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My post last week about Project Hieroglyph and People of Color (PoC) is one more nail in the coffin (okay, maybe just a tiny tack) of privileged publishing of speculative lit exclusion of U..S. minorities. [Spec = sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, horror, fables]. Members of Hieroglyph decided to answer in detail the questions I posed. I did mean to stir the waters, but not for my individual benefit. For the purpose of helping break down the cement ceilings in U.S. publishing, cracking under their own exclusivity. I'll post their response when it comes in. Or join Hieroglyph and add to their discussion.
PoC seem to be a hot topic, especially in spec lit. Rumors circulate about an East Coast anthology written by diverse authors. Also, the 2015 Spokan, Washington, WorldCon is named Sasquan, which should open up possibilities to Native American writers. Since the 2013 WorldCon in San Antonio included a dozen "Spanish" workshops, Sasquan would do well to build on its progressive moves to attract a more diversified attendance, especially from the black and latino writers concentrated in Calif.
However, it's not simply that dark people are trendy. Opening the U.S. publishing doors to PoC would definitely inject perspectives and worldviews into genres that some, like Hieroglyph, believe have become overly pessimistic, gloom-and-doom, robbing spec lit of vitality, instead of portraying futures of many possibilities, and Hope. YA lit is not the only genre thirsting for that.
As a former student and instructor of Clarion West describes it: "I am all for utopian visions of the future. We ARE the future. As children and grandchildren of immigrants and those who have worked the land, survived great hardships, and learned not to rely on the dominant society, Latinos are ideally positioned to inherit the earth, deal with cultures that differ greatly from our own, and take innovative approaches to high tech, low tech, and all the little techs in between. - Kathleen Alcalá
What she expressed about Latinos, applies as well to other PoC. We should not just see what develops. We should move to develop it. Join in where and as you can and bring along your bro's or amigos, including the progressive white ones. Here's Ernesto Hogan's take: "This all keeps giving me flashbacks to the beginning of my career thirty years ago. You should let Hieroglyph know there are a number of diversity-oriented movements (postcolonialism, Afrofuturism, Latinonautica . . .) going on right now, in fact it seems to be the coming thing. The new generation, no matter of what ethnic group or where they live, sees technology as part of their natural environment, rather than a tool the oppressors are using to keep them down. And our Cultura tends to be anti-dystopian, pleasure-generating--we've won themover with our music, food and art in the past and present; this will continue. Maybe we can not only save science fiction from it's own stereotypes, but literature from being a means of expressing clinical depression. I better stop before I this becomes a silly manifesto."
I didn't think any of this was "silly."
Diverse stories wanted for Weird Western Antho
Another example of PoC-generated activity in the spec lit world came from a lively Facebook discussion this week. Cynthia Ward began with, "I would be curious to see a Weird Western anthology that didn't feature mostly white male writers." Over 130 posts later, she initiated a possibly breakthrough anthology. So, if you're not in it for the money, consider sending, or writing, your Weird Western short story, soon. Yeah, Cynthia's white, but knows it. That won't satisfy Sherman Alexie, but she has at least one story in Indian SF.
What's Weird Western? - A literary sub-genre that combines elements of the Western with another literary genre, usually horror, occult, or fantasy. Steampunk has been added, SF could maybe get in.
Cynthia explains, "I want to put out this anthology with Native American contributors. Mexican, Chicano, Nuevo Mexicano, Californio, and other Latino/Latina/Hispanic perspectives are not only wanted, but necessary. I'm defining multi-cultural inclusively, not that a story featuring nothing but straight white cis-gender men is going to get in. I hope the anthology will prove worthy of the interest it has generated and hope it proves worthy of interest, attention, and excitement."
Initial guidelines: diverse authors/characters/viewpoints/perspectives [not the usual straight, white, able-bodied cis cowboys/ranchers/pioneers/etc]; approx 1k - 10k words; reprints preferred; pays $5/story + royalties; published by WolfSinger Publications. One story submission at a time, in DOC or RTF; time period(s) should be 1600s CE-1910s CE, although earlier time periods will be considered.
