Day: September 1, 2014

A while back I wrote a post about “queering kidlit” in which I critiqued the attempt to prove that books by/about people of color are “just like” books by/about whites. I later asked my friend for some further reading and she pointed me to this article by Cathy Cohen. This was JUST the quote I needed:

transformational politics…a politics that does not search for opportunities to integrate into dominant institutions and normative social relationships, but instead pursues a political agenda that seeks to change values, definitions, and laws which make these institutions and relationships oppressive.” ~Cathy J. Cohen, “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens

I plan to cite this article in my Kidlitcon presentation in October. It looks like a really great line-up; if you’ll be attending, please let me know. Right now I’m trying to prepare a short video statement about the relationship between the crisis in Ferguson…

Mari Evans was born in Toledo in 1923. I first encountered her works while in college. I needed a poem and, there she was. Upon discovering that Evans shared my hometown, I tucked her in my memories. After all, who in the world is from Toledo??

Like me, most know Evans as a poet. Her poetry is accessible to almost grown to full grown.

Where Have You Gone by Mari Evans
Where have you gone
with your confident
 walk with 
your crooked smile
why did you leave 
me
when you took your 
laughter
and departed
are you aware that 
with you
 went the sun
all light
and what few stars 
there were?
where have you gone
with your confident 
walk
your 
crooked smile
the 
rent money 
in one pocket
and 
my heart 
in another . . .

And, her poetry is timeless

We have screamed
and we have filled our…

Calls for Papers and Proposals

The ALAN Review
Summer 2015: (Re)membering and (Re)living: Probing the Collective and Individual Past
Submissions due November 1, 2014

Stories are dynamic, told and heard, accepted and revered, rejected and rewritten by readers who draw from their experiences and understandings to garner meaning from the words on the page.  In young adult texts, fiction and nonfiction, historical and contemporary and futuristic, this dynamism can encourage the critique of our collective past, helping us question assumptions about what came before and reconsider our responsibilities to the present and future. These texts can also help us consider the adolescent experience across time and place and explore the similarities and differences that shape reality as young people navigate and draft their own coming of age stories. This universality can foster a connection to others and reinforce our shared existence as members of a human community.  And yet, these…

1. Petty Theft by Pascal Girard (Graphic novel).

2. Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett & Adam Rex (Picture book).

3. My Teacher is a Monster! by Peter Brown (Picture book).

4. “Girl/Box” by Roxane Gay (Short story).

5. East of West, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Hickman (Graphic novel).

6. I am so Brave! by Stephen Krensky (Picture book).

7. “The Anger in Ferguson” by Jelani Cobb (Online article).

8. “not an elegy for Mike Brown” by Danez Smith (Poem).

9. “Discussing Race & Racism with Your Black Friends: Dos and Don’ts” by Ashley N. Black (Online article).

10. “Ferguson and Patience for the Appalled” by Stacia L. Brown (Online article).

11. “5 Poems From Prelude To Bruise” by Saeed Jones (Poetry/Online article).

12. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (Essay collection).
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