[SciFiNoir Lit] Bernice McFadden: Black wriers in a ghetto of the publishing industry's making
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062504125_pf.html Black writers in a ghetto of the publishing industry's making By Bernice L. McFadden Saturday, June 26, 2010; A15 Kathryn Stockett's novel The Help, published by a Penguin Books imprint, sold 1 million books within a year of publication. Her novel has gained accolades and awards, including the prestigious South African Boeke Prize. The Help is being adapted for the screen; at the helm of production is the Academy Award-winning director and producer Steven Spielberg. Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling novel The Secret Life of Bees, also published by Penguin Books, is another story set in the South with African American characters. Kidd's novel garnered similar fame, fortune and recognition. Kathryn Stockett and Sue Monk Kidd are living the dream of thousands of authors, myself included. But they are not the first white women to pen stories of the black American South and be lauded for their efforts. In 1928, Julia Peterkin wrote a novel, Scarlet Sister Mary, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. Stockett's and Kidd's novels tackle racism and celebrate the power of friendship and acceptance. Both novels were given beautiful covers that did not reveal the race of the characters. Both books were marketed to black and white audiences. My debut novel, Sugar, was also published by a Penguin imprint. Set in the 1950s South, the story line deals with racism and celebrates the power of friendship and acceptance. The original cover depicted a beautiful black woman standing behind a screen door. Sugar was marketed solely to African American readers. This type of marginalization has come to be known among African American writers as seg-book-gation. This practice is not only demeaning but also financially crippling. When I looked into why works by African American writers were packaged and marketed so differently than those by their white counterparts, I did not have to search far for my answer. Literature about the oppressed written by the oppressor has a long tradition. The trend can be traced all the way to colonialism -- a movement that was not only physical but textual, the evidence of which can be found in the diaries, letters and journals of colonists, settlers and plantation slave owners. Representation of African Americans by white people in texts records a history of inferiority. Based on these perceptions, African Americans have endured slavery, genocide, medical apartheid and segregation. This inferiority is a tool fundamental to ethnic distancing in society. Today, this tool is used with great precision in the mainstream publishing industry. While, yes, the distancing may not be total -- meaning a few select African American authors have crossed over into the mainstream -- the work of many African Americans authors, myself included, has been lumped into one heap known as African American literature. This suggests that our literature is singular and anomalous, not universal. It is as if we American authors who happen to be of African descent are not a people but a genre much like mystery, romance or thriller. Walk through your local chain bookstore and you will not see sections tagged British Literature, White American Literature, Korean Literature, Pakistani Literature and so on. None of these ethnicities are singled out or objectified the way African American writers are. And while, yes, a vast majority of all writers, regardless of skin color, are struggling to stay afloat, and there are more African American writers being published today than at any other time in history, one must still take note of exactly what is being published. Mainstream publishing houses contort themselves to acquire books that glorify wanton sex, drugs and crime. This fiction, known as street-lit or hip-hop fiction, most often reinforces the stereotypical trademarks African Americans have fought hard to overcome. And while we are all the descendants of those great literary pioneers who first gave a voice to the African American experience, and one certainly could not exist without the other, somewhere down the line the balance was thrown off and the scales tipped in favor of a genre that glorifies street life and denigrates a cultural institution that took hundreds of years to construct. This year is arguably the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance. It is also the 50th anniversary of the death of Zora Neale Hurston, one of the most iconic figures of the Renaissance. In 1950 Hurston addressed this very problem in her essay What White Publishers Won't Print, which was published in the Negro Digest. For various reasons, the average, struggling, non-morbid Negro is the best-kept secret in America. His revelation to the public is the thing needed to do away with that feeling of difference which inspires fear, and which ever expresses itself in
[SciFiNoir Lit] OT: And Now, A Little Love Injection from GOD!
