‘While no work is immune from critique, the Native American art world is witnessing a dangerous trend of “appropriation” arguments escalating toward de facto censorship. Many people will outright agree with and defend the statement by Joy Harjo, a Muscogee Creek and US poet laureate, who wrote in a 2017 blog post entitled “Erasure,” “What about enlarging the purview of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 to include the literary?” This act was initially proposed to prevent forgeries of Native arts and crafts. The penalty for a first-time offense is a fine of up to $250,000 in addition to a five-year prison term; a business could face up to a $1 million fine for producing counterfeit crafts. Suggesting that the IACA apply to literature would put potentially controversial art under the government’s microscope. Unenrolled tribal descendants who don’t appease the colonized concepts of blood quantum requirements would fall under this act — unless they catered to political pressure to appease cultural committees like Saad Beez Hózhǫ́’s propaganda-like definition of art should be.
While Harjo’s suggestion was made with the best of intentions — whoever thinks their intentions are meant to hurt? — her proposal could theoretically ban Roanhorse’s books from being produced: under those rules, she wouldn’t have the authority to write about Navajo culture. While it’s unlikely this suggestion would ever be deemed constitutional, it must be noted that on most Indian reservations there are few legally coded free speech rights, so attitudes like these are not an anomaly. (For instance, a Blackfeet man once sat in jail for five days after a post on Facebook complaining about tribal corruption.) Moreover, consider the optics of the US poet laureate advocating government control of literature-as-crime, while those nodding in agreement or condoning it by silence are not right-wing fascists but academics and fellow Native American writers. This is not only failing to see the forest for the trees, but also setting a wildfire to burn it down.’
We need diverse books
TBR: Running from Color by Morenikè
Opening in the 1920s in Sugarlock, Tennessee, the scandal surrounding the birth of Wheat Grass destroys the marriage and family unit built by Paul and Mildred Grass. Wheat’s fair skin and green eyes cause a rift that leads to the death of her mother. Paul steps up and takes in his wife’s illegitimate child to raise with his daughter, Olive, in his hometown. But Wheat’s exotic look draws unnecessary attention that Paul cannot single handily fight off in the racist South which eventually leads to his demise.
After the death of both of her parents, Olive blames her baby sister for ruining her life and she eventually finds herself running from color and settling in Chicago; leaving their grandmother, Deary, to raise Wheat alone. But when Wheat’s existence once more causes tension in the small community of Sugarlock, Wheat must run from color herself and the only place of safety she can find is in Chicago with her estranged sister.
Once there, Wheat faces much opposition from her sister but Olive begrudgingly takes her in. In Chicago, Wheat learns that Olive hates her for circumstances she could never control and that Olive herself has succumbed to society’s color line while living in Chicago. Will these sisters put aside their physical differences to tackle the hurt caused by their past and the danger that lies ahead? Or will they run from color once more?
Running from Color tells an unapologetic story about what it means to be on opposing shades of the chocolate rainbow; a story that belongs to many but has been silenced in the African American community for years.
Slightly off topic: I found out that Halsey is biracial and my brain glitched. I started reading up on “passing as white” and I just… Some of the commentary reads like a lot of conversation about Native Americans — how sometimes registered members can “pass” as white and are looked down upon by their tribe or if they aren’t registered with a tribe they aren’t “Native American enough.” There’s no winning.
I find it all sad yet such an important conversation to be had.
Book Review: When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner, David Catrow
When God Made You was a delightful children’s book. The pages are of really sleek paper, so this is not for babies, as they will rip. But I’m sure a baby would love to be read this.
The rhyming of the story had an almost Dr. Seuss feel to it — like “There is no one alive who is youer than you.” The religious affiliation in the book is not apparent and God is never gendered. Thus, it could cross religions and denominations, which I really liked.
The pictures don’t have a lot to do with the words on the pages. The story is more so this: A little girl rides her bike and find a street artist (who draws with chalk) crying over a crushed flower (he is stereotypically French, with a beret, full of emotion). The little girl (seen on the cover) is uninhibited and takes his chalk and starts to draw and cheers him up. Using the talents God gave her (a theme in the book) she draws a magical bird that comes to life and she and the artist fly to outer space on its back. The story is framed by the little girl reading to her little sibling before and after. While the artwork doesn’t have much to do with the poetics, it compliments it. The words stand on their own and so do the pictures. Together the message is clear: do what God meant for you to do and you will go places. I can’t wait to give my copy to a kid that I know.
I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. Read my review policy in the tab above.
Author Interview: J.N. McGhee
Today I am going to introduce Author J.N. McGhee and her book Little Girl Blues:
Who are you?! What are your credentials? Where are you from?
