Book Controversies Week 7

While I was reading the article, "The Real Problem with American Dirt", I came across the lines, "the most reductive and harmful summary of the numerous critiques of American Dirt is that her detractors are asserting that Cummins’s whiteness should preclude her from writing about people of color. But while there are a few people out there claiming that authors should never write outside of their lived experiences, they’re mostly a fringe group." 

Seeing this, I was reminded of an argument that I've had with my dad more than once. He's a writer. Not a like a writer with books published that you've heard of, but a writer who has written on creative projects throughout his life, having articles and short stories published and radio shows produced with his work. As a proponent of the Own Voices movement, he hears me say that we need authors that can write authentically about their experiences so that we all have a better understanding of each other. And while he agrees there should be more of this, he also hears that he should never write about other people's experiences, ever. 

From his perspective, it isn't a fringe argument that writers shouldn't write about characters of color but what culture at large tells writers. The American Dirt article clearly warns of the pitfall of writing outside of your experience, that inaccuracies and unintentional inclusion of harmful stereotypes are more likely. However, Ramin Ganeshram wrote in this article from this week's readings that if our right to write about characters or experiences were predicated on our skin color then "we are at a dangerous precipice where research, scholarship, and dedication to a subject can fall away when a mob decides an author doesn't fit in the right box." My dad's argument normally goes along these lines.

From where I stand I typically try to explain to him that no one says he can't have characters of color in his writing, just that he shouldn't make them his main character and write as though he understands that lived experience. These articles only reinforce that stance, but I'm sure others only hear that they shouldn't try because they might be labeled as problematic.

The reality is that the conversation around how to write these characters is nuanced, as both articles discuss if you read them through. The problem is that nuanced ideas don't stick in people's minds. Everyone thinks that you must be on one extreme or another these days.