Diversity in Literature, Part I

Things are about to get real, y’all.

In a good way, of course.

Recently I went to the James River Writers Conference in Richmond, Virginia. It was awesome and thrilling, and even though I don’t consider myself to be an aspiring author, the event was so inspiring I was jumping at the bit to write a novel by the end of the first day.

One of the sessions was on diversity in literature, and I’m so glad they included it in the lineup. I’m in my junior year of college right now, and even though my university is (supposedly) known for leaning toward the liberal side and being very accepting, it’s frustrating to see just how un-diverse we actually are. Take the English department (my major) for example: out of the dozens of classes that are being offered this upcoming semester, there is only one South Asian literature class, one African-American literature class, and one Disabilities in Literature class. The rest are all British/American Romanticism/Victorian-ish and Old White Man Canon literature classes, and although I enjoy those genres, it’s been disheartening (and boring) to take what feels like the same classes over and over for five semesters straight.

That’s not to say our professors are unaware of the problem. Last semester I took a class on Postcolonial literature, which has been probably one of the most important courses I’ve taken so far. Our professor, who is originally from India, was talking about how most colleges lump Postcolonial and South Asian studies classes together, even though they are completely different topics and professors’ specialties are usually in one or the other. Another professor talked to us about how certain classes might soon be considered required, and how none of the soon-to-be required classes are about minority authors and texts.

That being said, here is a (very small) list of books I’ve come across so far in both my studies and IRL in the past year. Not all of them were written in 2014, but as this is the time of year when everyone does a round-up of what they’ve done in the past 365 days, I thought it would be fitting to limit it to the books I’ve either read or come across in the last year. The list is comprised of female and people of color authors and texts.

The God of Small Things

Every cover for this book is beautiful, but this is the edition I have and I love this cover best. HA!

If you have not read this book yet, get on it. Not only is it incredibly well written (the details and imagery are stunning and vibrant), it tackles a range of issues, from racism to the caste system to incest. The author, Arundhati Roy, who is from India, is a political activist who is very involved in human rights and environmental causes. Check. It. Out.

The Joys of Motherhood

If you’ve looked up any list of diverse books, you've probably come across Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. This novel does what TFA wasn't able to do; it describes a similar Ibo society, but instead follows a woman, Nnu Ego, through her life as the illegitimate daughter of an Ibo chief whose destiny is to become an obedient wife and a doting mother. The novel begins with Nnu Ego attempting suicide and details her struggle with self-actualization.  It’s dark, but it is absolutely worth the read.

Animal’s People

Cries forever about Ma Franci (quit yer yappin, this is not a spoiler).

This was one of our assigned readings for Postcolonial Lit, and I could write a hundred essays on it. A HUNDRED, I SAY! The novel depicts a made-up town named Khaufpur, which has been affected by a horrible gas leak (based on the Bhopal disaster). Its main character, Animal, was by the factory as a child, and as such, has a twisted body that forces him to walk on all fours. He’s vulgar, narcissistic, and rude, but as the anti-hero of the novel, he illustrates the humanity within a town full of people who want justice for their pain.

The Farming of Bones

I was enraged, as I read this book, that I had never heard of the Parsley Massacre. While there have been books written by the Dominican side of the story, this book is written by a Haitian woman who, though she was not there, paints a picture of the chaos and blatant injustice of the incident. The book is beautifully written and plays such an incredibly important role, as it chronicles the tragedy from the side of the oppressed, rather than the oppressor.

Side note: The Diversity in Literature panel at JRW was done by Stacy Whitman, who works with diverse literature with Lee & Low Books and Tu Books.

And, if you’re interested, here’s an interesting article that I came across which talks about diversity in science fiction and fantasy.