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I haven't had a podcast round-up for a while, and I thought I'd share just a couple that have resonated with me over the past few weeks.
TED Radio Hour - Identity: I seem to be obsessed with identity this year. What makes us feel like we belong and how much does a label hold us back? I heard Elif Shafak's commentary right after I finished the book Americanah, by Chimamanda Adichie, and the contrast really struck me. Adichie's novel feels like it's written in Adichie's voice - one of a Nigerian immigrant to America. She talks about experiences she has had or that people close to her have had. She writes what she knows, and she writes it very, very well.
Shafak is a Muslim woman who spends part of her time in Istanbul. Some of her books are about Muslim women and some are not. She talks about how restricted she feels when people tell her they are surprised and disappointed by the books she writes that do not feature strong female Muslim characters. Why does she always have to write about them? Why can't she write about white men?
This is something I've often thought about as I make more of an effort to read more diversely. It's a always centered on being a person of color. I don't know many books by Indian authors here that are not about the Indian immigrant experience or about Indian corruption. Why can't we just have books about Indian detectives solving crimes? I think there's a lot of pressure for people of certain backgrounds to write about those backgrounds, and it can be quite limiting. Shafak's commentary was really good to hear.
little hard in the US to find books by people of color that are not
But I'm still super-thrilled that Adichie wrote Americanah because I think that is very valuable, too.
State of the Re: Union - Portland: A really great sub-story about putting in a bike lane in a city that is run by hipsters and therefore all about the bike lanes. But this one causes a lot of strife for a small community of African-Americans and the way the city uses the situation as a learning experience is a great story to hear.
On the Media - My Detainment Story: A truly horrifying story about an American citizen's family being stopped at the American border and just how badly they were treated.
I haven't had a podcast round-up for a while, and I thought I'd share just a couple that have resonated with me over the past few weeks.
Shafak is a Muslim woman who spends part of her time in Istanbul. Some of her books are about Muslim women and some are not. She talks about how restricted she feels when people tell her they are surprised and disappointed by the books she writes that do not feature strong female Muslim characters. Why does she always have to write about them? Why can't she write about white men?
This is something I've often thought about as I make more of an effort to read more diversely. It's a always centered on being a person of color. I don't know many books by Indian authors here that are not about the Indian immigrant experience or about Indian corruption. Why can't we just have books about Indian detectives solving crimes? I think there's a lot of pressure for people of certain backgrounds to write about those backgrounds, and it can be quite limiting. Shafak's commentary was really good to hear.little hard in the US to find books by people of color that are not
But I'm still super-thrilled that Adichie wrote Americanah because I think that is very valuable, too.
State of the Re: Union - Portland: A really great sub-story about putting in a bike lane in a city that is run by hipsters and therefore all about the bike lanes. But this one causes a lot of strife for a small community of African-Americans and the way the city uses the situation as a learning experience is a great story to hear.
Why can't we just have books about Indian detectives solving crimes? I think there's a lot of pressure for people of certain backgrounds to write about those backgrounds, and it can be quite limiting.
ReplyDeleteYep.
Ugh, that story from On the Media made me so angry and sad. I felt frightened by proxy, just imagining having to sit there and no idea what was going to happen next or when you were going to get to go home. It's a disgrace that this can happen to people for such idiotic non-reason reasons.
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