tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post2647909668687247972..comments2024-01-13T21:31:23.388-05:00Comments on Reading While White: Alongside, Not Despite: Talking about Race and Settler Colonialism in a Children’s Literature Graduate CourseReading While Whitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07807138877345669931noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-91566657117582928642017-05-04T22:56:51.246-04:002017-05-04T22:56:51.246-04:00Yes--I remember meeting both of you there (you had...Yes--I remember meeting both of you there (you had on a great dress, blue I think?). I'm so looking forward to Annual next month. Maybe our paths will cross? And for what it's worth, I think letting emotions (including frustration and anger) get the best of us *is* best sometimes, and it's honest and often just plain generous. Megan Dowd Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14650250546079160291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-22597859196408477622017-05-01T16:54:45.503-04:002017-05-01T16:54:45.503-04:00Thanks, again, Megan for your response. I really a...Thanks, again, Megan for your response. I really appreciated your article as it put into words what I was too frustrated to say. I too have had those same responses in my ignorant past, and I want more than that from places like Horn Book--it's frustrating to see such an uncritical piece on such a big platform. I understand it, I just want us to be better/further along and my frustration really came through that day. <br /><br />We met briefly at ALA via Melissa ZD, and what I admire about both of you is the careful consideration and kindness you put into your words--even about hard topics. I tend to have an emotional reaction long before I can articulate what is actually bothering me, so I always appreciate and learn from you thoughtful people :)Ms. Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093580866958106241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-9217326609133894612017-04-29T11:22:20.353-04:002017-04-29T11:22:20.353-04:00Cheriee, Pippi Longstocking was a book I tried to ...Cheriee, Pippi Longstocking was a book I tried to read with my kids and then stopped reading just a few pages in. The myriad references to "cannibals" and such put me right over the edge. I'd be interested to know what your rereading brings you.<br /><br />I'm a reviewer too (for the Horn Book and Kirkus) and I hope I'm not overstepping by saying that if you "feel incompetent to assess" a book you should tell your editor so. Sure, asking friends for input could help, but maybe your editor could find a reviewer better-suited to the task? It's humbling to say "I am not the right person for this job" but it's also potentially a moment of passing the mic to amplify the voice of someone who's been marginalized and who could offer a great deal. <br /><br />And, when I've encountered books I have ideological or other objections to in an assignment from the Horn Book I've told them that if they want a positive review in the Magazine (as opposed to the Guide, which does carry negative reviews, too) I am not the right person to review it for xyz reasons. Sometimes they have reassigned a review, but most times they've taken my input and put a book in the Guide instead.<br /><br />As for Kirkus, I've given negative reviews to many books there (sometimes for ideological reasons sometime not), but the anonymity rule won't let me say which ones. And in a few cases my reviews there have even prompted publishers to make changes to problematic content, or they have sparked broader discussion of books on various blogs and social media. It's hard not to jump in on those conversations myself, but I don't. My review is my contribution. And, I can also think of a few time when I've reviewed a book and missed something that someone else points out in another review, on social media, or on a blog, and then I kick myself a little, listen a lot, and try to do better.<br /><br />I understand the impulse to be "pissed off" at authors, but I think it's more about the systems that allow books to make it through several stages of vetting and editing only to reach f&g or print stage with racist or otherwise problematic content intact. We know that individual authors are people who make mistakes and have limitations like everyone else, but perhaps tied to this discussion of nostalgia and sentimentality is the impulse to make celebrities of authors and hold them up as somehow infallible or untouchable. I haven't thought that through, but it seems related.<br /><br />Thanks again for your replyMegan Dowd Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14650250546079160291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-1557705858774338322017-04-29T11:19:58.972-04:002017-04-29T11:19:58.972-04:00Thanks for the comments everyone! I can't figu...Thanks for the comments everyone! I can't figure out how to thread replies, so I will post responses here:<br /><br />Sam, I first encountered Maniac Magee as a grad student, too, and I haven't reread it since then. But I remember feeling similarly to what I think you describe--like wow! How exciting to read about an anti-racist White kid. But... then in class discussion I started questioning how anti-racist this White kid really is, and how he essentially espouses a colorblind worldview, and I remember talking about how very *safe* this book is for White readers. Your post makes me want to reread it, and then talk with you about it.