Tayari's Blog: I've been blogging around

Comment #1, by sherri

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'm one of those readers that deliberately seek out books by Black authors in addition to all the other books that I read. (Note: I'm not completely happy with the direction that 'contemporary Black fiction' has taken but that is another story.)

I can understand how shelving a book in the Black section of a bookstore can limit readership. I've found a number of great books in with 'mainstream books': The Fall of Rome, The Untelling, Free, Resurrecting Mingus... I don't think any of these books had ethnic covers either.

But I also think having a section or identifying books is beneficial. I think young people identify when they see people that look like them. As a kid, thinking that because I loved to read, I would naturally become a writer, I was obsessed with Maya Angelou. Mind you, her books were not for kids, but my Mom had a copy of "I Know Why..." and her photo was on the back. To me, she looked like my aunt. And I thought my aunt was great!! She was a nurse, and single, and wore heels & cool suits. She had an apartment in SanJose with a lavender Lava Lamp and a pool. I'm telling you, my aunt was cooler than Julia (Diahan Carrol)! I wasn't cool as a kid, I was bookish, bordering on 'nerdish'. None of the other books that I was reading had authors that looked like me. Judy Blume and Nacy Drew - no. Seeing Maya Angelou on the back of those books, made me feel like I could be an author too. She looked by my favorite aunt, and so... like me.

In my high school, there was 1 Black teacher. Ms Chaney taught English and my senior year she taught a minority writers elective the last semester. So I (and almost every other Black and Latino student in the senior class) took the class and was introduced to soooo many new books and authors. I found out that we had more authors than just Alice Walker and Maya Angelou! And Phylis Wheatley wasn't the only person of color writing prior to 1960. And we wrote more than slave narratives. We wrote fiction! and poetry! and satire! and sci-fi! So I feel in love with these new(to me) authors.

**Geeze, I've written to much and I'm not sure that I've made a real point. Maybe I should take this to my own blog**

I'd like to think that things have changed and that students are exposed to books that are inclusive. That they can no longer be educated in "collge prep" programs, without being exposed to diversity. That we know that Black/Brown people do read and write too!!

But I'm not sure that we've gotten there and I know that most communities aren't lucky enough to have great Black bookstoes like Marcus and EsoWon. I want to be able to purchase books by Black authors so that I can support them in their craft. So, where does that leave us?

Comment #2, by Anquinetta

Here's a suggestion . . . shelve books by non-white authors twice. Once in the "mainstream" section and once in the "specialized" section. It's funny, the Borders here separates by ethnicity but B & N and Books-A-Million don't. When I'm looking for something specific I don't mind that it's all jumbled together because I know what I'm looking for. BUT, when I'm browsing in search of something to read, I appreciate the categories a little more because then if I want to read fiction exploring a specific culture I have a starting point and I don't have to have a specific author in mind.

Honestly, it's a catch-22 and the only answer is to shelve them twice.

~Q

Comment #3, by Ladylee

I agree with Sherri in that I am not sure how I feel about this... Personally, I buy a lot of black lit, and if I go to a place like Borders, I want to go right in and get what I want, without having to look too hard for it. (Funny, I haven't ran across a Barnes&Noble here in Atlanta that groups all AA books together, so I don't go there--takes too long to find what I'm looking for).

But I find that some of my favorite black sci-fi and horror authors are NOT found in the black book section... They are stocked under their specific categories, which I think is a good thing...

I do not go to the black book section to peruse books. I know what I'm looking for, I get it, and then I'm gone...Right now, I'm not the biggest fan of the black book section, because it looks as if HALF of that section is erotica and bootleg urban fiction (stories of pimps, drug dealers, strippers, etc.), and I don't like sifting through that stuff to find meaningful black lit....

I like what you did, Tayari... You marketed yourself well, and got good crossover. That's what is key...

Comment #4, by Sarah

Hello. Interesting question. I have a lot-hate relationship with multiculturalism in general. I'm a full believe in "giving a voice to the voiceless," but at the same time, that approach does sometimes alienate and at the same time, typecast people (as LadyLee points out with pimps, drug dealers, etc.).
If you would have asked me the same question ten years ago I would have immediately known that the answer was to have a Black lit section. In fact, one of my favorite authors I've run into in recent years is Zadie Smith. Black and British. However, I would not have found myself necessarily browsing the Black or (if there was one) British section of a book store. (I'm all for sections, but not being black, I find myself a more general browswer). I was introduced to her through a book club pick. Financially, it's probably not feasible for many bookstores to stock a title in more than one section, but yes, definately ideal.

I heard a special on NRP a few months ago. They had four authors representing Asian, Black, Native Indian, Hispanic perspectives. The Hispanic author Richard Rodriquez pointed out how when he does readings he has noticed that the Hispanics line up to see the Hispanic authors, the African-Americans, to see African-American authors, the Lesbians line up to hear the Lesbian writers read, etc.

What troubles me about this scenario is that people from these various groups need to be creating a dialogue with each other not simply within each "group." (I'm thinking more of issues, and cultural understanding that a good story here; a good story is a good story).

Of course everybody has circles they feel comfortable in be it by race, religion, family, sense of fashion, taste in music, etc. And that's important, but I have big hopes for the arts, like literature, to keep a dialogue open.

I'm working through this...This is a topic that keeps me up at night.

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