t.co/PI17TuRWsL

[SchomburgCenter @SchomburgCenter]

#HHM: Explore our Miscellaneous Afro-Latin American Collection. Spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, it’s is a mix of official, private, and family papers from places such as Cuba, Mexico & Peru. #SchomburgCenter #LHM #HispanicHeritageMonth
https://t.co/kJwuzD72nD

[Made In Canada @MadelnCanada]

I can’t wait to physically have a Terry Fox $5 bill in my hands

[Emir Han @RealEmirHan]

This scene of ‘TRUE DETECTIVE’ is a single, uninterrupted take.

There are no hidden cuts or edits.

They filmed 7 times. Hundreds of crew member worked in sync—stuntmen, extras, even hidden makeup artists who had seconds to work while camera looked away https://t.co/0uDck1Tdxk

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

Read Joseph Miranda's 2025 Katharine Newman Award essay for best MELUS article: Hiding in John Rechy’s Closet https://t.co/owWj9jlr4L

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

https://t.co/p5y7FE8TDd

[Gary Totten @gary_totten]

https://t.co/AxJv3JNDGw

[Oxford Journals @OxfordJournals]

What should historians do when our sources do not tell us what we want to know?

Submit your research to @AmHistReview's upcoming special issue, exploring methodological approaches to archival silence. Submission deadline: September 16, 2025: https://t.co/UrAy6SIfSF