Setting(s) should be primarily in the US/Territories west of the Mississippi, northern Mexico, and/or in western Canada). E-mail for questions and submissions.
Cynthia Ward on her credentials for editing a multi-ethnic antho: "I'm a straight white/Anglo cis woman, which may be an element some writers will weigh when considering whether to submit a story. Also, I'm OK with people sharing considerations I should bear in mind as editor, given my various privileged statuses and the fact that, although I was born in Oklahoma and lived in the West for nearly all my adult life (since 1983), I'm not a life-long resident."
As author of this post, I'll say that until we have many PoC editors with the publishing resources and connections, Anglo editors progressive enough to publish us will be an avenue we might want to take advantage of. I'm going to attempt that.
If you have questions, you can contact Cynthia at marketDoTmavenDoTsubscriptionsATgmail.com or check her lit credentials.
Rushdie on Márquez
Speaking of PoC having unique perspectives, you'll probably enjoy Salman Rushdie's piece on Gabriel García Márquez, Magic in Service of Truth, where he re-examines magical realism. Two excerpts, but the entire piece is enlightening.
"In the Macondo of Gabriel García Márquez, imagination is used to enrich reality, not to escape from it."
"No writer in the world has had a comparable impact in the last half-century. [Márquez] was the greatest of us all."
 |
| Naia - one scientist discovers her male whiteness |
BUT, white-male-dominated perspectives continue, with one scientist
A 12,000-year-old female skeleton found in Yucatan (that's in dark-peopled Mexico, scientists) was named Naia, but in describing HER, one scientist said SHE, a Native American, resembled the actor Patrick Stewart, a white male, who's not even indio or mexicano. Really?
Es todo, hoy,
Guess what... Today is my first guest post ever! You can find me over at The OWL as a part of the March of Middle Grade. Hope you come say hi!image from here
I am on a mission. A mission to review everything I read this year. Well... all of the YA and MG that I read. (I'm sorry Sandra Boynton, Moo Baa La La La will not be seen here, even though we just read it 11 times this week.) But I've run into a little snag. And that snag is a sudden pile-up of books that I just don't especially care for. I hate writing negative reviews, but I also don't want to stop my review streak, so these are just going to be minis!
The Storm in the Barnby Matt PhelanI picked this one up because
a) I'm trying to read more graphic novels and
b) Matt Phelan was judging the first battle of the
BoB and so I just felt like giving one of his books a go. Set in Kansas during the Dust Bowl, a young boy is feeling somewhat useless in the midst of his family's troubles. But then he discovers the storm in the barn, and a storm is just what his dust-filled world needs. I know that this is a graphic novel, so it's told in large part through pictures. But... I needed more words. It felt overly simplistic to me. And the personified storm was so creepy looking - that fantasy element felt out of place in the very realistic world of the Dust Bowl.
Glory Beby Augusta ScattergoodI had heard good things about
Glory Be, and planned to feature it in an upcoming MG guest post. But as I read this story about a little girl whose summer is turned upside-down over an influx of white "Freedom Workers" and the town council's efforts to fight integration, I was struck by the total lack of African American characters (with the one exception of Glory's maid). Glory was a tough little cookie, but her story would have had so much more oomph if she actually knew and interacted with some of the people who she was trying to stand up for. And maybe that's just what was realistic for a girl like Glory at that time, but it seemed like African Americans should have a voice in a story about racism and segregation. Emma
(Glory's maid) was a good character, but we still very rarely got to hear her inner voice. It bugged me. The story felt incomplete.
The Way a Door Closesby Hope Anita SmithI'm on a
NIV kick right now, and had heard
fantastic things about this one. It is the story of a boy whose father loses his job and walks out on his family. Even though I knew that was coming, it was pretty shocking because the father seemed so close to his wife, children, and mother who lives with them. At one point the grandmother
Good Fortune by Noni Carter, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010, 496 pp, ISBN: 1416984801
Recap:Ayanna was taken from her home, from her mother, in Africa when she was only four years old. Good Fortune traces her life's journey from the slave ship, through years on a southern plantation, and then across the country in her search for freedom.