How do you like the 60's? What you are seeing now was about 10 times worsewar, uncertainty and a racist outrage every day that left you feeling angry and helpless (and that you often took out on other Negroes, not Tha Man) Why do you think folks was rebelling. S*** was going DOWN! I know I make my name and claim to fame by being raucous and controversialbut the other day when I saw the photo of Venus Williams with her butt out I realized this is really getting to Negroes. It is very important for you to breathe. To exhale. You go around madall the time and it will kill you. GET MAD! Then chill. And while you are chillin' think of how you are going to GET EVEN. But til then UNLAX! Listen to some soothing music. Read some soothing literature. Visit some soothing websites. Herewith: Some FLORIDA BEACHCAMS http://www.floridalink.com/webcam/beach.htm
Re: [SciFiNoir Lit] Stephen Hawking---a space alien himself?
(Anyone recommend any NEW novels here? I haven't read anything I would recommend since Accelerando by Charles Stross and Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I tend to do the classics--I will check out Manhattan Transfer.) BTW -- Have you ever read Manhattan Transfer by John E. Stith. I purchased it a few days ago when a friend told me my novel reminded him of that book. I'll get crackin on it in a week or so. Any novels you would recommend? ---
[SciFiNoir Lit] Stephen Hawking---a space alien himself?
Maybe Hawking doesn't want us to contact any MORE aliens because h is in fact the advance party of an invasion of some other space aliens. Think about it. This guy knows an awful lot about space and time though he has never been there. He has to sit in a wheelchair (possibly because his alien muscles cannot adapt to our gravity?) He must use a computer to speak to us (possibly because his alien physionomy is incapable of reproducing human speech!) I know he is supposed to be suffering from a degenerative illness. Michael Jackson was supposed to have vitiligo (and what about Sammy Sosa?) Has anyone spoken to his doctor or seen his medical records?
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: The Hollywood Journey continues...
Iron Man 2 snaps, crackles and pops with the ebullient insouciance that made 1 such an unexpected delight (You explain this first! Ebullient insouciance? Don Heck is spinning in his grave) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: Explain this to me like I am a six year-old. What do these two factoids mean? ~rave? ---
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: I concur, Mr. Hawking
(Then nothing for Hawking to be scared of, eh?) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Tim stellbr...@... wrote: Maybe the came, they saw and they left because they didn't like what they saw. Maybe we are so ass backward when compared to other civilizations that they think we're a lost cause, Tim - Visit me at: www.stellyhumantrial.com or http://www.myspace.com/pittwit
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: I concur, Mr. Hawking
In fact, if these aliens have anything on the ball, they already know we're here. Consider these things: Heavily settled areas of earth are lit up like a Xmas tree at night, to say nothing of Interstate highways. If they approach from the dark side of earth they're sure to see it. There have been radio transmissions for one hundred years. These too can be detected and heard from space. Atomic power and nuclear test explosions. They have set off blast light that has continued on out into the ether. Unless he is advocating we bury everything under ground, use only fiber optic cables for all communications and don't move around at night, they have spotted us. In which case it might be wise to try to contact them. If hostile, they would know we suspect they are there. If friendly, they might be convinced that we are not just apes with technology, but reasoning beings that accept the possibility of intelligent life in the Universe besides ours and the need to get along with it. Unless they just barge onto the planet, they are sure to scout it out with probes or scouts.
