Recently, a campaign to promote diversity
in the world of books gained significant momentum. Why is this needed? Well, on
a subconscious level maybe you’ve noticed it; most of the mainstream, top
selling fiction is written by white people and the characters within are largely
white. Given the world we live in, and the fact that good fiction should relate
to its audience, that seems odd.
I have given this dilemma a great
deal of thought and I think it stems from the ancient writerly adage, “write
what you know.” A larger number of contemporary writers are a tad on the pallid
side, through no fault of their own. Heck, my blond haired, blue-eyed countenance
falls into that bucket as well (though some might say there are other factors
that favor my being counted a part of an under-represented demographic). And,
if one looks back into humanities literary cannon, neutral tones both on and
off the pages abound.
#WeNeedDiverseBooks, while largely
targeted at children’s and YA books, hopes to correct this through consciousness
raising, awareness and outreach to all levels of the traditional publishing
establishment. To learn more about their mission and their impact go here.
Now, I do not write towards children
or YA, at least not intentionally. Nevertheless, it is my strong feeling that the diversity
of the world within which we live is vastly, no, grotesquely under represented.
Adult fiction, both genre and literary, needs to raise its head from the
keyboard and take a look around. The world is not all buff white men looking
longingly into the wind with their hairless bare abs and pecks all puffed out
and shiny.
In my book, The Social Event, the
world is not without diversity. Kim, the protagonist, is of mixed race, neither
of which is Caucasian. Likewise, there is an African-American, a Muslim, a
Native American, a Bengali and more. And yes, there are Caucasian characters in
significant roles as well. I did not set out to write a book that contained a
checklist of religious and ethnic variety. Rather, I set out to write a book
that at least made an attempt to reflect, realistically, the depth and richness
of the society within which we live. Besides, I found my characters became far
more interesting when they were not like me.
Not like me. With a modicum of
poking around, you will find that it is easier than you think to be not like
me. That is a beef of my own that I will not bore you with. But yes, people
like me are also woefully under represented on and off the pages in the
publishing world. And when we are written into a story, the character traits are
predictable: angry, depressed individuals that need or rely on the assistance
of others in order to be more able. But I digress (and risk sounding like the stereotype I
just described).
My point is this: we do need more
diversity in the book world. The way this happens it twofold: readers and
writers. Readers need to show their thirst for books that reflect a diverse
world, for books that add color and character to the literary human landscape.
Writers need to get out of their comfort zones and do the diligence necessary
to flesh out real and relatable characters that are not stereotypes of LGBTQIA,
people of color, those impacted by their gender, those with disabilities, in
addition to ethnic, cultural, or religious minorities and others. It is not
that hard.
So as much as you can, support
diversity within the books you read and support diversity as represented by
those authors that can bring forth a perspective that is different from your
own. You will truly find it interesting and worthwhile.
Other related stories worth your time:
by Bilal Qureshi for NPR.com
by Walters Dean Myers for The New York Times
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