Carlo Rotella Carlo Rotella is director of American Studies at Boston College. Sign up for our newsletter Subscribe to get our newsletter, for the latest reviews, essays and interviews delivered straight to your inbox! Advertisement Writing on Public Books Reviews B-Sides: Charles Portis’s “Gringos” Faithful readers of Charles Portis tend to be rabidly in love with his writing, but a little mystified by its potency. Like a retired Crown Vic Interceptor acquired …