Cover Art for Bloodchildren
When Nisi Shawl called me up and asked me to do the cover for her anthology Bloodchildren, I was astonished. Not because she asked me but because I knew I was going to say yes. I’ve never done a cover and my photography is normally unsuited for SF anthology. But two days before she called, for the first time I had a clear sense of my new project, and this request fit the areas I was thinking about.
...read moreBook You Should Read: Some Of My Best Friends Are Black
Tanner Colby has written a fascinating history of segregation/integration in America, which looks at how and why the racial integration process has utterly failed. He travels across the country to look at four key social pillars: schools, housing, the church, and the advertising industry. What he finds is that black people and white people in America are living parallel but separate lives — and that the white side of things retains a hold on power, money and influence. I will be writing a full review very soon, but in the meantime, you should pick it up.
...read moreEscapes and Ensnarement
Did you miss me? I decided to enjoy the last of my holidays engaging with such fun activities as reading books (because you just know I don’t have to read enough of those as an English major). Now, with books, enjoyment is a risky prospect. You might end up with some really bad writing, or [...]
...read moreReview: Not Ordinarily Borrowable or, Unwelcome Advice by Thomas Thurman
Friends, we here at Feministe are all lovers of books, particularly books about women going out in the world, and into themselves. That’s why it was such a pleasure to receive a review copy of such a book written by one of our own readers. That book is Not Ordinarily Borrowable or, Unwelcome Advice, a [...]
...read moreHappy Birthday, Jane Austen!
Jane Austen, observer of the minutiae in Regency English life, is fundamental reading in many a lady’s library. She would have been 235 years old today. I can never quite decide if my favourite of hers is Emma or Sense and Sensibility.
...read moreSweet Serendipity
Funny that my spiral into self-reflection (and slight self-blaming) coincided with my time as a guest blogger here at Feministe. Actually, it isn’t funny at all – things in my life usually tends to work in an oddly serendipitous manner and having you all here to help me reflect has been incredible. From what’s been [...]
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The narrative we’re told/sold over and over again
In January, a storm blew up over cover art for new young adult novel Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. I haven’t read the book, so I’ll not summarise it, but you can read about it if you click through to the author’s website. The book’s main character, Nimira, is explicitly described in non-white terms [...]
...read moreBlack Male Outsider
I wanted to plug this book while I’m still blogging for you all. It’s a memoir by Gary L. Lemons, a former professor of mine, who had a large influence on the development of my politics. I took a number of his classes when I was in college, more than of any other professor. He [...]
...read moreFemale Noir: Rewriting a Genre
As I’ve mentioned before (and, as is obvious to anyone who’s read my blog,) I have a bit of a thing for mysteries and hardboiled noir. I’m by no means an expert on either genre, admittedly, but it’s a hobby interest of mine. I just really love the way gender plays out in them: in [...]
...read moreWhy the Frey Fake Memoir Scandal Matters
Oh I love it when Gawker does in-depth analysis. You know what? The media coverage IS really irritating. But it’s also necessary, albeit for very specific reasons. On a big, naive level, it’s about realizing that cheaters do win. You should already know that, though. On another level, this is really about books and the [...]
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