Sunday, March 20, 2011

Writing about Race

I'm all for it. I'm all for White people writing Black characters. I'm all for Black people writing White characters.

I don't give a damn about appropriation. We appropriate each other's air every day. We live in each other's world, and often in each other's pockets. Of course we think about each other. We should write about each other, too.

As for the inevitable prejudices which will surface, I say: Bring 'em on. Absent actual hate speech (I draw the line, for example, at anti-Semites writing about Jews), all of it could make for fascinating reading.

Writing beyond your experience is a risk. Boundaries (gender, class, nationality - all that blah blah) create comfort zones. But no one lives exclusively in their safe zone and no one can write exclusively from it either.

Crossing borders is a gamble. Some gambles pay out. Big time.

Whether your cross-boundary writing is good depends, ultimately, on your imagination, not on your identity. If you want to write about a one-legged, Hispanic, lesbian adoptee, and you're none of that, go ahead.

Write what moves you. At worst, you'll get a bad novel. You might get a great one.

And good luck with your lottery tickets.

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