Month: May 2014

{ms. maya, 1928-2014}

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May 28, 2014

11:43 am

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Musings on Extemporanea

tumblr_n6aersU1My1qd4fqho1_500

From the Sesame Street tumblr; how many will remember her best.

Pause a moment and think of her elegant turn of phrase; Ms. Maya Angelou, whose “Dear Teen Me” letter makes me smile. You’re grown – don’t let anybody raise you. Or, in my parlance, “YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.” Dear Ms. Maya, who wanted all women to step lively, stand tall, move those swinging hips, believe in their beauty, and not let anybody put them down, set them aside, or ignore them.

She would have been a little terrifying, probably, in person. But her work glowed with vitality and passion, and was a gift.

{like a room without a roof}

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May 21, 2014

6:07 pm

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Author News, Musings on Extemporanea

Okay.

One of the things I don’t really do is pop culture.

Sometimes, it feels like the world moves too fast — there’s some new It thing every five minutes, and I just cannot keep up. Even when I was a kid, I was still stuck on the Last Cool Thing, while everybody had moved on to what was in… and, honestly? I never reconciled my nerdishness. I felt like a fool, every single time. I didn’t know who Mel Gibson was when I saw him, in person, on the street, in high school. D’oh!

I gave up. After college, I listened to less and less new music, kept up with fewer and fewer shows, watched fewer and fewer movies. I even made it a point of pride. I don’t have a TV. I don’t listen to Top 40 pop music. The last movie I saw was The Frog Princess. I read – because that’s as much as I can keep track of… at least I know all the new books. Mostly. It’s what I tell myself.

It took me awhile to figure out that I was still getting my pop culture news… north-by-northwest. It’s there. It ekes in. I saw that stupid tongue thing Miley Cyrus did (didn’t everyone?), I knew who Macklemore was because he made a thrifting cool. But, it breaks my heart that I missed Pharell Williams until six twentysomthings in Iran were arrested… for dancing to a song innocuously titled “Happy.”

You don’t need to understand the words to feel their defeat. Their backs to the camera, their bodies curved in on themselves, like the contrite on the mourner’s bench, as they’re forced to “confess.” They have shamed their nation, by producing a “vulgar” clip which offends…chastity. An “obscene video clip that offended the public morals and was released in cyberspace,” is the actual charge. Shame. Their bodies are shouting “shame.”

* * *

I watched the video, in which the girls wore wigs to cover their hair, in accordance with their cultural and religious mores, and then I looked up the original song. And then, I cried a bit. The Iranian twentysomethings showed some of scenes of them making their video, at the end, and the hysterical laughter was so… normal.. they laugh like goofy dorks in their country, just like I laugh like a goofy dork in mine. And, I’ve missed this — social phenomenon, of people around the world showing examples of their “happy,” and how it meshes with mine. I’ve missed an awfully perky, fun, infectious and upbeat song for far too long, and how dare I not dance, this very minute, this very day, this very LIFE — because I can???

What a shame, that I’ve been sitting… What a shame to choose to hyperfocus on whatever Issues, and not embrace gladness, at least some of the time.

CNN reports that a few hours ago, the dancers were released – not the director of the video, but sympathy is with those in front of the camera.

(And the one behind? Who can say? I hope he or she is okay…)

As I’ve listened to the song, over and over and over again (oh, yes, I am one of THOSE PEOPLE; poor Tech Boy was SICK of “That’s Alright” from the Laura Uvula CD Jules sent me) it’s like it’s taking over my pulse. Be happy, be happy, be happy. Life is ephemeral, hard things are coming; if you can dance NOW, dance.

I sold a book the other day. I’m happy. I’m getting to where I can run uninterrupted bursts of time on my elliptical machine. I’m darned happy. Tech Boy is funny and sweet and kind. My rent is cheap. I’m paying my bills. I’m honestly …okay.

… I’m happy. This is my new theme song.

