Over at Paper Darts, Rachel Charlene Lewis argues that editors must be held accountable for the issue of diversity in publishing. As she explains it, “The fun part about focusing instead on the role of editors is that there is an answer—we need more diverse editors, and we need editors who do the work.”
On Equity in Publishing
The Essence of Slouching
Need some inspiration? These quotes from Joan Didion are sure to make your day. Picked by noted Ayn Rand scholar Mallory Ortberg, they include such gems as “I’m from Sacramento, but it’s honestly not a big deal” and “California doesn’t remind me of the apocalypse at all.”
Advice in Eight Volumes
Remember that time Haruki Murakami decided to write an advice column and answered over 3,000 letters from fans? Well, now a selection of those letters and his wisdom-filled responses are being collected and published as book in eight volumes. Though there are no current plans to translate the work into English, we hope that changes soon – after all, what could be more charming than Murakami’s advice about cats?
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Poolside Reading
Leanne Shapton spoke with the New York Observer about drawing, writing, friendship, competitive athletes, and her new book Swimming Studies, which has been excerpted by The Paris Review Daily, and, of course, reviewed here on the The Millions.
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Books Helping People Help People
Recommended Reading: On Street Lit and how the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless is using literature in an attempt to help Austin’s homeless population.
Boy, Girl, Book?
Is the practice of using writing as a metaphor for birth, or birth as a metaphor for writing, in need of an overhaul? Stephanie Feldman for Electric Literature has some strong opinions on the subject. Motherhood on the brain, now? Check out this moving essay for The Millions on mothers and sons by Rachel Basch.
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Envying Men
What’s the one thing that Rivka Galchen envies about men? Well, “the envious thought was simply that a man can have a baby that his romantic partner doesn’t know about. This is a crazy thought, of course, but I find myself feeling it with such sincerity that I cannot see its edges.”
Ho-hum, another day, another paint-by-numbers effort urging subpar writers to use identity politics guilt to gain an edge in a tough market. Hey, maybe in the interest of “diversity”, we could occasionally see an essay pointing out all the fallacious aspects of this shallow genre. (Yeah, I know. Fat chance.)
Seems there is going to be a time when we’re going to have to decide what we value more: art or inclusiveness. Submitting your race along with your story is such a sad idea; it’s obviously not ok to use race to reject a story, but it’s okay to use it to accept one? Jesus Christ.
Instead of this kind of ridiculous shit, how about: write better.