My name is Jasmine N. McGhee; I’m from Mississippi. I have a B.A. in English, and I’ve been writing poetry for 19+ years now. I’ve been published in several literary journals and anthologies. In the past, I participated in a few poetry contests as well.
What book(s) have you written?
One
What is the title of your most recent book and how did it come to be named?
“Little Girl Blues: Existence of an Image.” Long before I decided to publish a book, I used to think to myself, “What would be the title of my book?” As a little girl, I loved swings. My grandfather used to have one on his porch. I would swing for hours and get lost in thought. Then, as I got older, I began to question my purpose and who I am. Hence, the title of the book.
What does the cover look like?
A little girl sitting on a swing while looking back at the reader in a mirror.
Describe the book in 5 words.
image, identity, self, existence, and discovery
What genre(s) do you think it fits into or breaks?
Poetry. And it’s a mixture of fiction and nonfiction
What’s the synopsis for the book?
The story is told through the eyes of a child as she transitions into adolescence. She questions her existence and her purpose. Witness the struggle for identity. Experience the emotional rainbow as this individual desperately searches for self through pre-made images.
What is one thing you want readers to know about this book that the official synopsis doesn’t cover?
We are all the little girls and boys within this book. We are all trying to tell our stories, and we want to be heard. No matter what you are going through or have gone through, you are not alone.
Where can we buy the book?
Online Bookstores and Retailers:
Amazon, Goodreads, Alibris, Abe Books, Book Depository, Indie Bound, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.
Physical Bookstores: Lemuria in Jackson, MS. Barnes & Noble in Ridgeland, MS, Downtown Marketplace in Yazoo City, and the Keepsake Poetry & Collectibles, LLC in Jackson, MS.
Where did your main sources of inspiration come from for this story?
I don’t have specific sources of inspiration. Inspiration just hit me from what people say, walking to class, listening to music, or a word. That’s just how sporadic inspiration is to me.
Who is the book dedicated to and why?
For the most part, I dedicated this book to the people who believed in me over the years, supported my talent, and stayed by my side throughout this journey. Most of them are no longer here; they’ve passed on.
Then, I dedicated the book to the voiceless, to people just like me. They don’t know how to express what they are going through. They are silently suffering. They don’t know who to trust or where to turn to. So they just internalize it which causes people to die a slow death.
What three other books would you use to describe your book?
I don’t know any.
Why is indie publishing important to you and why do you think it is important to our culture?
When it comes to poetry, it doesn’t have many, if any, opportunities to be published or promoted. A company told me that poetry rarely sells. That response made me very angry. Poetry is just as important to the literary family as any other piece of literature.
It’s important to have opportunities when other people have rejected you, your vision, and your talent.
If you could choose one ideal reader – no matter who – to read your book, who would it be and why?
I just want a reader who is open-minded, willing to listen to the little girl’s story without being judgemental, and truly embody her “poetic blues.”
If your book was an animal, what would it be and why?
I guess a chameleon. Because throughout this book, the individual goes through various phases and creates so many masks interchangeably.
What is your favorite sentence from the book?
This may seem odd, but I don’t have a favorite sentence from my book.
If you were to collaborate with another writer, who would they be and why?
I really don’t know. I’m new to the published author life, so I’m still connecting with other creative individuals and learning.
What books do you think the world needs to read more of and why?
That’s a very interesting question. I would say we have the books already. We, as human beings, just need to take the time to read them. We’re so picky about what we don’t want to read.
What does diversity in publishing mean to you?
As mentioned earlier, it’s important to present authors with opportunities and possibilities. I think that having diversity is better than having specifics. Everybody has their own preferences. If you take that away from them or leave something out, one will never know what they are missing.
How have libraries affected your writing?
Yes and no. When I was younger, I loved to read. As I got older, reading faded a little; however, writing took its place.
What do you see as problems that need to be fixed in the traditional publishing model?
It needs to be more flexible. Most traditional publishing models compare your book to other genres or other books that are selling well. But if your book doesn’t have an audience, it’s quickly discarded or rejected. You have so many literary greats like Walt Whitman, Will Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Langston Hughes, etc. who left their mark by their literary works. Of course, a lot has changed since then.
What is the best piece of advice you got from another writer?
Connect and network with other authors, writers, etc. Be a sponge to absorb the knowledge that they provide. All of it may not fit you, but you pick what you want to try. Then, just try it for yourself. If it doesn’t work, try something else. Keep at it.
What indie authors have influenced you and how?
