Minority Reading, First Half
al-Kharrat:
Dionysus walking on the roads’ asphalt, half-dark and half-lit by advertising neon and turned-off lamps, shouting on the stage in front of the semi-bourgeoisie, semi-literati, semi-progressives, semi-traitors suffering from the guilt of cheap verbal ripples.
I have read 20 books in the last six months: 14 novels, 3 plays, 2 short story collections, and 1 non-fiction. 30% of these were by people of colour.
- Chinua Achebe (Nigerian)
- Edwar al-Kharrat (Egyptian)
- Samuel R Delany (African-American)
- Ernest Hogan (Mexican-American)
- Nalo Hopkinson (Jamaican)
- Ntozake Shange (African-American)
I’ve read lots of comics, but only two by a people of colour: Bryan Lee-O’Malley (Korean-Canadian) and Marjane Satrapi (Iranian). If I include comics in my count of books, my percentage drops to 18%.
My statistics for reading writing by women are worse, though improved: 20%—11% if I include comics.
- Narelle M Harris
- Nalo Hopkinson
- Maureen F McHugh
- Marjane Satrapi
- Ntozake Shange
Must do better. These people are not a minority.