Why UNLV?
Both the department and the administration were very open and welcoming, and the opportunity to be a part of the Tier One effort was very attractive.
What about UNLV strikes you as different from other places you have worked?
There is an independent spirit at UNLV that is very attractive and refreshing.
Where did you grow up and what was that like?
In New Jersey, in a family of 7 children, and a house full of books.
What inspired you to get into your field?
Good professors, who loved what they did and taught me why they loved it.
How many languages do you speak?
English and Spanish easily and well, Italian minimally, and Latin for translation — no speaking with this last!
Where did you teach before coming to UNLV?
Yale University (2008-16), State University of New York at Oneonta (2006-08), Fordham University (2004-06)
Tell us about your area of research.
I focus on the literature of the early modern period in Spain, also called the Renaissance and Baroque periods. I like to look at how ideas are represented in, and changed by, creative letters.
Is there a particular work that you would recommend to someone who hasn't read any Spanish literature before?
Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote — overwhelmingly voted the No. 1 must-read by 100 of the world's top authors in 2002. Don Quijote gained 50 percent more votes than any other, eclipsing Shakespeare, Kafka, Homer, Tolstoy, and many more.
Comment on the trend of many high schools and colleges to no longer require the study of a foreign language.
I think it is a mistake. Students, who are more in contact with a broader base of friends and acquaintances due to technological advances, want to become proficient in languages. They are the vanguard that will probably reverse the sorry trend of not requiring such study as a norm.
Finish this sentence, If I couldn’t work in my current field, I would like to…
I like a lot of other things, but nothing else has the pull that Spanish literature has for me. I have worked in other fields but this one turned out to be the right one. If I couldn’t do it, I would find a way to do it nonetheless.
What has been your proudest moment?
I don’t think that there is just one. Every time I submit a work for publication, participate in a conference, offer an opinion, or defend my thinking in a conversation about work, I take pride in the intellectual exercise. It’s the act, more than the result.
Tell us about a time in your life when you have been daring?
I have always been daring: physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Frankly, I can't imagine how boring it would be to not dare. Life is too short for timid.
Tell us about an object in your office that has significance for you and why.
Just about everything, kind of like the pieces of a puzzle: each piece is a memory of an earlier moment, and all of those comprise my present.
Pastimes or hobbies?
I really like to walk. Apart from that and my work, spending time with my husband is my great joy.