And hey! I’m actually in time to be hip with a pop culture movement for once. Whad’dya know. ☺

Let nothing bring you down, my hearts. ♥

{the apple of the unblushing cheek}

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May 14, 2014

5:09 am

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Literary Life Observations

A few weeks ago, Charlesbridge editor Yolanda Scott shared on the Children’s Book Council Diversity blog (CBC Diversity) about working with author Mitali Perkins on her 2010 novel, BAMBOO PEOPLE. At one point, she recalls advising Mitali that her Burmese-born character should blush, when he was embarrassed.

“Mitali gently informed me that the character’s brown skin just wouldn’t redden up like a white person’s would. I felt horrible, stammered something in reply, and let the floor under my desk open and swallow me up. My own cheeks flamed red in ironic retribution.”

It was REALLY brave of Yolanda Scott to share this moment with the world on a diversity website, #1. But, she’s not the only one who occasionally goofs or gaffes and makes gauche statements and social blunders on race and ethnicity. Writers do it too — and it’s sometimes hard to refresh tired body language stereotypes in writing, so good writers are always seeking new ways to get into the topic. Recently, I came across Body Language Success, a website that is all about teaching people tells and cues of body language… and analyzing the body language of public figures.

Can I tell you how much I LOVE this stuff? I have always been a reader of people — and having NAMES for some of the things I observe is just really, super, nerd-tingling-ly cool. (Okay. I’m fine now.) While this April Fool’s prank is my FAVORITE video on the site at the moment — watching people who CAN blush is high entertainment, let me tell you — I find a lot of really good stuff here that works well with writing.

A minor character in my novel just shouted over a loud noise — which had abruptly shut off mid-word. She’s not going to blush — even if she could, not everyone with fair skin even does that.

The girl mouthed something incomprehensible through the roar.

“What?” Zora leaned forward.

Raising her voice, the girl screeched, “I SAID, WHAT’S YOUR NAME?” The last word was unnecessarily loud, as the blower, which had sounded like a jet engine, cut off unexpectedly. “Sorry,” the girl said, ducking her head. She gave a weak smile. “I’m Kayla, and that’s Jasmine. Are you a freshman?”

Even without that hint of blush, I think embarrassment is pretty well clear, no? Hope so. Until then, I keep hoping for the perfect turn of body-language phrase…

{grab bag, this & that}

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May 13, 2014

3:03 pm

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Ethnicity and YA Literature

So, you may have heard the Outrage of the Day, about a Weight Watchers success story, Brooke Birmingham, who, when taking part in Shape Magazine‘s success stories about weight loss successes was dismayed when they rejected her bikini photograph – requiring that for publication she put on a shirt. It was, she was told, a new editorial policy for Shape. Yeah. So very new it didn’t exist. What happened next is that Shape was backhanded by the internet as Lottie, Dottie and EVERYBODY called them out for being sizeist. Suddenly, on a Good Morning, America segment, the editor in chief is eagerly nodding as the host asks if there was just a “big miscommunication,” she’s claiming that the freelance writer they used – “who is no longer associated with Shape Magazine” – was at fault, and they’re announcing that they’re taking Brooke Birmingham and five other women on, to do a photo shoot and talk about what bodies look like after a “significant weight loss.” So, call in the unicorns and the rainbows, and we’ll all live happily ever after.

If you’re not on the bus with the rainbows, that’s okay. I’m cynical, too. I think Shape just threw a freelance writer under the bus and hurried away from the scene of the accident, as if they’d had nothing to do with it. I think this is an example of “legal” truth, not ACTUAL truth; the editor-in-chief said, said that the writer had referenced an editorial policy that “simply does not exist.” I have no doubt that the alleged editorial policy doesn’t exist. I equally don’t doubt that the freelance writer was told to step up and get a “better” picture of the weight loss success story in question… and now she’s been fired for it.

