Spring is has reached New York! Here’s your weekly dose of links to ponder as you sit and bask in the sun.
Following up on last week’s links dealing with interracial writing in the speculative fiction community is Nisi Shawl, who hits home with a description of a panel on writing and racial identity at a recent convention: “Our fourth panelist had been raised as an American Indian and spent her life knowing absolutely that this was who and what she was. Then she discovered through genetic testing that her biological heritage is a mix European and Sub-Saharan African. No American Indian.” Fascinating stuff!
Color Online is also looking at racial identity and books, with a focus on reviewing. They ask if we review books by members of our own race of ethnicity differently than we review others. They have some pretty interesting responses in the comments thread, so take a read.
An article from Single Women Rule raises these issues as it discusses murals by a Latina artist that some people claim are demeaning to Black and Latina women. The artist’s agent is quoted as saying, “Sofia is Puerto Rican, maybe it would be a problem if the artist was White American, but she is Puerto Rican, from San Juan and lives in Bed-Stuy.” Does that make a difference?
Lastly, Engrish.com brings us some entertaining Chinese-to-English mistranslations:
As I general rule, I try to avoid eating furniture. Can anyone who reads Chinese give us a more accurate translation?
