{"id":1086,"date":"2020-09-24T08:42:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T13:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2020-09-24T08:43:29","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T13:43:29","slug":"a-literary-desegregationist-selects-11-works-published-by-black-women-writers-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/a-literary-desegregationist-selects-11-works-published-by-black-women-writers-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"A Literary Desegregationist Selects 11 Works Published by Black Women Writers in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-5 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"205\" height=\"246\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Irby-pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1104\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Irby-pic.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/irby-pic\/\" class=\"wp-image-1104\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Irby-pic.jpg 205w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Irby-pic-125x150.jpg 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"256\" height=\"305\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NK-Jemisin-pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1101\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NK-Jemisin-pic.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/nk-jemisin-pic\/\" class=\"wp-image-1101\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NK-Jemisin-pic.jpg 256w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NK-Jemisin-pic-252x300.jpg 252w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NK-Jemisin-pic-126x150.jpg 126w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"200\" height=\"244\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/trethewey-pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1102\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/trethewey-pic.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/trethewey-pic\/\" class=\"wp-image-1102\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/trethewey-pic.jpg 200w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/trethewey-pic-123x150.jpg 123w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/alexis-henderson-pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1100\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/alexis-henderson-pic.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/alexis-henderson-pic\/\" class=\"wp-image-1100\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/alexis-henderson-pic.jpg 300w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/alexis-henderson-pic-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Taylor-Candacy-pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1099\" data-full-url=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Taylor-Candacy-pic.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/taylor-candacy-pic\/\" class=\"wp-image-1099\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Taylor-Candacy-pic.jpg 300w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Taylor-Candacy-pic-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To witness is to humanize. Reading is an act of both\nwitnessing and humanization. The passive activity of reading \u2013 sitting silent\nin a room and devoting one\u2019s full attention to a printed page \u2013 is a powerful\naction. A step toward becoming anti-bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A cisgender, white female friend of mine quipped that she\nfound a certain transgendered woman\u2019s poetry unexceptional because the transgendered\nwoman still felt post-transition rage.&nbsp;\nMy friend said, \u201cI know other trans women, and frankly, their transition\nis the least interesting thing about them. I know one, for example, who is\nextremely well-read. In fact, she is better read than you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zingers zap amok.&nbsp; My\nfriend rendered invisible the transgendered woman and me in a few sentences.\nShe edited us out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With humility, I am a well-read Black girl.&nbsp; My professors at Columbia University &#8212; James\nShapiro, Maryse Conde, and Eric Foner &#8212; are better read than I. &nbsp;To everyone else: I challenge you to post a\npicture of your bookshelves on Instagram and let\u2019s start counting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless, if you were to study my shelves, you would see\nthat I read a disproportionate number of Black women writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My friend perceived deficiency in my reading because she and\nI are not reading the same books. She devalues my reading selection to the\npoint of invisibility. She is a literary segregationist. Whites only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have another white female friend who lives in Shaker\nHeights. She travels along Buckeye Road to work at a law firm in downtown\nCleveland. Her friends and colleagues urge her to stop taking such a dangerous\nroute. She says, \u201cIt\u2019s the quickest way to get to work, and these people are\njust poor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My Shaker friend is an accidental\ntourist. She views the abandoned houses, bag ladies, and lottery-tobacco-liquor\nstores. She does not stop for gas, but she witnesses the other. To witness is\nto humanize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therein lies one answer to a literary\n\u201cwhites only\u201d policy. Drive across literary racial boundaries because it\u2019s the\nquickest route. The quickest route to a different story. The quickest route to witnessing\nthe other. Ideally, the quickest route to anti-bias humanization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you too are an accidental tourist willing to cross the\ncolor line and become a freedom rider of letters, here is a list of my favorite\nbooks written by Black women in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100\" height=\"154\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Irby-e1600784446394.