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: I concur, Mr. Hawking
(Yes, I believe that was the plot of The Andromeda Strain. Could be, again, though I wonder if something that can live or lay dormat in the cold vaccuum of space would suddenly awake and start conquering the world--always conquering the world. Suppose it came back and provided a cure for cancer or a source of infinite energy? I think its worth taking a chance-- On the other hand, I think that humans in space is a waste and exploration could be done by robots--but mostly for economic reasons. --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Tim stellbr...@... wrote: Interesting point that alien life might not be carbon based, etc. These trips to space could result in something hitching a ride back (assuming it won't burn up on re-entry) and we're completely unknowing. Yes, I believe there's something out there, and it is fun to speculate (and write) about. Tim - Visit me at: www.stellyhumantrial.com or http://www.myspace.com/pittwit Human Trial is still available from amazon.com and allthingsthatmatterpress.com. Paperback $18.99, e-book (kindle) format, $10.99. Read the Brian Barbeito review of HUMAN TRIAL at: http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/09apr/article008.html. Read more online reviews at amazon.com and http://www.bookfinder4u.com/customer_reviews.bfu?isbn=0982272200 Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol. -- Steve Martin COMING SOON: HUMAN TRIAL II: ADAM'S WAR --- On Tue, 4/27/10, Uncle Ruckus belsidus2...@... wrote: From: Uncle Ruckus belsidus2...@... Subject: [SciFiNoir Lit] Re: I concur, Mr. Hawking To: SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 8:37 AM Â I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach. (And this guy is supposed to be a genius! All he can imagine about extraterrestial life is that they might be something like Plan 9 from Outer Space Suppose extra terrestial life is not carbon based or oxygen breathing or travels without use of ships? Suppose all our riches are valueless to them--that they are energy or gas beings?) Then Mr. Hawking, the great Humanitarian (oh, the sunlight just shines out his arse) says this) ---If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans--- (But then follows it up with this) ---Sooner or later disasters such as an asteroid collision or a nuclear war could wipe us all out, he told Britain's Royal Society in a 2006 speech. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.--- (In other words, it would be allright for us to trash this planet and then go out to the stars and trash more but nobody else--odd, isn't that what he thinks the world conquering aliens might do? This guy has seen Independence Day too many times!) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: I concur, Mr. Hawking
I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach. (And this guy is supposed to be a genius! All he can imagine about extraterrestial life is that they might be something like Plan 9 from Outer Space Suppose extra terrestial life is not carbon based or oxygen breathing or travels without use of ships? Suppose all our riches are valueless to them--that they are energy or gas beings?) Then Mr. Hawking, the great Humanitarian (oh, the sunlight just shines out his arse) says this) ---If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn't turn out very well for the Native Americans--- (But then follows it up with this) ---Sooner or later disasters such as an asteroid collision or a nuclear war could wipe us all out, he told Britain's Royal Society in a 2006 speech. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.--- (In other words, it would be allright for us to trash this planet and then go out to the stars and trash more but nobody else--odd, isn't that what he thinks the world conquering aliens might do? This guy has seen Independence Day too many times!)
Re: [SciFiNoir Lit] Spinrad Answers His Critics
(I am being facetious. Spinrad? You out there? Where the blog at, man?) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Uncle Ruckus belsidus2...@... wrote: (He sent me the url and said it would be up there at the site. I couldn't find it and concluded maybe someone else would have better luck) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Andrea Hairston ahairsto@ wrote: Hey Chris, For some reason I couldn't find any response by Spinrad. Is that your point or did I just get lost in his website? Andrea To: SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com From: belsidus2000@ Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:15:37 + Subject: [SciFiNoir Lit] Spinrad Answers His Critics Norman Spinrad web site: http://www.sff.net/people/normanspinrad/ mobile: 646-346-9385 (US) 06-61-97-53-43(when in Europe) fixed: 1-212-777-7537 email:normanspinrad@ From: Chris Hayden Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:32 AM To: normanspinrad@ Subject: Re: Reaction to your On Books Column in Asimovs (Third World Worlds) I just wrote a long thing for and on this blogsite and when through some rigmarole which has left me not even able to find out if it's posted, being posted, or what. So much for th blogsphere. Dear Mr. Spinrad:I hope this message finds you well.No doubt you are aware of some of the comments that have been made to some statements in your On Books ColumnClick on url to see some blog commentshttp://worldsf.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/third-world-worlds-link-compilation/I was wondering if you have anything to say about the matter?Respectfully,Chris HaydenSt. Louis, MO [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[SciFiNoir Lit] Spinrad Answers His Critics
Norman Spinrad web site: http://www.sff.net/people/normanspinrad/ mobile: 646-346-9385 (US) 06-61-97-53-43(when in Europe) fixed: 1-212-777-7537 email:normanspin...@hotmail.com From: Chris Hayden Sent: Monday, April 12, 2010 10:32 AM To: normanspin...@hotmail.com Subject: Re: Reaction to your On Books Column in Asimovs (Third World Worlds) I just wrote a long thing for and on this blogsite and when through some rigmarole which has left me not even able to find out if it's posted, being posted, or what. So much for th blogsphere. Dear Mr. Spinrad:I hope this message finds you well.No doubt you are aware of some of the comments that have been made to some statements in your On Books ColumnClick on url to see some blog commentshttp://worldsf.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/third-world-worlds-link-compilation/I was wondering if you have anything to say about the matter?Respectfully,Chris HaydenSt. Louis, MO
[SciFiNoir Lit] This group has 666 members!
