05/02/2019
Cultural appropriation (although it wasn't called that then) was an issue I first brushed up against in the late 1980s when I was an editorial assistant at Pocket Books. I thought that it was ridiculous then--aren't novelists allowed to be creative and create characters and scenarios different from their own lives? Can male authors write female characters? Can black authors write Latino characters? Can white authors write characters of color? I think the answer should be yes, with a caveat. First of all, I've learned a lot in my 30+ years in this still fairly lily-white industry. Second, the author of this article makes an excellent point--authors have to do their homework, do their research. Cultural appropriation is indeed a sensitive issue. So sensitive that many authors won't touch it with a ten foot pole, nor will some publishers. But you don't need to be, say, an astronaut to write a book that takes place in outer space--but you do have to do your homework (to use a blander example). Read books on astronauts and the space program, maybe even call NASA and talk to their public affairs person and see if you can interview an actual astronaut or rocket scientist. I get it, race and ethnicity are more delicate subjects than the laws of gravity. I've always believed that writers should write great stories that they're passionate about, no matter where that takes them. Whether their work will find success in the commercial marketplace is another story entirely...and in the current political climate, it's quite possible that it will never see the light of day. After all, you can't force publishers, or the reading public, to buy books, let alone those that may have a negative taint of cultural appropriation. So the discussion continues...
A white author shares lessons learned as a longtime student of cultural appropriation in fiction.
Longtime NYC publishing editor Doug Grad provides personal service and attention for authors and their work.
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