Diverse voices exist in literature but are under-represented by trade publishers.
All hail the dawn of self-publishing!
The tragedy of George Floyd’s death in the United States has sparked a resurgence for the recognition of black writers. Read the rumble in the UK here on what the newly found Black Writer’s Guild has initiated.
It is shocking to note that black writers are offered a lower advance to that of their white contemporaries, and editors ask for white or racist characters to be added to books.
As an author of colour, in Australia, I faced the dilemma of whether I should create a neutral non-black pen name to get publishing recognition. But my writing mission is, In our angst and joy, we are ONE under the sky of humanity, which does not support using a pen name and so authenticity prevailed.
My apartheid past in South Africa had stolen the right to feel comfortable in my skin or to dare to speak out against racism. Hence my debut novel Across Time and Space and the sequel Vindication Across Time, present the bald face of racism as a universal disease through my eyes. My third novel, Souls of Her Daughters exposes injustice on multiple levels.
Fear makes one believe that a name that hints at race would be bypassed by publishers and readers. Listen to the words of author Michael La Ronn who articulates the issues black writer’s face in writing and publishing. Note what he says about gaslighting
Racism – Inequality – Injustice – Prejudice – by any name must be caught and called in the books we read, movies we watch and conversations we have
The Zulu word Ubuntu refers to the human spirit as it should be:
- I am because we are
- humanity towards others
- the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity
In writing multicultural stories as I do – the spirit of Ubuntu prevails.
What will you be reading and watching in the renaissance of Black Lives Matter in literature?
I recommend watching the movie In My Country on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in South Africa and Rabbit-Proof Fence on Australia’s Stolen Generation.
From the Uncle Tom’s Cabin and beyond, voices have raised the alarm but sadly the call to end racism fell on deaf ears. Now it must be made history, an unforgotten one to remind us that prejudice is heinous and should be obliterated from the stage of life. Diverse voices that are in the main ignored, share why the human condition needs a radical shake-up.
Feel the angst, walk a mile in the shoes of the racially downtrodden – only then will you know the corrosive impact of racism.
The wound of prejudice cuts deep to the soul leaving indelible scars.
But you pick your head up, as you do, to face another day no longer silent especially to subtle bias…
In the wake of the change in 2020 and beyond, walk a mile through these suggestions to know and feel that in our diversity the common factor is that we are emotional beings with the capacity to rectify prejudice by the stories we tell and read.
Here are ten suggestions where diverse voices rip out your heart to sensitise your soul.
- Long Walk to Freedom – Nelson Mandela
- . My Place -Sally Morgan
- Talking to My Country – Stan Grant
- To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
- The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead
- Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Cry the Beloved Country – Alan Paton
- The Power of One – Bryce Courtney
- The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison
- Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence – Derald Wing Sue
May you write and read stories that share histories to sensitise our souls to dismantle racial bias.
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