I don’t know. I’m friends with a lot of indie authors. We’re just in this together by learning from each other and sharing knowledge, so we all can continue to support and uplift each other on this journey.
Is the Amazon publishing model scary to you in any way?
Not really. I’m not too familiarized with Amazon’s publishing.
What is something you learned about writing when writing your most recent book?
How to allow myself to be open and heard. I’m not used to people listening to me. I have the inability to communicate or to express verbally how I feel. Writing became the only way to convey the chaos within.
What do you think of the focus on indie bookstores over indie authors and indie books?
I don’t know. As I said, I’m still learning the whole process.
What are some ways you think gatekeepers in publishing (literary agents, librarians, book bloggers) can help indie authors gain discoverability?
I can’t answer this question. I’m still learning the whole process. I will say that one has to try multiple avenues before actually finding one that works for them. That’s what I’m doing now.
What is one book that changed your life and how?
I don’t have just one. There are quite a few that contributed to the person I am today.
What is your favorite online resource as an author?
I guess Facebook Groups because they were a lot of individuals who are helping me learn the do’s and don’ts as an indie author.
How do you feel about authors giving their work away for free?
I don’t have any problem with it. I’ve done it.
What are you reading now?
Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battles Against Your Giants by Pastor Louie Giglio
What music do you write to or find inspiration in?
I’m an eclectic of music. But music doesn’t inspire me to write; it inspires me to think and feel. Just kind of “go with the flow” type of thing.
What roadblocks did you encounter when publishing your work?
Publishing was the easy part. It’s the promotion that gave me so much trouble.
What TV show are you watching now?
I don’t watch much TV these days.
Cat or dog or both person?
Both.
Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz – and why?
LOL, I love both. But I have to lean towards Alice in Wonderland.
Coffee or tea or both person?
Tea.
Print book or ebook or both person?
Print. I love the feel of a book in my hand. It’s harder to put it down.
How do you see book culture changing, other than the ways it already has, because of ebooks?
I really don’t know. For instance, I’ve sold more paperback than ebooks. It all goes back to readers’ preferences.
How do you see book culture changing, if at all, because of indie publishing?
Change is a good thing. It will give indie authors a place, a voice in the publishing platform. Indie authors deserve to be heard too.
What is one thing you would like to say to millennial readers?
Keep an open mind, but be careful of the information you read.
What is one cause or charity you support and want to give a shout-out to?
Right now, I don’t have one. I’m somewhat of a naive, introvert. I live inside my mind. But I will send a shout-out to literacy, education, and all the resources for indie authors.
What is your biggest grammatical struggle to overcome in your writing, or what is your most common typo?
Misspelled words, commas, complex sentence structures…the list goes on and on.
Where can we stalk you? (What are the links to your social media platforms and blog?)
Stalk me? That’s hilarious.
Twitter – bluepoetevolves
Instagram- eyes2yoursoul30
FB Author Page: www.facebook.com/authorj.n.mcghee
My blog: abstractpoet87.wordpress.com
Thank you for taking the time to give us insight, Jasmine!
Sponsored content. Learn more about my author interviews here.
TBR: Forgotten Reflections by Young-Im Lee
1945. Rice fields seem endless in a quaint farming village of South Korea, yet Iseul the villagers have been starving for as long as they can remember. Their Japanese colonizers have taken every last grain with them as they are finally forced out of the Peninsula. In the newly independent Korea, Iseul and Jung-Soo dream of what their future might bring. Yet, war is on the horizon, and Iseul has fallen for an alleged North Korean communist spy.
Men are conscripted and rice is taken to feed the growing army as the Peninsula is thrust into an international war that would determine if the strategic region will become communist or democratic. With nothing but the news of death and hunger awaiting the village of women, children and the aged, Iseul musters up whatever hope she has left to bring the village together to make paper. Soon, the village once known for its rice, becomes famous for its paper, becoming a beacon of hope for their battle-worn soldiers awaiting letters from their loved ones.
Yet spies and communists continue to roam South Korea, turning neighbors and families against one another. For years, Jung-Soo has been suspicious of his father’s allegiances. With a series of mysterious revelations about his father, Jung-Soo is forced to choose between his tainted communist past, and the future he hopes to have with Iseul after the war.
In the current international climate where North Korea takes center stage, “Forgotten Reflections” weaves an inspirational tale of family, lost memories, folklore and an unforgotten history, spanning three generations as South Korea rises from the ashes.
This book is getting a lot of good reviews on Goodreads.