<br /><br />Anna, I looked at that post, and I must admit that I have written/felt/said similar things in my life. One take-away from that post for me is a resistance to "alongside" and a clinging to "despite." Nostalgia and sentimentality are powerful pulls! And in the context of this discussion, when I am aware of their pull, I try to think about the price of their seduction, which is one paid out of the unearned privilege I'm afforded as a White person. I've definitely encountered many students who want to reread a beloved book from childhood and return to a perceived state of childhood innocence, and they initially regard a broader, critical rereading (whether grounded in Critical Race Theory or another lens) as an acquiescence to disillusionment. One thing I've asked students to consider is why the word "disillusion" carries a negative connotation. Isn't losing one's illusions a good thing? Isn't it a step toward authenticity, honesty, and openness to other perspectives and experiences?<br /><br />Stacy, I've seen you post on Twitter a bit about the course you're planning, and I am honored you're including this post. Have you seen Sarah Hannah Gomez's Horn Book piece: Decolonizing Nostalgia? http://www.hbook.com/2016/10/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/decolonizing-nostalgia-when-historical-fiction-betrays-readers-of-color/#_ It came out too late for me to assign last semester, but I referenced it in class. I'd love to talk with you about your class someday and trade notes.<br /><br />Cheriee, I'll respond in another post because this one got too long...<br /> <br /><br />Thanks again for commenting everyone.Megan Dowd Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14650250546079160291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-68796459494978985262017-04-28T21:31:22.820-04:002017-04-28T21:31:22.820-04:00Thank you for a couple of reasons.
First, I'm ...Thank you for a couple of reasons.<br />First, I'm going to go back and revisit my childhood heroine, Pippy Longstocking. I'll have to see how that goes.<br />Second, as a retired white teacher librarian who still reads children's literature, I'm struggling a lot these days with how I can review and respond to books written by other white people who are telling other culture's stories. I'm in a position now where I need to make a decision about whether or not to recommend a title that I feel incompetent to assess. (I finally asked a friend who is within the culture to read it and promised to provide the wine when we talk about it) <br /> I'm pissed off that the author, who also teaches creative writing, even wrote the book to start with. <br />What do we do in these kinds of instances.?<br />Cheriee Weichelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15662398117320256935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-31743488161468012222017-04-28T18:29:29.343-04:002017-04-28T18:29:29.343-04:00I'm syllabus planning for a cultural competenc...I'm syllabus planning for a cultural competency class for editors this month, and this is going in the syllabus alongside my already-planned discussion of the Little House books. Thanks!Stacy Whitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10368249394199905486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-6958508849935390512017-04-27T18:19:16.636-04:002017-04-27T18:19:16.636-04:00Oh man, this was the palate cleanser I needed afte...Oh man, this was the palate cleanser I needed after reading a post on Horn Book about revisiting childhood favorites today. Thank you Megan!Ms. Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093580866958106241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9160636034192691079.post-14793059459087471012017-04-27T09:46:58.755-04:002017-04-27T09:46:58.755-04:00I think this is a powerful discussion to have with...I think this is a powerful discussion to have with people, Megan, and I thank you for sharing it with us! When you wrote that "a student said she was struggling with how to reconcile her fond childhood memories of co-reading the books with her mother and her contemporary recognition of how the series perpetuates ideologies that are abhorrent to her," you've hit on something that I think *EVERY* teacher/librarian/adult struggles with. Personally, my difficulties lie not with something I read during childhood (but God knows I probably have myriad reading experiences I just can't remember at this point) but instead with some extremely formative reading experiences I had in my children's lit classes when I was in education classes in college. The book that REALLY resonated with me, so much so that I tend to caress it lovingly when it comes across the desk (I work at a public library so I have occasion to do so quite often), was Maniac Magee. I look back on it now and, honestly, I'm scared to reread it because I can recall some of the stereotypes Spinelli played on (the White savior, the magical POC, etc.) quite skillfully. But that's my privilege as a White person, that I can choose to NOT reread it and everything will go on just fine in my life. So thanks again, Megan, for having these conversations, and for sharing those experiences with us!Sam Bloomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12225131033978509934noreply@blogger.com