Review:I initially picked up Good Fortune because I read a synopsis and it sounded so much like one of my favorites: Copper Sun by Sharon Draper. Plus, that cover is just gorgeous.
After reading all 496 pages... I think I'd just as soon have re-read Copper Sun. Yes, Ayanna (who becomes Sarah who becomes Anna) is a protagonist to admire. She is strong, courageous, and wants to be educated more than almost anything in the world. She is the embodiment of perseverance. Her story even has a little romance which, in my opinion, makes any good book better.
But I just couldn't help thinking that her story had already been told. There were many passages that just seemed redundant, and there wasn't a single surprise over the course of Anna's journey. In all fairness, the last few pages could have been a great surprise, but I felt like author Noni Carter had left plenty of foreshadowing hints along the way.
I do think that Noni Carter's journey toward publication was pretty phenomenal! She started writing pieces of what would become Good Fortune when she was only 12-years-old. She sold the manuscript to Simon and Schuster at BEA 2008, and they published it in 2010. Ms. Carter is only 19-years-old! That is just flat out amazing. While Good Fortune may not be my new favorite book, I do think we will see great things from Noni Carter in the years to come.
Recommendation:Good Fortune will appeal to readers who really enjoy historical fiction. That being said, I would eagerly recommend Copper Sun by Sharon Draper, 47 by Walter Mosley, or Numbering All the Bones by Ann Rinaldi to readers who are looking for a truly engrossing story about slavery. 47 is actually just as much science fiction as it is historical fiction; how's that for a twist?
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By:
Katie DeKoster,
on 2/29/2012
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29 days ago, I challenged myself to read only books written by or about people of color. This challenge was partly inspired by Black History Month, and partly due to a realization that since leaving my classroom in Baltimore, I had pretty much stopped looking for books that reflected the faces of "my" students.
I can almost guarantee that I would not have read most of these books without taking on this challenge, and boy-oh-boy would I have been missing out! In an effort to summarize this month of reading, here are a few awards and a few "similar interest groups" for quick reference.
Favorite YA Read of the Month: Tie between
Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis and
Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena
(these two couldn't be more different, but I'll remember them both for a long, long time)Favorite MG Read of the Month:
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
(love, love, love this book)Favorite New-to-Me Author: Ashley Hope Perez - I thoroughly enjoyed
What Can't Wait and am eagerly awaiting
The Knife and the Butterfly. I can't help but feel a TFA bond with Ms. Perez and I'm so thankful that teachers like her exist!
Favorite Blast from the Past:
American Girl - Cecile's New Orleans seriesFavorite Illustrations:
Heart and Soul - The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson
(Abigail Halpin is pretty fabulous too, but Kadir Nelson's paintings were just breathtaking)
Favorite Book that Brad Pitt Should Turn into a Movie: Now is the Time for Running by Michael Williams
Novels in Verse:
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Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes
-
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
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Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Lately I've noticed lots of complaining about the plethora of covers featuring girls in fancy-schmancy dresses. And yes, those covers do get old after a while.
(Except the dress on the cover of The Selection - that dress is so Carrie Bradshaw, I will never get tired of it!) But are the girls in pretty dresses really the problem?
This month I was really reminded of something that I used to be much more cognizant of:
all of the faces, on almost all of the covers, are... well... white.
When I took on my February
personal challenge to read only books written by or about people of color, I had a pretty short reading list. I knew I wanted to read
Mare's War and
The Mighty Miss Malone, but after that... ? Building up my reading list for this month took a little research. I scoured blogs like
Reading in Color,
Fledgling, and
The Brown Bookshelf for suggestions. While I did find some absolute
treasures, it really is shocking how few books are published each year by/about people of color. And that deficit is pretty darn obvious if you just scan the covers in the YA section at your local bookstore.
I think there are several reasons for the lack of "color" on YA covers. First, there just aren't a ton of books being published featuring non-white main characters. Second, sometimes the books that
are published "hide" the ethnicity of their main characters. Take Marie Lu's
Legend. This book is
outstanding - one of my favorites so far this year. But looking at the cover, you would never know that June's
dominant ethnicity is Native American. I wonder how (or if?) a cover reflecting that face would have affected the public's perception of
Legend?
