Neesha's Blog
Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:45:40 +0000
Mar 05, 2010 08:23AM
So, in case you missed it, Tu Publishing has joined forces with Lee & Low Books. I think this could be a wonderful thing. This collaboration could mark the beginning of a multicultural publishing force that effects *much* needed changes in the publishing industry as a whole. I, for one, will be keeping a close eye on their progress and cheering them on!
Mar 04, 2010 06:00AM
In Honour of International Women's Day
In honour of IWD (International Women's Day) which is on March 8th this year and Women's History Month, I'm putting up Sheila Chandra's "call", La Sagesse (Women, I'm Calling You). Just click on the play button below.
The image below is of Mukhtaran Bibi who was gang raped in an "honour" revenge issued by tribal council. She was expected to have committed suicide after this, but took the case to court instead. The perpetrators were charged and arrested, and later acquitted. Nonetheless, she started an organization to empower girls and women in Pakistan, called Mukhtar Mai's Women's Welfare Organization. There is an image of the accused rapists on the Wiki page (link above) and I debated putting it up here - to plaster their faces in public. But I don't know if men who were given orders to rape a woman by tribal council would see their actions as shameful since the actions were condoned and blessed by those in power, and the men have yet to be brought to justice. So I chose not to, focusing instead on the remarkable strength and courage of the woman who is inspiring all young girls and women who hear her story.
Here is a recent account of the status of this case is this from Wiki:
"On December 11, 2008 Mukhtaran was informed by Sardar Abdul Qayyum, the sitting Federal Minister for Defence Production, to drop the charge against the accused. According to Mukhtaran, the minister called her uncle, Ghulam Hussain, to his place in Jatoi and passed on a message to Mukhtaran that she should drop the charges against the thirteen accused of the Mastoi tribe, who were involved either in the verdict against Mukhtaran, or who gang raped her. The minister said that if she did not comply, he and his associates would not let the Supreme Court?s decision go in favour of Mukhtaran. It is believed that the Mastoi clan have political influence of sufficient weight to bring pressure to bear on the supreme court via establishment and political figures.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had listed Mukhtaran case for hearing in the 2nd week of February 2009 (hearing was expected on 10th or 11th February).[35]
On June 11, 2009, the Multan Electric Power Company raided the MMWWO (Mukhtar Mai's Women Welfare Organization) in Meerwala, Pakistan, disconnecting all electricity to the grounds, falsely accusing the organization of stealing electricity despite records proving they have paid all bills in full. MMWWO and hundreds of families in the surrounding area were without power for several days. Today, while the power to the surrounding area has been restored, the MMWWO grounds, which house the Mukhtaran Girls Model School, Women's Resource Centre, and Shelter Home for battered women (whose premises was raided despite the fact that men are strictly prohibited), are still enduring blistering temperatures. According to MMWWO employees, who were witnesses, the power company officials claimed that the raid was ordered by Abdul Qayyum Jatoi, the Federal Minister for Defense Production. This raid has significantly hindered the ability of Mai's organization to carry out its' important human rights work, providing services for vulnerable women, girls and boys.[36]
Hearings for the Supreme Court case have repeatedly been delayed, while her attackers remain imprisoned and her case is pending."
Mar 03, 2010 06:00AM
I recently did an interview with two fabulous librarians from the Mount Kisco Library in Westchester, NY. The interview, in all its thirty-seven minutes of podcast glory, is below. Or, if you can't access it here due to my technical no-how, you can check it out here. Take a listen if you want to know about how SHINE came to be, how it started, and how much it resembles (or not) my actual life ;).
Mar 02, 2010 08:22AM
I recently read this post by Adam Mansbach over at one of my usual internet haunts, and it got me thinking about writing. Particularly the idea of a "hood pass". That term (in this case) applies specifically to the black community and, while there are issues with the word "hood" being used to describe the totality of blackness, the larger idea of certain white folks (or any non-black folks, really) getting a sort of cultural "pass" is very interesting. Whether we're referring to products which either mimic the style and aesthetic of PoC (as with music, or clothes), or products which represent a specific community of colour--while the creator of said product is not of that community themselves (as in literature, let's say), the hood pass is, indeed, a concept worth exploring.
Zetta Elliott just had a guest post up on Justine Larbalestier's blog about race and book reviews. One line, in particular, stood out for me: "Mostly I just wish white authors would leave people of color alone."
Elliott was referring specifically to writing for children, but it's a sentiment that I think is applicable across the board. I'm sure that in 1492, folks in the Americas were thinking something along those lines. I'm also pretty sure that in 1757, when the British invaded India, most Indians were like, "Wow, it would've been awesome if all these white people had just left us alone." Probably in Australia in 1788 folks were thinking similar thoughts, too. Just a hunch.
When reading up on India's history for my work-in-progress, I stumbled upon a site that had this:
"Consider the fact that Indian written history stretches back almost 4,000 years, to the civilization centers of the Indus Valley Culture at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. In addition, by 1850 A.D., India had a population of some 200 million or more.See, to me it all comes down to real estate and entitlement. It's about barging into someone else's home and claiming it as yours. And then responding in dismay, shock, and outrage when you're asked to leave. THAT is entitlement. Back that entitlement up with power (whether it's military might, or systemic and institutionalized power that was gained through military might), and you have a potent mix where PoC, women, the working class--or whomever is having their community/culture/home invaded--lack the power or voice to fend off the onslaught. Now add to all this, a cultivated ignorance among the powerful that they deserve all the offerings of the home they've barged into. And that in barging into this home, they are serving the best interests of those being invaded. Well...you can see how that really doesn't leave us much room for honest communication. Not without a whole lot of HARD work and painful self-reflection, that's for sure.
