tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post5792337191718977237..comments2010-10-13T14:30:16.174-04:00Mitali Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16081024119047826077noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-87873061284289721032010-10-13T14:30:16.174-04:002010-10-13T14:30:16.174-04:00One of my favorite poets, Elizabeth Bishop, went to great lengths to avoid being labeled as a feminist poet. She didn&#39;t like labels, she didn&#39;t see herself as a feminist poet, but a female who wrote poetry. I always think of her when I feel resistant to the label of multicultural writer. It&#39;s an uncomfortable one for me, but maybe it has to do with the fear of being marginalized. But reading your post now, it&#39;s kind of refreshing, the idea of taking back that word. Thanks for offering that!sheela-charihttp://sheela-chari.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-34134430092584689122007-11-24T15:55:00.001-05:002007-11-24T15:55:00.001-05:00Mitali, so interesting to think of Traveling Pants being an M book b/c of Carmen. Goes to prove that it's definitely about the author, many (most) times.<BR/><BR/>As an argument against shelving books by ethnicity - I've often asked why James Patterson books aren't in the African American section of the bookstores. After all, Alex Delaware, the MC of one of his longest running series is African American.<BR/><BR/>As a writer of YA, I've only ever wanted my books to appeal to any reader that was touched by the story. But that's simply un-marketable. LOLPaulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16995262723350443110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-37840424002892947192007-11-24T15:55:00.000-05:002007-11-24T15:55:00.000-05:00Mitali, so interesting to think of Traveling Pants being an M book b/c of Carmen. Goes to prove that it's definitely about the author, many (most) times.<BR/><BR/>As an argument against shelving books by ethnicity - I've often asked why James Patterson books aren't in the African American section of the bookstores. After all, Alex Delaware, the MC of one of his longest running series is African American.<BR/><BR/>As a writer of YA, I've only ever wanted my books to appeal to any reader that was touched by the story. But that's simply un-marketable. LOLPaulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16995262723350443110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-13236149167282719702007-11-21T16:08:00.001-05:002007-11-21T16:08:00.001-05:00Anonymous, editor Jennifer's two books were Sherman Alexie's <I>Diary</I> (winner) and Sara Zarr's <I>Story of a Girl</I>.Mitali Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16081024119047826077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-9467622849414567072007-11-21T16:08:00.000-05:002007-11-21T16:08:00.000-05:00Paula, you're right. The M-label is often given because of the author, not the book. But that gets odd when you push it. How M does an author have to be before s/he loses the label? Marina Budhos is half South Asian. Does that make "Ask Me No Questions" more "multicultural" than Paula Jolin's "In the Name of God"? Both feature Muslim protagonists, but Jolin is white, not just half-white (feels weird even to write that). <BR/><BR/>Or are they both M-reads because of their protagonists? Okay, then, is Traveling Pants an M-read because Carmen is half-Cuban?<BR/><BR/>Bottom Line: When it comes to getting the books in the hands of all kinds of readers, does the M-label hinder or help? <BR/><BR/>Maybe our goal should be to move the label to the readership, and hope that all of our books will appeal to a multitude of readers from every class, culture, and continent.Mitali Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16081024119047826077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-82924198806324318442007-11-21T13:40:00.000-05:002007-11-21T13:40:00.000-05:00What Paula said... <BR/><BR/>I have faith that "they'll" eventually get it right ;).Poojahttp://www.poojamakhijani.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-48335778726995245712007-11-21T10:24:00.000-05:002007-11-21T10:24:00.000-05:00If only the publishing industry knew what to do with the label multi-cultural. I wish they'd either find a way to truly market under it, so that books by authors of color flourish or get rid of it and market every single book by it's subject matter/context.<BR/><BR/>I don't mind being multi-cultural. To me, it means the characters of a book likely represents more than one single race. But what I've discovered is, the marketing will go by whatever the race of the author and/or main character is. Which then dilutes the multi-cultural aspect of the book. <BR/><BR/>Maybe they'll get it right eventually.Paulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16995262723350443110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-32017830214016770812007-11-21T05:04:00.000-05:002007-11-21T05:04:00.000-05:00I know what you mean about pondering the merits and demerits of "separate but equal." However, I've noticed that more than a couple of the big houses all but ignore the existence of young Asian readers out there. They sure do use Asian illustrators for their picture books, though, but only one or two authors. Inclusion seems to be going too slowly; minority publishers would offer another avenue, though not the best. <BR/><BR/>Who are the two National Book Award nominess who have Jennifer Hunt as their editor? What a coup for her. Made me glad of hear of it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-38287319878095149492007-11-20T15:07:00.000-05:002007-11-20T15:07:00.000-05:00I am glad to read about your experience. One of these days I'll attend an event like this and look for you!Cloudscomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12355192738014962965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-26406331716701708152007-11-20T08:03:00.000-05:002007-11-20T08:03:00.000-05:00I go back and forth on that issue as I wonder if "separate but equal" in the world of publishing is the ideal way to go. Some mainstream publishing houses are just beginning to respond to and anticipate the rapid browning of America. Maybe that's a hopeful sign, as is the fact that the editor of two of the National Book Award nominees is African American (Jennifer Hunt). Her ethnicity really hasn't seemed to be a big deal to the rest of the world, but it certainly was noted by those of us on the margins.Mitali Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16081024119047826077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12388307.post-71236271743338606512007-11-20T03:35:00.000-05:002007-11-20T03:35:00.000-05:00I went back to your Friday, November 2nd, blog and left a comment a few days ago. The topic of that blog was multi-cultural book writing and illustrating. You'll have to backtrack to read it.<BR/><BR/>It's saddening how small a percentage of minority children's and YA fiction is published in the nation each year and over the years. If only more minority-owned publishing houses would emerge and give multi-cultural writers more opportunities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com