So what's your take, book lovers? Do you really notice race or ethnicity when you're scanning book covers? Does that factor really even matter when choosing a new book? And why do you think so many of our YA covers are so
pale?
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2012, 224 pp, ISBN: 0385741286
Recap:Sonia is half Indian and half Jewish, but that has never really seemed to matter. At Community, all of the kids in her class are unique, and their teacher - Jack - makes a point of teaching them about all different cultures. But Sonia won't be going to Community any more. Her dad has lost his job, and she will be starting 6th grade at the public middle school.
At her new school, everything is different. Her skin is too dark for some kids, and too light for others. She dresses all wrong, brings the wrong food for lunch, and can't even make the cheerleading team - even though she's definitely better than some of the girls on the squad. On top of all of that, her father is becoming seriously depressed since he still hasn't found a new job. But when Sonia starts hanging out with Kate, it seems like everything is going to change for the better.
Review:The Whole Story of Half a Girl is 100% wonderful. I mean seriously, completely wonderful. This is Veera Hiranandani's first novel, and she needs to write another pretty much immediately.
This is the second middle grade novel featuring an Indian main character that I've read this week, and I hope that Indian culture is slowly becoming more of a trend in MG/YA lit. That being said, I would have loved to have gotten more details about what makes Indian culture unique and different. Sonia has to tell a kid at her new school that her father doesn't wear a turbin, or a feathered headdress for that matter, but other than a brief mention of a family trip to Bombay and a beautiful Indian dress, she really doesn't elaborate on that part of her background. Sonia is also half Jewish, although her mom makes a point of saying that Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity, so she can't actually be "half" Jewish. As Sonia's mother isn't particularly religious, Sonia herself has received little exposure to Jewish customs, so readers hoping for a mini-lesson on Judaism may be disappointed.
Now I know I'm starting to sound a little negative, but remember what I said: 100% wonderful. Every character is written so realistically, it wouldn't be surprising if Sonia's story turned out to be nonfiction. This could be partially due to the fact that the main character is partly based on Hiranandani's own experiences growing up half Indian, half Jewish
The Grand Plan to Fix Everything by Una Krishnaswami, Illustrated by Abigail Halpin, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011, 272 pp, ISBN: 1416995897
Recap:Eleven-year-old Dini and her best friend Maddie are in love. They are in love with Dolly Singh, the most beautiful and talented actress/singer/dancer in all of Bollywood. But they have been picking up on signs - signs that only a true fan would notice! - that Dolly is in some kind of trouble. When Dini's family suddenly moves to India, she knows this is her chance to find Dolly and fix everything. The only problem is, she'll be leaving Maddie behind...
Review:Doesn't this book just look adorable? I love the fact that the protagonist is Indian-American and that much of the story takes place in India. That is certainly a country we don't get to see much of in MG or YA literature. And the introduction to Bollywood, complete with song lyrics and descriptions of big dance numbers, was a welcome break from more typical tween obsessions.
Dini and Maddie's friendship was very sweet, and I can envision two little girls giggling over this book together in real life. In fact, it could be a perfect "going away" present for a friend who has to move - proof in print that distance doesn't end friendships!
And I need to mention that the illustrations throughout are just as charming as the cover. I think Abigail Halpin just might be my new favorite artist. Check out
this interview with both Halpin and author Uma Krishnaswami for more images and details on the creation of
The Grand Plan to Fix Everything.
But... something about this story just didn't sit right with me. The third person narration was a small factor in that I never truly connected with Dini. It was also a little too convenient that Dolly just so happened to be living in the same remote, rural village that Dini had moved to.
*Don't worry: That's not really a spoiler. Dini figures it out the day that she moves.* In fact, all the way through the book, the narrator makes it seem like Dini is having such a hard time "fixing everything" for Dolly, when really everything just kept
(very unrealistically) falling into place.