TBR – The Sugar Baby Club by Teresa Lo
Sick of “hanging out” and hookup culture, college freshman Jasmine Lewis decides to try out a new kind of dating—sugar dating. After watching a documentary about sugar daddies, she and her roommate Kita Okoye sign up for Searching Sweet Sugar, a sugar dating site that promises to change young girls’ lives for the better.
After meeting a few salt daddies, terrible men who abuse the system, Jasmine and Kita land the sugar daddies of their dreams, men who shower them with money, Louis Vuitton, and vacations. Their newfound, glamorous lifestyle attracts the attention of girls in their residence hall, and soon, Jasmine and Kita find themselves running a makeshift dating agency from their dorm room.
So, if I end up reading this book I plan on taking notes.
Buy on Amazon.
BOOK REVIEW: Literary Publishing in the Twenty-First Century Edited by Travis Kurowski, Wayne Miller, and Kevin Prufer
A series of essays – most published originally somewhere else. A major theme of half of them is Amazon is the devil and crushing our voices. Especially Steve Wasserman’s essay (page 57) that says “Amazon ought no longer to be permitted to behave like a parasite that hollows out its host. A serious Justice Department investigation is past due.” When, ironically, Amazon is giving diverse voices a megaphone that traditional publishing has never given them. The essays like that were laughable.
Not saying that Amazon isn’t a capitalist monster. I’m just saying that Amazon is a better monster to root for. *Searches for Godzilla GIF*
Also, there’s lots of criticism of the “white male gatekeeper” in the industry in these essays. Which I liked, but their points failed miserably. They keep pointing out the speck in the publishing eye while missing the log in their own. For example: Daniel Jose Older’s essay talks about the response to the need of diversity saying: “No one is demanding more tokens though. We’re talking about systematic upheaval.”
Systematic upheaval. Hm. Says the man who publishes within the system. Gets his essay published in a book ABOUT the system. Also, I thought he was a fantasy writer? Why is he in a book about Literary publishing? I have questions.
Older goes on to say: “Maybe the word hasn’t been invented yet — that thing beyond diversity.” But I’m here to say that word has been invented. A word that will bring about/has brought about “systematic upheaval.” That word is self-publishing. Getting rid of traditional publishing by the root (READ: Black Authors and Self-Publishing and Self-publishing offers hope for diverse authors shut out by traditional publishers).
I didn’t hear much about the James Patterson effect on publishing — the capitalist damage he’s done — or the slimy grey area of book packagers. Those issues weren’t addressed in this book (READ: Why Literature is no longer Art and The New Vanity Publishing: Traditional Publishing).
Moving on.
Jessa Crispin’s essay on ‘The Self-Hating Book Critic’ is very interesting in its spastic coverage, yet doesn’t land on any clear answers: “So I will keep at it, never quite getting it right.” I feel you, but try harder.
Her essay’s highlights:
“I want to tell them: this world is not for you, you are better without it. Outside the gates, not in. This world was in fact, in part, designed specifically to keep you out. It does not want you. It will not nourish you.
And just because you gain entry for one fleeting moment, do not think for a second that you haven’t stomped all over the even less desirables on your way in, don’t think the system has suddenly become tolerant… More interesting would be to exist outside the walls, and learn how to raid the city [traditional publishing literary critics] for whatever you need.
Literary critics have value. And yet sitting here I cannot come up with a single name of a critic who has played some sort of role in my life…I’m struggling here. And yet surely there have been some.
…There were books that got into my hands thanks to critics, and there were books I was able to think my way through thanks to some assistance.”
OK, but maybe you’re thinking about criticism all wrong. Too much from the perspective of the New York Times. Criticism/reviews, to me, are just a part of a conversation. Conversation always has meaning. For sure, though, the ultimate criticism of literature is just another book of literature — for doesn’t all literature build upon itself — respond to itself? Good literature should. It’s pretentious to think your “art” of reviewing is equal to writing another novel. It’s not. But it does have meaning.
The essay on “The View from a University Press” by Donna Shear had a good quote on authority I might use for my library instruction-ing:
“Notice that no mention is made of ‘peer-reviewed publication,’ or reference at all to being published by university presses, as there would be in other disciplines. This is because publication with a commercial or independent press is its own recognition of the value of the work. That work has beaten out thousands of others, risen from the slush pile, and has been rewarded with publication by a major or well-respected independent press. Essentially, this stands in for peer review. And after publication, reviews and sales act to further validate the success of the work.
So, yeah, this book. Interesting conversation, but one that clearly listening to “outside” voices.
Book Review: The Size of the World by Ivana Skye
There are seven Seas, and Theia will cross them all. There is the Darkness beyond the Seventh Sea, and Theia will reach it.