Also, I’m a grump. If I were Brooke, I’d have been knocking at the door of SELF or Women’s Fitness the next day. I would not have gone back to Shape, even if they’d given me gingerbread and new shoes. But, that’s just me: grumpy, cynical me.

That Outrage reminded me a lot of the ReedPOP/BookCon story – which was Outrage of Last Week, and which you’d no doubt heard about. To recap, the BookExpo folks this year managed to organize a panel on the alleged world’s brightest stars in kidlit, and they all managed to be Caucasian and male. Efforts to diversify were to add… John Green? (Also white and male, last we checked) and then made the statement that they were “curating the content that fans wanted to see.” Meanwhile, the internets checked through the rest of the line-up for BookExpo, realized they were ALL CAUCASIAN PEOPLE, AND A CAT, and revved up their Outrage machine. Since then, the convention has added a single, hour-long panel on children’s lit, featuring seven young adult authors of color, the DiversifYA founder, and a moderator, who will be a debut novelist in 2015.

Success, right? An hour-long panel on diverse books, put together by people of color! Yay!

Remember me? Grumpy and cynical? Yeah. Still here. And, while I feel like this is part of what one needs to do, to start the conversation, part of me is gruuuummmmmmpy and wants to take my toys and go home. It’s tempting to think, “Yeah, they should ALL boycott BookExpo!” No. This – what they’re doing by convening a panel – is right. It’s just really, really, really, really, REALLY, REALLY tiresome… that it seems that progress in parity is only gained after screeching and pushing. Nobody wants to be seen as a screecher and a pusher. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could think, instead, of themselves as observers and listeners, so no one would have to scream at them and push them?? Sigh. Moot point.

Keep the discussion going, even if you’re a cynical, cranky nerd like me. Save the date, October 10-11, Sacramento.

2014 Con 3

{only real people here}

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May 6, 2014

1:59 pm

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Web Wanderings, What We Do, Who We Are, World o' Blogs

I don’t want my characters to serve as symbols. I want them to feel like people. I want them to feel like you, and your family, and your friends, and your enemies. And I don’t want them to feel real ‘in spite of’ their challenges. I want those challenges to be part of what makes them real.

After all, they’re part of what makes us real.

Here’s the thing about fiction. It’s one of the ways we understand the world. We tell ourselves stories to work out who we are, and to make sense of reality. Stories are incredibly powerful – and incredibly dangerous. By making things up you can tell the truth; or you can create, perpetuate and reinforce a lie. Simplistic, tokenistic ‘uses’ of disability in fiction – as though it’s a thing to be ‘used’ and not an intrinsic facet of the human condition – are a way of not telling the truth. And by not telling ourselves the truth in our stories, we make it easier to avoid the truth in our daily lives.

The truth is, every one of us is differently abled. Every single one.”

Stephanie Saulter, author of GEMSIGNS, guests posts at SF Signal.

{poetry friday: perspective}

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May 2, 2014

12:55 pm

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Part and Poetry

Well, what do you know. I’m revisiting the idea of participating quietly in PF, simply because I had fun doing a haiku-a-day. We’ll see how long my run lasts.

A strange week – working with and talking about and experiencing a groundswell in the diversity conversation – and also experiencing a backlash (within an institution with which I work – I can’t get into that, but — wow. It’s a little alarming to think, sometimes, what year it is, and how feminism and women’s rights can be perceived by some). A lot of people felt a lot of schadenfreude this week, to observe the takedown of the owner of the Clippers basketball team… and I provoked much surprise and dismay when I commented that I felt the whole thing was more like the hubub and the drama surrounding the Paula Deen episode: sound and fury, signifying nothing – just a couple of old racists, blowing steam. People knew this man was a racist a long time ago; they tolerated it until it because a business liability (exactly the same deal with the Deen thing). I’m not a cynic entirely (I hope) and I feel that there is a time to be happy about society changing direction, but this isn’t a change. This is another episode of “Money Talks.”