Drawing from Memory by Allen Say, Scholastic Press, 2011, 72 pp, ISBN: 0545176867
Recap:Allen Say uses photographs, cartoons, paintings, and of course, words to illustrate an autobiographical look at his early years as an artist.
Review:When was the last time you met a twelve-year-old who lived on his own in an apartment in a huge city? Probably never, right? Well that was real life for Allen Say.
Say had always known that he loved to draw, even when it was to the detriment of his school work and strongly discouraged by his own father. But when his grandmother told him that he could live alone in his own apartment if he got into a prestigious middle school, he suddenly got a lot more interested in studying. Once he was living on his own, Say tracked down the famous Japanese cartoonist - Noro Shinpei - and asked him to be his sensei, or mentor. Shinpei agreed, and forever changed the course of Say's life.
It was fascinating to read about an life that was so completely foreign from my own experiences. Independent from his parents, he spent the vast majority of his time with Shinpei, other teachers, or other art students. He was committed - heart and soul - to developing his craft, willing to spend whole months on a single sheet of paper, learning to draw with charcoal.
Not surprising when you consider the fact that Say is an artist, the illustrations are critical in reading and understanding his story. In fact, Drawing From Memory reads almost more like a scrapbook than anything else, with a collage of photographs, archived cartoons, and "drawings from memory" filling in the gaps left by the words.
I picked up Drawing From Memory only because it was a contender in this year's Battle of the Books. While I was presently surprised by how engaging it was, I have to admit I'll be surprised if it makes it out of Round 1 of the BoB. It just seems a little too simple. Then again, I've yet to read its opponent - The Grand Plan to Fix Everything - so who knows? *Update! I recently finished TGPtFE and wasn't a huge fan... In fact, I think Drawing from Memory now has my vote for this round!
2 Comments on Drawing From Memory, last added: 2/25/2012
Pull by B.A. Binns, WestSide Books, 2010, 310 pp, ISBN: 1934813435
Recap:After his father shoots and kills his mother, it's up to David to keep his family together. Determined to reinvent himself at his new school, David changes his last name and works to keep a lower profile. But even the best of intentions aren't enough to hide who a person really is inside. And for better or for worse, keeping a low profile just isn't in the cards for someone like David.But as David stands out more and more - battling with Malik, aggravating the principal, dazzling on the basketball court, and winning the attention of the tempestuous Yolanda - will he continue being able to protect his family? Or is he only pushing them away?
Review:Yes, Pull fits pretty perfectly in my February personal reading challenge, but I also picked it up because the boy on the cover looks exactly like one of my former students. The resemblance is just incredible. He's only in 7th grade now, but once he hits high school, I am recommending this book! Once he gets over his reflection on the cover, he is going to love David's story.
I was shocked to learn that author B.A. Binns was a woman. She has 100% nailed the voice of a teenage boy. Check out this article from Ms. Binns on how she learned to "write like a boy."In fact, she wrote so convincingly, that sometimes I actually wished we could hear less of David's thoughts. For example, do I really need to hear a detailed description of the...effect...Yolanda has on him every time that she comes close? No, I do not. But that (frequent) over-sharing is my only David-complaint. His voice was aggressive, strong, and at turns both arrogant and achingly guilt-ridden - depending on the topic of his thoughts. Just when he got a little too cocky, Binns would show David hard at work at his night job - a construction site - or give us a tender scene with David and his sisters and I would be back on his side again.
The general premise of David's story revolves around his mother's shooting, his and his siblings' guilt over not being able to stop it, and David's efforts to start over. While threads of that tragedy run throughout the entire novel, it gradually becomes much more about David's relationship with a girl named Yolanda and her boyfriend, Malik. It still turns my stomach a little just to write Malik's name down. He was a true villan - literally using and abusing any girl who would let him, and they
all let him. That aspect of the plot was a sad, sad comme
The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle, Henry Holt and Co, 2010, 160 pp, ISBN: 0805090827
Recap:Fredricka Bremer - Swedish suffragette, novelist, and humanitarian - traveled to Cuba in the hope of discovering a modern-day Eden. Instead, she found an island of contrasts: sparkling, tropical waters carrying boats full of children in chains; lush, vibrant landscapes that Cuban women were not free to explore, or even learn about.