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1094\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nonfiction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wow, no thank you by Samantha Irby (Memoir): <\/strong>Discovering\nSamantha Irby is like being transported to humor heaven. Filled with zingy\none-liners about all facets of life, Irby is in rare form. The essays in the\nbook cover an enormous number of topics, from Crone\u2019s disease, to marrying a\nwoman with children, to house repair, to introversion, to urination and poop.\nNothing is taboo to Irby, and everything in life can be a source of humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"90\" height=\"135\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Rankine-e1600784831507.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1092\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Memoir shout out \u2013 <em>Memoir Drive<\/em> by Natasha Threthewey<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Just Us: An American Conversation, Claudia Rankine\n(Essay): <\/strong>All hail Claudia Rankine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Overground Railroad, Candacy Taylor (History): <\/strong><em>Overground\nRailroad<\/em> is an impressive tour through U.S. history when it was unsafe for Black\npeople to travel the roadways since they were often turned away from\nrestaurants, hotels, and gas stations. The book is a great companion to the movie\n<em>Green Book<\/em> and the television series <em>Lovecraft Country<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fiction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"90\" height=\"142\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Evans-e1600784947535.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1091\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans (Short\nStories): <\/strong>I have been holding my breath for Danielle Evan&#8217;s next book of\nshort stories since <em>Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self<\/em>. This\ncollection was worth the wait. She delivers the same great story telling,\ninsight, and sharp cultural commentary. Her touch on themes usually associated\nwith older people, such as redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, moved me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Year of the Witching, Alexis Henderson (Fantasy): <\/strong>If\nyou\u2019re fan of gothic literature, tales of cult-like religion, examinations of\nrace and misogyny, and powerful witches, then I can guarantee that you\u2019ll love\nAlexis Henderson\u2019s debut novel. Henderson has crafted a terrifying,\nheart-pounding, and surprisingly romantic feminist fantasy that you\u2019ll tear\nthrough in a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fantasy shout out \u2013 <em>The City We Became<\/em> by N.K. Jemisin\nand <em>The We and the They<\/em> by Kyra Ann Dawkins<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Okorafor-small.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1103\" width=\"96\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Okorafor-small.jpg 403w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Okorafor-small-195x300.jpg 195w, http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Okorafor-small-98x150.jpg 98w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 100vw, 96px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>LaGuardia, Nnedi Okorafor (Graphic Novel): <\/strong>Not every\nauthor can transition from novel writing to comic writing smoothly. LaGuardia\ndid not disappoint. This is an allegory about &#8216;America First&#8217; immigration\npolicies, racism, and fear. She builds fearful anti-alien characters with\ncompassion while tracing an arc that reveals the absurdity of their prejudices.\nShe creates a large cast of characters from across the world and the universe illustrating\nthe complexities of immigration, war, and hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Graphic novel shout out: <em>Parable of the Sower<\/em> by Damian\nDuffy and John Jennings, adapted from Octavia Butler<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett (Literary Fiction): <\/strong>Scroll\ndown to read Margy Adams\u2019 blog post \u201cBlack Looks: Race, Beauty, and Memory in\nBrit Bennett\u2019s new Must-Read, <em>The Vanishing Half.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"90\" height=\"136\" src=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Gulllory-e1600784998722.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1088\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Party of Two, Jasmine Gillory (Romance): <\/strong>Of all the\nofferings in Jasmine Guillory&#8217;s Wedding Date series, I loved this one the most.\nNot only do the characters feel authentic in their feelings and actions, the\ntension between our two main characters is wonderfully delicious. Funny, warm\nand romantic. I recommend it to anyone who loves \u2013 or even just likes \u2013\ncontemporary romance novels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To witness is to humanize. Reading is an act of both witnessing and humanization. The passive activity of reading \u2013 sitting silent in a room and devoting one\u2019s full attention to a printed page \u2013 is a powerful action. A &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/a-literary-desegregationist-selects-11-works-published-by-black-women-writers-in-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2406,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,13],"tags":[105,110],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1106,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions\/1106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w1.loganberrybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}