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