Together with Cecelia, the slave girl who was her interpreter, and Elena, her wealthy host's daughter, Fredrika tells the tale of the Cuba that she experienced - both the ugly and the beautiful.
Review:Novel in verse: yay! Multiple narrators: double yay! These are two of my favorite writing techniques, and I believe that they elevated this extremely short story into something more like art.
The Firefly Letters is a sleek little novel - I think it only took me about a half hour to read cover to cover - but the themes that it tackles are huge: slavery, gender roles, education, and classism. Whew. Real life suffragette Fredricka Bremer traveled to Cuba in 1851. Author Margarita Engle was able to use Bremer's letters, sketches, and diary entries from that time period in order to write The Firefly Letters. Bremer was shocked and dismayed to find that slaves, some as young as eight-years-old, populated much of the island. On top of that, she protested against the limited rights and educational opportunities that were afforded to free Cuban women and girls. In The Firefly Letters, the other two narrators - Cecelia and Elena, are both confused and delighted by Bremer's "radical" ideas concerning freedom and women's rights.
For me, Elena never became a very "real" character. Instead, she seemed more like a generic representative of all girls born into privilege on the island. And maybe that was because she was a product of Engle's imagination, while Cecelia was actually based on a real person - a young slave girl who Bremer described in her diary. Cecelia was clearly extremely intelligent; she could speak multiple languages and because of her skill as a translator, she was one of the most valuable slaves on the plantation. I imagine that her interactions with Bremer had a life-changing effect, and I hope that her baby was able to grow up as a free person.For all of the weight behind this novel's history, it is truly a simply told story. It could easily be used in a classroom as part of a study o
The American Girl 1853 series: Cecile and Marie Grace by Denise Lewis Patrick and Sarah Masters Buckey, American Girl, 2011
Recap:Cecile Rey is one of the "gens de couleur libres" or "free people of color" living in New Orleans in 1853. Together, she and her friend, Marie Grace, experience all that the diverse, busy city has to offer: Mardi Gras parades and costume balls, outdoor French markets, helping to fight a yellow fever epidemic, volunteering at a local orphanage, and performing at a city-wide benefit for the orphaned children.
Review:Happy Mardi Gras, book lovers! In honor of the holiday, today I'm featuring a series set in New Orleans, and the first two books take place during Mardi Gras!
I was first inspired to cover this American Girl series after seeing a feature on author Denise Lewis Patrick on The Brown Bookshelf. I'd never given a thought to the authors behind my beloved American Girl books, and reading the story of how Patrick was asked to author the Cecile series piqued my interest. The Cecile series is unique from that of the other American Girls because she shares her books with a girl named Marie Grace. I read "Meet Marie Grace" and then all of the Cecile books in the series, and it's very clear that the two authors plotted the stories out together. Between the two "Meet ____" books, some lines were actually word-for-word the same. I'm really not sure why they chose to have two main characters this time. If any of you know, please fill me in!
Cecile's story is notable because, unlike so many black characters in historial fiction - including
10 Comments on American Girl: Cecile's New Orleans Series, last added: 2/21/2012
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by 
Headed over there right now! :)
Hi Katie, I just followed you over here from The O.W.L. :)
Awesome! SO on my way :)
Welcome Linda! I hope you find something you like on Book Love :)
Yay! Thanks :)
It's a great post!! I'm glad to see increasing focus on books featuring people of color.
Thanks, Juju :)
Thank you, Sarah!! Lately I've started following several blogs that focus on more books with characters of color, and it has really opened my eyes. I think I had been a little blind to just how whitewashed YA lit really is.
On my way (and congratulations, that's so cool!)
Ha - thanks :) Really, she put out a request for guest posters for March, and I just asked if I could do one! It was fun planning something for a different blog :)
Hey, I just got a novel in verse called The Good Braider from NetGalley (do you use that? You should!) It's about a Sudanese girl and it sounds like it would be a good one for your Feb 2013 POC Challenge...if you are the type to stockpile reviews (I am totally participating next year)!