Read on Twitter
You know what everyone needs this week? A community-driven thread highlighting Black authors, publishers, translators, works. We'll contribute tweets on the #worldlit angle; also, we'll RT your contributions. Let's share!
Why? #BlackLivesMatter
#RepresentationMatters
@SFUFASS
Why? #BlackLivesMatter
#RepresentationMatters @SFUFASS
First up: shoutout to publishers who boost work by Black authors. Did you know that @peepaltreepress "is home of the best in Caribbean and Black British fiction, poetry, literary criticism, memoirs and historical studies?"
Give them a follow!
Give them a follow!
Next, let's introduce an author: Ousmane Sembène (1923-2007). This Senegalese author, producer and film director should be on everyone's list. https://imdb.com/name/nm0783733/
His compelling writing and his hard-hitting films are in a mix of French and Wolof.
His compelling writing and his hard-hitting films are in a mix of French and Wolof.
#Translator John Keene asks in this excellent article: “How does the absence of texts in translation deny individual readers reflections of their race and identity as it is presented in other countries and cultures?” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2016/04/translating-poetry-translating-blackness
Last one for today: if you have not yet read the fantastic #YA novel Children of Blood and Bone by @tomi_adeyemi you should order it from @IronDogBooks for your kid. Or yourself. Or both. Just sayin
Tuesday's instalment of our #worldlit #BlackLivesMatter thread.
Lovers of #Lusophone literature -- i.e. literature written in Portuguese -- should familiarize themselves with Black Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/09/hes-one-of-brazils-greatest-writers-why-isnt-machado-de-assis-more-widely-read
thread. Lovers of #Lusophone literature -- i.e. literature written in Portuguese -- should familiarize themselves with Black Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/09/hes-one-of-brazils-greatest-writers-why-isnt-machado-de-assis-more-widely-read
Dr. Ortabasi will be adjusting her WL200 syllabus this fall -- because we can always do better -- to include a foundational reading by Black lesbian feminist critic and activist Barbara Smith. Because if it isn't #intersectional, it isn't real #feminism. https://www.them.us/story/barbara-smith-launched-a-black-feminist-revolution
Speaking of Black literary scholars, we should mention the prolific and brilliant Professor Ato Quayson. Originally from #Ghana, he is now at @Stanford. Interested in the intersection between #postcolonial literatures and #worldlit? Check out his work.
https://english.stanford.edu/people/ato-quayson
https://english.stanford.edu/people/ato-quayson
Looking for a new Black author for your #scifi reading list? Then check out Dr. @Nnedi. This multiple award-winning, Nigerian-American author calls her work #Africanfuturism. Why? Guess you'll have to read the brilliant #YA Binti trilogy to find out.
http://nnedi.com/books/binti.html
http://nnedi.com/books/binti.html
Day 3 of our #worldlit #BlackLivesMatter thread.
"The only really painful thing about racism in publishing is the books that are not around."
Eight Black publishing professionals are interviewed in this @nytimesbooks story. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/book-publishing-black.html?smid=tw-nytbooks&smtyp=cur
thread. "The only really painful thing about racism in publishing is the books that are not around."
Eight Black publishing professionals are interviewed in this @nytimesbooks story. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/book-publishing-black.html?smid=tw-nytbooks&smtyp=cur
That said, there ARE a lot of books around. Particularly by Black and brown authors from all over Africa, from Morocco to Zimbabwe. Here's an excellent reading list, including #translations.
Also, if you're not already following @lithub, you should. https://lithub.com/25-new-books-by-african-writers-you-should-read/
Also, if you're not already following @lithub, you should. https://lithub.com/25-new-books-by-african-writers-you-should-read/
Lastly, we'll leave you with perhaps one of the most poignant, insightful books for/about children that we've encountered. #JamesBaldwin wrote this book for his nephew. Recently republished by @DukePress after being out of print for 40 years.
It's #TranslationThursday on our literary #BlackLivesMatter thread. So here's a shout out to @CaribTranslate, which promotes #translation of writing from and about the #Caribbean. @mckenzie_ale, the founder, has a new book coming out herself! https://twitter.com/bluebanyanbooks/status/1278380878733991936?s=20
thread. So here's a shout out to @CaribTranslate, which promotes #translation of writing from and about the #Caribbean. @mckenzie_ale, the founder, has a new book coming out herself! https://twitter.com/bluebanyanbooks/status/1278380878733991936?s=20
What more appropriate novel to feature on a #TranslationThursday than The Translator, by Sudanese author Leila Aboulela. While written in English, the main character must both literally and figuratively translate her life into a new cultural context. https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-translator/
Speaking of #translation, we must include Kenyan writer and scholar Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, who years ago abandoned English to write in Gikuyu, his #mothertongue. He has translated some of his own works into English, for example Wizard of the Crow. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/09/featuresreviews.guardianreview21
#Friday. Our last day of this #BlackLivesMatter thread. #Worldlit begins close to home, so we'd like to give you some local Black authors to follow:
@jobitek
@WaydeCompton
@LWEstudio
@SFU's own Chantal Gibson https://chantalgibson.com
@SFUenglish's David Chariandy
thread. #Worldlit begins close to home, so we'd like to give you some local Black authors to follow:@jobitek
@WaydeCompton
@LWEstudio
@SFU's own Chantal Gibson https://chantalgibson.com
@SFUenglish's David Chariandy
Are you a #Blackwriter looking for a support network? Then try following @BlackWriters. Their tagline, #BlackWritersMatter, is also the title of a 2019 book published by Canadian writer @WhitneyFrench1, who incidentally, just co-founded #Black #feminist #queer press @hushharbour!