Britain, on the other hand, had no indigenous written language until the 9th century A.D. (almost 3,000 years after India). Its population was about 16.6 million in 1850.
How, then, did Britain manage to control India from 1757 to 1947?
The keys seem to have been superior weaponry, a strong profit motive and Eurocentric confidence." [Emphasis mine]
So back to the hood pass. John Mayer is a white male creating music that "resembles" a certain musical tradition which can trace its roots back to, primarily, black people. He got a "pass" because his interest in something that is uniquely theirs was appreciated, it was familiar...it was an echo of something recognized. However, beyond a profit motive, he has displayed absolutely ZERO interest in that community. Far from it, clearly, since he has issued racial slurs and hurled denigrating, dehumanizing insults at members of the very community that has supported him. Clearly, he has no awareness whatsoever, of one of the reasons he may have managed to reach the heights he has. Upon whose backs his luxuries have been acquired.
When we apply this to literature, we are talking about white authors who write stories of PoC--while PoC are not being published with their OWN stories. Again, there is a vast history behind this. On this site is another interesting fact: "Besides losing hundreds of thousands of lives, the Aborigines also lost much of their culture. They could no longer tell their stories and traditions, and in some cases, there was no one to hear them. History was lost."
This quote is specific to the Aborigines of Australia, but can be applied to most PoC all over the world. Wherever colonization has taken place*, along with it has come a steady and consistent loss of history and story told from our perspective. We, as people of colour have been robbed, often through violent and brutal means, of the right to tell our own stories. We have had to stand aside for centuries while our streets have been renamed, our histories distorted, and our own stories delivered to us through European (or Euro-centric) eyes. We have been taught ABOUT ourselves from people who do not share our history. We have been taught in schools through white-authored textbooks to see the world, its peoples, and its history through a white conqueror's perspective.
No one can stop anyone from writing what they want. But what we can request is that the writing which represents us be done with respect, with humility, and with a complete awareness of one's privilege. Do your research--not just of the people you're writing about, but of what it means for you, as someone who has more privilege, to tell their story. And always, always, be mindful of the fact that there is an entire history behind white folks telling the stories of people of colour.
And if you ARE given a "hood pass", imagine that you have been invited into someone's home and welcomed. You are standing on their sacred ground. What will you do with that honour?
I'll close with a few quotes that I stumbled across this week:
"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive."?Audre Lorde
"Our stories are our identities."
-- Reggie McKnight from EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO, by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
"We carve out boundaries in real time."
-- Kesime Bernard (from above post by Adam Mansbach)
*For the purposes of this essay I am focusing on PoC and European colonizers. I am quite aware that there are parts of Europe which were under Ottoman rule for hundreds of years, that some European nations invaded other European nations, and that many nations/peoples were conquered by those who looked just like them. Those of you with white skin who have been affected by these invasions must understand clearly what I am referring to when I write of the erasure and re-writing of history, and the need for those on the receiving end of said invasions to tell their own stories. No need to clarify. I am referring here, to a particular pattern of colonization and imperialism that affected peoples of colour, in alarming numbers, across the globe--specifically, the indiginous populations of the Americas, Africa, South Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. And I am placing this within the context of US publishing--which is a product of the unique racial history of the United States.
Feb 27, 2010 06:00AM
The 2010 New York City Teen Author Festival runs March 15th through the 21st. If you missed it last year, definitely try to check it out this year.
I will be reading and signing books in the Bronx with Coe Booth, Sarah Darer Littman, and Maryrose Wood on the 18th from 10-11:30am at the Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road. Then, on Sunday the 21st, there will be a huge bunch of authors signing their books at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. The mega-event will go from 2-6pm and authors will sign in shifts as before. It was a lot of fun (and jam-packed!) last year, so you won't want to miss it!
Here is the list of authors and their time slots for Sunday's mega-booksigning. I'm in the 3:30-4:15 slot, and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich is in the slot right after mine, along with Debs Jon Skovron and Shani Petroff...
2:00-2:45
Alma Alexander Nora Baskin Cathleen Davitt Bell Judy Blundell Libba Bray Coe Booth Elise Broach Alexandra Bullen Nick Burd Sarah Burningham Susane Colasanti Matt De La Pena Violet Haberdasher Maggie Stiefvater
2:45-3:30
Tom Dolby Heather Duffy-Stone Sarah Beth Durst Elizabeth Eulberg Gayle Forman Aimee Friedman Jenny Han Alice Hoffman Carla Jablonksi Melissa Kantor Kristen Kemp Michelle Knudsen Peter Lerangis David Levithan
3:30-4:15
Sarah Darer Littman Barry Lyga Robin MacCready Carolyn Mackler Sarah Maclean Marianne Mancusi Amanda Marrone Wendy Mass Lauren McLaughlin Neesha Meminger Sarah Mlynowski Michael Northrup Robin Palmer
4:15-5:00
Diana Peterfreund Shani Petroff O.Rhuday-Perkovich Matthue Roth Marie Rutkoski Lisa Ann Sandell Samantha Schutz Elizabeth Scott Kieran ScottCourtney Sheinmel Sara Shepard Abby Sher Jon Skovron
5:00-5:45
Jennifer Smith Natalie Standiford Rachel Vail David Van Etten Siobhan Vivian Adrienne Maria Vrettos Melissa Walker Robin Wasserman Suzanne Weyn Lynn Weingarten Martin Wilson Jake Wizner Maryrose Wood Michelle Zink