This week’s Twitter campaign #WeNeedDiverseBooks has been fun to watch – I’ve been so touched by what people have written. And yet. I am eager and hopeful to begin the conversation that begins, “Now, here’s what we’ll do next…” The next steps are vital, the place where we actually do something other than talk is crucial. It’s good to be in a place where between librarians and booksellers and readers, this is all playing out. Money still talks. How will publishing take this challenge? Time will tell…

A lot of intellectual inquiry going on, and my brain is tired. Must be why I’m imagining the bliss of lying down – and staring at the ceiling.

2014 Benicia 003 HDR

tea snots

classy, this joint. Don’t
leave elbows tabletop. Can’t
slurp tea, kick off shoes, or grin –
tummy in, nose up.

{we need diverse books, because…}

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May 1, 2014

1:18 pm

1 Comment on {we need diverse books, because…}

Author News, Book News, General Coolness, Happenings, What We Do, Who We Are

A la Carte
We need diverse books, because…

…too often, our idea of attractiveness tends to be a straight, pale line: Eurocentric, able-bodied, waif-bodied, gendernormative, conformist. Diverse books remind us that our stories are varicolored, many shaped, multi-shaded and arc in bright leaps along a non-conformist spectrum. Beauty – Adventure – and best of all, Love – is where you find it. ♥

So, diversity. Suddenly everybody’s talking about it. What’s it for? Why do we need diverse books? That, friends, is the question the crew at #WeNeedDiverseBooks wants YOU to answer.

Make Noise: TODAY at 1pm (EST), there will be a public call for action that will spread over 3 days. We’re starting with a visual social media campaign using the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks. We want people to tweet, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, blog, and post anywhere they can to help make the hashtag go viral.

For the visual part of the campaign:

♦ Take a photo holding a sign that says “We need diverse books because ___________________________.” Fill in the blank with an important, poignant, funny, and/or personal reason why this campaign is important to you.

♦ The photo – family friendly, of course – can be of you, your buds, your stuffed animals, your Barbies, your local library or fave bookstore – and should say clearly WHY you support diversity in kids’ lit. Even a photo of the sign without you will work.

♦ Make Art: There will be a Tumblr at We Need Diverse Books Dot Tumblr Dot Com that will host all of the photos and messages for the campaign. Please submit your visual component by May 1st to weneeddiversebooks@yahoo.com with the subject line “photo” or submit it right on the Tumblr page here and it will be posted throughout the first day.

♦ Starting at 1:00PM (EST) the Tumblr will start posting and it will be our job to reblog, tweet, Facebook, or share wherever we think will help get the word out. (Have you checked it yet? Some good discussion is already going.)

♦ From 1pm EST to 3pm EST, there will be a nonstop hashtag party to spread the word. It is hoped that we’ll get enough people to participate to make the hashtag trend and grab the notice of more media outlets. This could be big!

♦ The Tumblr will continue to be active throughout the length of the campaign, and for however long the discussion keeps going, so all are welcome to keep emailing or sending in submissions even after May 1st.

On May 2nd, the second part of the campaign will roll out with a Twitter chat scheduled for 2pm (EST) using the same hashtag. Please use #WeNeedDiverseBooks at 2pm on May 2nd and share your thoughts on the issues with diversity in literature and why diversity matters to you.

On May 3rd, 2pm (EST), the third portion of the campaign will begin. There will be a Diversify Your Shelves initiative to encourage people to put their money where their mouth is and buy diverse books and take photos of them. Diversify Your Shelves is all about actively seeking out diverse literature in bookstores and libraries, and there will be some fantastic giveaways for people who participate in the campaign! More details to come!

Everybody’s talking about diversity… but is there anything we can really do about it? Let’s find out. Make some noise – so that media outlets will pick it up as a news item. Raise your voice – so that the organizers of BEA and every big conference and festival out there gets the message that diversity is important – and why. We hope you will help spread the word by being a part of this movement.

So, that brings us back to the question…

Why do you need diverse books?