But, in the Second Land, there is also Tellus. And soon Tellus is not only offering her skills as a guide to Theia, but following her out of her city … and kissing her.
Now this journey belongs to both of them. And soon they may belong to each other.
I was pitched this book as a novella, so when it came to me looking like a thick novel-length book I was a bit surprised. But then when you look inside you see that the pages are more flash fiction. And they read like poetry. Prose poetry, perhaps.
There is a lack of detail that makes you continually curious. It leaves you wanting more and lets your imagination fill in the purposeful blanks. I’m still not entirely sure what I just read, though it feels like an allegory–something with deeper meaning. I can’t really tell you how to interpret something like this, because I’m not an authority on anything it covers. My best guess is that it is an expansion on “I would cross the seven seas for you” but instead of “for” it’s “with”? Maybe it’s commentary on something else. Or nothing at all (in which case I would be bothered).
It starts with a girl who wants to cross the seven seas. And she meets another girl along the way and they fall in love. And some people think she is the Messiah. And the concept of “names” is very prevalent: the girl Theia falls in love with (Tellus) has the most names. Like Gandalf in LOTR, she has more than one, yet names have an oral magic to them. Some names she only tells to certain people. That concept was very interesting.
Ivana Skye is a linguist, which is pretty cool and it made the whole book make sense. The things she does with language and the lack thereof–the restraint of telling–is very beautiful.
The formatting and layout in the book is very pretty as well–there are alien-like gears decorating the pages like on the cover. Speaking of alien-like, I couldn’t tell if this was really fantasy or science fiction. It seemed like we were on another planets. Maybe the gears were affecting me. But it was interesting how you could interpret the story both ways–the seas could be the space and stars between planets; the ships they use as space ships. I don’t know if I’m taking too many liberties here, but that’s just where my mind went sometimes. Like Disney’s Treasure Planet.
There is a heavy dose of romance in the book, so if you don’t like that (which I normally don’t) this book isn’t for you. Yet it always comes off as more poetic than cheesy. Sex scenes are not explicit, just implied.
A very easy, quick read. Recommended for teens and up. Also recommended to librarians to build their LGBTQIA and Indie collections.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
BOOK REVIEW: So Many Books by Gabriel Zaid
This was a very short little book – 144 pages (now out of print, I think). It had a lot of good quotes and observations on the state of the publishing world and I think every English Major should be required to read it so they consider the weight of what the literary world is doing – how it adds and subtracts from the world.
I disagree with Zaid on 2 points in this work, though. At one point, he says that the world is overpopulated with humans as well as books, but that one is the greater legacy than the other (children). I disagree entirely with this. Even if you write something that barely anyone reads or enjoys, you have connected with a specific group of people who understands you. You get no guarantee that a child will ever understand you, or that they will continue your legacy (once they stop breeding, your DNA becomes a dead legacy). A book lasts longer than generations. Ask Homer.
If humans vs. books, the lesser of two evils is more books. More books means more variety and option. More humans means less of everything. That was such a stupid statement on his part. Too romanticized and too whimsical. It risked undermining all his other observations for me.
It made my mind shoot in anger to thoughts like: What if the aliens could read all the books? What if time was nothing to them? Maybe then all books would matter. And what about the robots? Maybe the robots want all our books. Maybe our books will help better them. How selfish of him to think that books are less than humans. Some stories are certainly worth more than whole countries. Wars have been started in the name of stories and books and authors (religious books not the only ones). Don’t tell me that a single human is worth more than books. There are greater readers than us out there.
The second beef I have with this book is his blind faith that publishing will automatically equal diversity. At the very end he crams it in without it being fully supported by his argument. Half of his argument actually works against the idea of diversity–pointing out the publishing industry’s flaws. I was left thinking “Wait, what? How did we get here? How did we get to diversity?” But then again I’m not so sure he defines diversity in the book, so we might be talking about two different “diversities.”
He covers sports and other forms of entertainment–comparing them to the book in ways I had never considered. It’s worth a read. And doesn’t take up your time. He makes a point of it not to, because he practices what he preaches.
Books I’ll Never Read #7 – Ken Liu’s The Grace of Kings
This is a book that NPR tells you to just skip over– to just read the second:
Beyond that, I’ve seen reviews comment on the lack of female representation in the first book. If I’m going to read anything by Ken Liu, it’s not going to be this one, I guess.
I’m also curious to know why a debut novel got to keep so many pages. Liu clearly has an “in” somewhere in the industry letting him get away with what other debut authors cannot. And that speaks more for his networking skills than for his work. I want to read something of quality. Not of exclusivity.
Panda (Duh) 