June 10, 2020
Black Writers Matter
I don’t recall the catalyst for my decision to make a point of seeking out Black women authors in my reading (it might have been The Turner House, by Angela Flournoy), but only that I kept on doing it because the rewards were plenty. And I too have been frustrated by a lack of Black female voices in Canadian literature, which critic Donna Bailey Nurse addresses here, mostly because if the American example is any indication, then CanLit is missing out on so much—although there have been incremental changes on this front and I can now list Black Canadian women authors on more than one hand. (Note: this is still not enough, thank you.)
And in the last two weeks since the murder of George Floyd, as many white readers and white bloggers have been made suddenly conscious of the lack of diversity on their bookshelves (or cringe-worthingly hyper conscious of what diversity is there—yikes. Stop it, guys!), I’ve thought about posting a list about the Black writers I love, and the reason I’ve decided to partake in this kind of performance is because I’ve not written about so many of those books here on my blog, posting on the far more ephemeral Instagram instead, and so much gets lost that way.
And also because at this moment when so many readers are looking to add Black writers to their to-be-read lists, I can offer many excellent authors and books to start with—because this is only the beginning.
Oh my gosh, what a list! It’s going to be difficult knowing where to begin. I see an easy handful I’d be interested in. I may begin with Tessa McWatt’s book.
just me again. I jotted down a handful of books to check out for future. I am so disappointed that the very first one I checked out, The Mother by Yvette Edwards isn’t even listed at Goodreads. Like not even there. Thankfully Amazon.ca has it and a description but I’m gobsmacked at how invisible it is.
Okay, I’ll make my leave now.
It actually IS there—https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26116516-the-mother Yvvette has two Vs. But yes, hard to find. I came to this book after a recommendation by the excellent Donna Bailey Nurse, and it was terrific.