Somebody join or somebody quit before a Texas Hellhole opens up beneath our feet and crawling chaos is released!
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: World SF, worth reading BEFORE offering an opinion
(That's the word for it. Ignorance. Spinrad does not even think about his collegues, some of whom were writing before or at the same time he started. Ignorance and arrogance, cuz he thinks he knows. Somebody send this fool copies of Dark Matter I and II) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaij...@... wrote: I have no words for the ignorance flowing out of that. Geez. So Samuel Delaney, Steven Barnes, Tananrive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, Charles Saunders, Tobias Buckell, N. K. Jemisin, David Anthony Durham and many others have less of tie a to Africa and Pan-African culture than Mike Resnick? I guess none of them have written ever novels shaped by Africa or God forbid have actually been set in Africa or fictionalized analogs? --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravenadal@ wrote: http://www.haikasoru.com/science-fiction/world-sf-worth-reading-before-developing-an-opinion/
[SciFiNoir Lit] 10th National Black Writers Conference
http://www.nationalblackwritersconference.org/
[SciFiNoir Lit] What movie or DVD based on a BOOK have you watched recently?
I think the last one was that new version of The Andromeda Strain that starred Benjamin Bratt-- That guy did a real soulful turn in Pinero by the way (he was a playright--wrote short eyes) Check that out if you got the chance. Nice little movie
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: What DVD's are you watching?
(On the 21st I was on my way into a fried chicken joint and this brother stops me and asks do I want to buy some DVDs. I looked through his inventory (for research purposes of course) and spied one labled Smokin Aces 2. I was curious, I didn't even know the movie was out. Some research revealed that it had only been released 2 days before. If the pirates are as on top of this as this reveals I got to figure there is some inside collusion going on here)
[SciFiNoir Lit] What DVD's are you watching?
Watchmen Director's Cut Straight From the Projects How We Did It Ken Burns' The Civil War
[SciFiNoir Lit] Topselling Hardcover books of 2009
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6645568.html
[SciFiNoir Lit] Re: Role call: What are you reading?
(The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore, the Professional Musician's Internet Guide, The Time Machine, and Your Government Failed You.) --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com, Bridget Moore epic_p...@... wrote: Blood Colony by Tananarive Due. It's the third book in her African Immortal Series. Her writing is riveting, fresh, and filled with suspense. B. Sharise Moore Author of Taste: An Erotic Fantasy Series, Book I Purchase the novel today! www.blaqmermaidpress.com www.myspace.com/tastefantasyseries Art is a step in the known toward the unknown. ~ Kahlil Gibran --- On Tue, 12/29/09, maidmarian_thepoet md_moor...@... wrote: From: maidmarian_thepoet md_moor...@... Subject: [SciFiNoir Lit] Re: Role call: What are you reading? To: SciFiNoir_Lit@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 2:34 PM Â China Mieville's The City and The City Interesting, so far. It took me a while to get back the names, but I am enjoying it. --- In SciFiNoir_Lit@ yahoogroups. com, Kelwyn ravenadal@ .. wrote: I am reading Queen City Jazz by Kathleen Ann Goonan and thoroughly enjoying her post apocalypse novel. It is eerily precognitive about the incipient dangers of giving too much of our lives over to smart tech. ~rave! _ _ _ _ http://twitter. com/ravenadal http://theworldebon .blogspot. com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
