Many of
you know that in my other writing life, I take up serious themes like
discrimination so I’m especially sensitive to it when I see in the publishing
world.
Not
long ago, my writing friend Leora Krygier was asked by a reporter for the Orange County Register if she felt
qualified to write from the point of view of a young Vietnamese girl in her
book When She Sleeps. Having once
been in journalism and been in a position to do some interviewing of my own, I
was a bit incensed. It seemed amazing to me that someone would presume to tell
a writer they couldn't or shouldn't write from any point of view they so choose
or suggest that doing so would cause
resentment. How could a reader (or a reporter) possibly presume we couldn't
write from the point of view of someone of a different race, a different
religion or culture. And why would they tinge that question with a
hint-of-haughty in the voice, a bit of a look-down-the-nose demeanor.
My
daughter, a cultural anthropologist, suggested that such ideas were a function
of our intensity to be as politically correct as possible and The Register did have a large Vietnamese
population, which was probably one reason they were doing the interview in the
first place. Because I believe that being politically incorrect in most
instances, simply promulgates bigotry, I tried to put all my
arguments—arguments in favor of creative writers—aside and forget about it.
Then I
ran into another instance of this kind of question in Time magazine. There is was in my face again:
Belinda
Luscombe put on her snarkiest interview hat to interview Pulitzer-prize winning
novelist Michael Chabon. It went something like this: "A central character
in your book Telegraph Avenue, Arcy
Stallings, is the black co-owner of a record store. Did you feel anxious
writing from the point of view of a black guy?" In addition to the haughty
and snooty tendencies listed above, her question smacks a bit of the passive
aggressive.
I admit
it. That got me a little riled. But the interviewer persisted: "But race
is a charged subject. In the book, there's a white lawyer, Moby, who talks like
a black guy. Didn't you worry that that was you?"
Then I
went on a full scale rant, albeit a quiet one to myself. Exc-u-u-se me! But
don't writers of fiction always use something of themselves when drawing a
character? None of us can pull any character trait that we haven't personally
seen, experienced, or read about from thin air! I sniffed! But it doesn't have to be us.
And
doesn't fiction work—especially great fiction—because at our cores we are all
the same? Sentient human beings who share needs and feelings? When I suffer
under one kind of prejudice, as an example, isn't that at some level very
similar to what someone else suffers under another? So wouldn't that qualify
white-girl me to write from the point of anyone I so chose—if I took care. If I
had a worthy subject and theme. And isn't that the job of the artist to decide?
And, (I
actually huffed! Almost aloud!), haven't these reporters ever heard of
research? Or imagination?
And
what about that idea of getting too close to something, so close that we may
feel responsible or fear we're putting our souls in danger? Or that someone
might mistake sincerity for satire? Of vice versa? Wouldn't any thoughtful
person understand that every time an author picks up a pen he or she puts
herself in some kind of emotional (philosophical?) danger? And don't readers
understand the difference between fiction and reality? Do they really think
that every character in our books is
us rather than seeing that every character may be us, but may also be a
reflection of someone we've observed? Or read about? Or devised by mixing
traits of many people we've met?
And
this is the answer I came up with.
Apparently
not.
CHJ
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .
