African American Writers’ Voices and Experiences Have Always Been Part of American Literature

By Ella Jacob ’24

Staff Writer & Copy Editor

Content warning: This article discusses racism, slavery, sexual harassment and violence against African American individuals.

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“There is no American literature without African American literature,” declared Elizabeth Young, professor and chair of English at Mount Holyoke College. However, according to the Harvard Ed. Magazine, “[i]t’s been more than 50 years since literacy experts first stressed the need for more diverse books in the classroom..” By expanding our literary scope beyond the white authors who commonly appear in the American literary canon, we can see the substantial impact Black authors have on American literature. 

Lucy Terry wrote the first recorded piece of African American poetry in 1746. Terry was enslaved in Massachusetts when she wrote her only surviving work, the poem “Bars Fight.” Set in colonial America, the poem acknowledges white colonists killed in an encounter with Native Americans in 1746. It was passed down orally for more than 100 years until it was published in 1855.

Three years before the American Revolution, Phillis Wheatley became the first African American to publish a volume of poetry, “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” written in 1773. Wheatley began learning to read and write at a young age, and it is believed she wrote her first poem at age 13. Her book received international acclaim, and her poetry earned praise from historically significant American figures like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Many people were reluctant to read her works, but she still emerged as a household name in American poetry.

Most African American poetry in the 19th century took the form of oral accounts from fugitive slaves. Among the authors who gained prestige during this era, Frederick Douglass is one of the most famous, known for publishing “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” which fueled the abolitionist movement in the U.S. Douglass was also the first African American to be nominated for U.S. vice president. He was a revered orator, leader and advocate for equal rights. 

Harriet Jacobs was another renowned African American writer of the 19th century. In 1861, she self-published “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” a narrative of her enslavement. The book discusses the sexual abuse enslaved women faced from slaveholders alongside Jacob’s struggle to gain freedom for herself and her children. Jacobs published her book, now an American classic, under the pseudonym Linda Brent. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” has become one of the most prominent slave narratives written by a woman and has brought attention to the particular abuse that enslaved women faced.

After the Civil War, there was a boom in printing African American literature. One of the leading writers of this period, Booker T. Washington, wrote several books, including “The Story of My Life and Work” and “The Man Farthest Down.” 

Washington had an infamous feud with another well-known African American writer of the time, W.E.B. Du Bois. Du Bois had a more radical approach to combating racism, whereas Washington had an “assimilationist view; not as confrontational toward racial politics,” according to Young. “For Black political and cultural thought in the 20th and 21st centuries, Du Bois remains the more salient figure, the more intellectual, the more prolific, the more radical in his analysis,” she explained. 

Although these writers are often identified by their opposing perspectives, “they were writing in the context of lots of different African American writers and intellectuals, … [including] Pauline Hopkins and Anne Francis Harper, two important African American women writers and thinkers,” Young emphasized. “I think it’s important, as we review the conflict between them, to see them as part of a kind of complex world of many people, including lots of women who are thinking and writing about race and Black life at the time.”

A significant and influential period in African American culture and art, the Harlem Renaissance saw the rise of some of the most prominent authors of the early 20th century. Alongside musicians like Louis Armstrong and artists like Aaron Douglas were writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Dunbar-Nelson and Langston Hughes, all of whom shaped African American literature. 

Hurston is best known for writing “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” a book that follows Janie Crawford as she navigates adolescence and adulthood as a Black woman. The book was met with heavy resistance at its time of publication and fell into obscurity for a few decades, but was rediscovered in 1975 by another African American writer, Alice Walker. Hurston’s novel is now considered an essential piece of African American and women’s literature. Hurston, along with Dunbar-Nelson, were some of the most high-profile female writers of the era. Dunbar-Nelson was one of the only African American diarists of the early 1900s. 

Hughes, considered one of the best writers in American history, shaped the Harlem Renaissance, focusing on portrayals of African American life from the 1920s to the 1960s. He brought increased attention to African American literature in American society, which led the mainstream media to begin absorbing and appreciating African American art.

Amid protests and demonstrations to abolish segregation following the civil rights movement, African American writers focused on the unfair treatment toward Black people while also highlighting the importance of the Black individual and the Black experience. 

One of the most notable authors of that period was James Baldwin, who taught at Mount Holyoke as part of the Five College faculty. He wrote “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” which analyzed the intersection of race and sexuality, specifically what it meant to be both Black and gay in 1930s Harlem, a topic that was taboo for the general American public at the time. 

Suzan-Lori Parks ’85 studied under Baldwin at Mount Holyoke. She says that he called her an “utterly astounding and beautiful creature who may become one of the most valuable artists of our time.” Parks went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2002 for her play “Topdog/Underdog.” She was the first African American woman to win the award.

Another author of the civil rights era was Ralph Ellison, who wrote “Invisible Man,” a National Book Award winner focusing on the unattainability of the American Dream for African Americans, as their accomplishments and individuality are largely perceived as “invisible.” 

This period also marked an increase in the recognition of Black women poets, including Gwendolyn Brooks. She was the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize and the first Black woman to be a poetry consultant to the Library of Congress. 

Alongside these books, many historic essays that focused on human rights and injustice were published by Black Americans during this time. The most well-known were Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the Bullet.”

From the late 1900s to the present day, African American literature has become increasingly popular, frequently earning awards and topping bestseller charts. Female authors made waves in the American poetry scene, from Alice Walker, who won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for her novel “The Color Purple,” to Maya Angelou, who delivered her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at former President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration. Today, writers like Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet to speak at a presidential inauguration, continue to highlight the importance of African American composition.

Following the turn of the 21st century, the variety of African American writing circulating worldwide changed drastically from the limited availability of colonial African American works. As more Black writers establish themselves as forces in the American literary scene, their influence and work must be acknowledged in the American literary canon. 

“I do not think one could talk at all responsibly or accurately or imaginatively about something called American literature that does not have African American literature at the center,” Young said.

New Year, New Books: Anticipated Book Releases of the Winter

By Elizabeth Jacob ’24

Staff Writer & Copy Editor

As 2020 comes to a long-overdue close, there is boundless curiosity as to what trials and tribulations 2021 has in store. To distract yourself from whatever the new year holds, here are some books releasing in December 2020 and early January 2021 to get excited about. Ranging in topics from race theory to mystery novels, the following books are sure to educate and intrigue readers this winter.

“Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America” by Ijeoma Oluo 

Release date: Dec. 1, 2020
“Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America” by Ijeoma Oluo aims to educate readers on the destructive consequences of white male supremacy on American society, specifically for women, people of color and other minority groups. From the election of President Donald Trump to the correlating rise in white male anger and entitlement, it is easy to wonder exactly how the U.S. came to this point. In this engaging survey of American history, Oluo uses multiple sources to determine that historically, the pedestal white American men are placed upon is more than just destructive. These men actively use “women and people of color [as] scapegoats for all the ways in which white men feel cheated out of what they believe they are due,” elaborated a Seattle Times review. Oluo concludes that white men have sustained a dishonorable hold on leadership in the U.S. and have actively “undermined the pursuit of happiness for all.”

Oluo is a Nigerian American bestselling writer based in Seattle. Named as one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2017, Oluo’s work primarily centers around race, identity and feminism. With work featured in The Washington Post, Time magazine and The Stranger, Oluo is most notable for writing the New York Times bestseller “So You Want to Talk About Race.”

“The Mystery of Mrs. Christie: A Novel” by Marie Benedict 

Release date: Dec. 29, 2020

“The Mystery of Mrs. Christie: A Novel” by Marie Benedict is a reconstruction of Agatha Christie’s notorious 11-day disappearance. When Christie goes missing in the cold December of 1926, no one knows where she could be. With all of England engaged in a nationwide search party for the author, no leads turn up — that is, until Christie herself unexpectedly turns up nearly two weeks later with amnesia and no explanation for her disappearance. This mystery raises the question: What happened to Christie that December, and what followed? Benedict aspires to provide answers. Asking what was real, what was fabricated and what role Christie’s unfaithful husband played, Benedict submerges the reader into the enigma that is Christie and her disappearance.

Benedict is a lawyer and a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. With a desire to bring the stories of women of the past to light, Benedict has written multiple novels, including “The Other Einstein,” about Albert Einstein’s first wife and the role she might have played in his theories, and “The Only Woman in the Room,” a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick about the inventor Hedy Lamarr. Benedict is currently co-writing “The Personal Librarian” about the intrigue surrounding J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, with Victoria Christopher Murrary, set for release in June 2021.

“Nick” by Michael Farris Smith 

Release date: Jan. 5, 2021

Michael Farris Smith intends “Nick” to be a prequel to “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Smith writes the origin story of Nick Carroway, the narrator of Fitzgerald’s classic novel. Beginning in the muddy trenches of World War I and moving from Paris to New Orleans, the reader is transported into Carroway’s journey of self-discovery in a brilliant story that, according to the blurb, “breathes new life into a character that many know but few have pondered deeply.” If you are a lover of classic literature or a fan of the inscrutable Carroway, this novel is for you.

Smith is an author with awards ranging from the Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellowship to the Transatlantic Review Award for Fiction. Smith’s novels have placed him on notable literary lists, such as Barnes & Noble Discover Pick and Indie Next Selection. His work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and Catfish Alley. Smith is currently an associate professor of English at the Mississippi University for Women.

Students Turn To Childhood Favorites To Find Comfort in 2020

Pictured above: the cookbooks of Chloe MC ‘24

By Cat Barbour ’24
Staff Writer

Rereading a childhood favorite or otherwise beloved book creates a sense of comfort and enjoyment that only nostalgia can provide. Friends and familiar places wait within the pages, along with the memories of your life when you first read each page. As Cornelia Funke’s “Inkheart,” a young adult fantasy novel, puts it, “If you take a book with you on a journey, … an odd thing happens: The book begins collecting your memories … Yes, books are like flypaper — memories cling to the printed page better than anything else.” 

With the arrival of the holiday season during a global pandemic, a tense political climate and finals around the corner, it’s no surprise students are reaching for their comfort books. The Mount Holyoke News spoke with current students to see which books they revisit during tough times

Overwhelmingly, students mentioned the “Harry Potter” series by J. K. Rowling, which chronicles boy wizard Harry Potter’s adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Darcy Coleman ’24 read the series in elementary and middle school. 

“I was obsessed with ‘Harry Potter,’” Coleman said. “[The books] help bring me back to happy times during my childhood. I struggle a lot with anxiety and books give me an escape, as well as a way for me to relate to the characters and feel motivated and hopeful about my own challenges.”

While Coleman reaches for “Harry Potter” for general comfort, Grace Lara ’24 seeks out “Fangirl” by Rainbow Rowell for a “reliable sick day read.” “Fangirl” follows the story of Cath, who, in a meta twist, is a huge fan of Rowell’s own “Simon Snow” series. Cath and her twin bonded over “Simon Snow,” but upon entering college, the books became more symbolic of their separation than their closeness. Now, out of her comfort zone and without her sister, Cath must navigate school by herself. 

This past spring, Phoebe Murtagh ’21 sought out a book to help deal with her sadness following the closing of Mount Holyoke’s campus, finding solace in “Tell the Wolves I’m Home” by Carol Rifka Brunt. The story follows June as she comes to terms with the death of her uncle, the only person who understood her and makes an unexpected new acquaintance at the funeral who might just be everything she needs to heal. Murtagh calls the book “well written and rich, centered around love and grief and heartbreak and life.”

When Chloe MC ’24 wants the satisfaction of finishing a novel in one sitting, she returns to Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” The book tells the story of Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect after Ford saves Arthur from being destroyed along with the Earth. The pair proceed to hitchhike the galaxy together, which happens to be Ford’s area of expertise. It is the first novel in the series. MC enjoys the “goofy little sci-fi series,” explaining, “The humor is what draws me in. [The characters] make everything [that sounds] so absurd [sound] perfectly normal.” 

MC also shared the story of her family’s cookbook. “Food is very important; basically every event or holiday is centered around food and the kitchen,” MC explained. “For my parents’ first Christmas [as a married couple], my grandma on my dad’s side typed up and photocopied a cookbook’s worth of recipes and put them in a binder. Most of them belonged to my great-grandmother Kitty Cat.” 

“We treat it as the holy grail,” she continued. “It’s where we go to first if we want a recipe for something. … It’s been around longer than I have. It’s comforting because it’s the go-to comfort food book. Some of the recipes are clearly dated (like soda salad) but some of it is gold.” 

While not everyone has access to something from their family’s history to find comfort in, bakers may have a part of MC’s family cookbook hiding in their kitchen. “Fun fact,” MC said, “it’s my great grandma’s recipe for pound cake on the back of the Swan’s Down flour box, the whipping cream pound cake.”

There’s a reason that many books bring nostalgia and contentment to those who read them. Research by a professor at the University of California found that people enjoy stories more when they know the ending. An example provided in the study reads, “If you’re driving up Highway 1 through Big Sur, and you know the road really well, you can now peek around and admire the view.” Rereading leads to a greater appreciation of the writing and gives readers a sense of comfort because they already know the plot. 

Mount Holyoke Students Weigh in on National Novel Writing Month

Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

By Cat Barbour ’24

Staff Writer

Both hated and revered by participants, National Novel Writing Month, known colloquially as NaNoWriMo, has drawn the attention of writers since 1999, including hundreds of thousands since 2007. In 2006, NaNoWriMo became a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people to tell their stories. According to their mission statement, NaNoWriMo “believes in the transformational power of creativity.” The statement continues, “We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page.”

The challenge: Write 50,000 words in 30 days. Or, in the words of NaNoWriMo headquarters: “Your job now is not to create a manuscript that a publisher will want to sell at lemonade stands all over the country. That comes later, once you've done a ton of revision and rethinking. For now, your task is to create a first draft. Or in other words, to make a glorious, beautiful, breathtaking mess.”

Emily Carle ’21, Mia Kerchen ’24 and Fiona Milton ’22 each discussed their participation in NaNoWriMo with the Mount Holyoke News. 

Carle, while not currently participating, did so as a first-year in 2017 and was a part of the Western Massachusetts and Five College NaNoWriMo groups. She appreciated being a part of the groups and said that the motivation helped her complete 30,000 words. “With the Five College group, everyone else was a college student and so they were also dealing with … trying to take classes and write [for NaNoWriMo] and actually write for grades,” Carle said, adding, “They were truly a good support system for when I wanted to give up.”

For the past three years, Kerchen has also been writing. While she has never completed the challenge, she’s been having a lot of fun writing stories. She commented that NaNoWriMo is “really intense” and compared it to “writing a small paper every day.” 

Milton did finish the 50,000-word goal on her first attempt. She has participated in NaNoWriMo four times: in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2017. She believes that “it is not about winning or writing 50K words, it is about starting to tell a story you’ve been wanting to tell.” She added, “NaNoWriMo is about writing for yourself and no one else, so don’t let anyone tell you how many words you have to write to do it right.” 

Fans of NaNoWriMo are loud and proud, but so are its critics. Notably, blogs on both sides of the argument are a few years old. The dust seems to have settled, but for a while, peace was not an option. 

Chris Becheen, an active comical blogger, reluctantly shared his opinion on NaNoWriMo in 2016 in his post, “Nanowrimo: The Good, The Bad, And the Very Very Ugly.” In the post, he detailed his issues with the program, arguing that 50,000 words would be generously considered a novella, that participating in the competition does not make one a novelist and that the program’s idea that word count above all else matters is problematic. Additionally, he warned, “Dec 1st, the predators come out to play. They promise the moon, … preying on people’s desire to BE writers and sucking off their hard-earned money by pretending that these manuscripts don’t need anything more than a copy edit to knock the socks off a publisher.” 

NaNoWriMo also warns participants about “literary scammers.” The Terms and Conditions page reads, “If you are approached by someone wielding a too-good-to-be-true deal, please let us know, and we'll investigate.”

In line with some of Becheen’s views, even the NaNoWriMo website reminds participants that their books will be works in progress at the end of the month, stating that “The goal is 50,000 words in 30 days: not 50,000 perfect words, not even 50,000 readable words. Fifty thousand words of practicing your voice.”

In 2010, Laura Miller, journalist and author of “The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventure in Narnia,” had similar issues with the competition. She believes that the competition leaves out an important part of the writing process: reading. A common piece of advice for aspiring writers is to read and learn from those who are more experienced. With the grueling pace of the competition, combined with the hectic month it takes place in, there isn’t any time to read, Miller said. 

NaNoWriMo does provide some tools and support, such as writing seminars and NaNo Prep 101 to help flesh out pieces, and most participants realize that they can’t write a single draft and publish it immediately — as Carle said, “I know that publishing does not work that way.”

Whether you love NaNoWriMo or despise it, the program will not stop anytime soon. The number of writers it annually attracts only grows. Starting with just 21 participants in 1999, the challenge saw 455,080 people write over 2 million words in 2019. While not every submission will turn out like “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen, many participate to do exactly what Milton recommends: write to tell the story they’ve always wanted to tell.

Anna Maria Hong Talks Poetry and Prose at Odyssey Book Reading

Pictured above: the headshot of Anna Maria Hong.

By Amelia Scarponi ’23

Staff Writer

On the evening of Thursday, Oct. 29, the Odyssey Bookshop welcomed Anna Maria Hong, assistant professor of English at Mount Holyoke, to read from and speak about her second poetry collection “Fablesque.” The collection was awarded the Tupelo Press Berkshire Prize for a First or Second Book of Poetry in 2020.

Published in September, “‘Fablesque’ harnesses the power of old tales to dispel the disenchantments of women and animals in the #MeToo era,” according to its blurb. “The poems and prose pieces allude to animals real or imaginary, sometimes fantastical and often mythical,” Hong explained at the reading. Hong was joined by Andrea Lawlor, assistant professor of English at Mount Holyoke and author of “Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl.”

Though the pandemic led to the closure of campus and mandated social distancing, Zoom provided a relaxed and personal conversation between author and audience. Hong recognized the stress of the presidential election with a bit of humor, encouraging “everyone to make this a relaxing experience, lie on the floor, have a second glass of rosé or do yoga. Remember, we can’t see you,” she laughed. “It’s been another terrible week, almost crushing, but I would like to dedicate my first poem tonight to those who are voting for the first time in force, including my students,” Hong said.

“Siren,” the first poem read, is an ode to her love of sonnets and the comfort she feels working with a confined form. It conveys the double standards and obstacles women face. “Rip out the knees of the patriarchy,” Hong read. “No one cares if you're half-beast if you’ve got a great rack.” She confessed she is always aiming for wit, though rage is certainly on the surface of every word. 

Erica Hawes ’22 tuned in from Bristol, England. “I’m a bibliophile, and the Odyssey felt like my second home,” she said. “I never left [campus] without purchasing a new book. Attending author readings and events with my friends was a weekly occurrence! Even though it’s 12 a.m. and my friends and I are all on different continents, we feel like we are back on campus together. Professor Hong is an incredible professor and her humor was not lost through Zoom.”

Lawlor influenced the dialogue during the Q&A session, laughing, “I don’t want to hog all the question time.” But members of the audience weren’t shy to ask questions as the event progressed. Lawlor kicked off the Q&A with praise and curiosity about Hong’s relationship to lyrical writing and sound, asking if it has been a driving agent in her work. 

“I’ve been drafting these sonnets for several years. At some point I figured out that sound was smarter than I am,” Hong responded. “Sometimes I know what sound is but I don’t know what the word is. At the end of the day, I love working with the music of language.” Her inspirations range from Sylvia Plath to Gwendolyn Brooks.

One audience member asked how teaching influenced Hong’s writing. She admitted that she resisted teaching before discovering it was her second calling, which gave her the energy and passion to write. “If you have the privilege to teach about writing, you always think about writing,” she said. 

Another individual expressed curiosity about finding the motivation to write. “Truthfully,” Hong replied, “I’m not as disciplined as I’d like to be. I write when I can and I try to make it a priority. I’ve found you really have to work with yourself if it’s something you love.”

Currently, Hong is working on a new collection of poetry “for her own sanity,” as well as a collection of daily meditations combining collage and prose in collaboration with visual artist Jill Moser. Moser is an abstract painter based in New York whose work is displayed in galleries and museums throughout the United States, most notably in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Hong ended with some words of wisdom that double as a glimpse of reality for aspiring writers: “The majority of my work is discarded, but there are poems that really fight for their lives, that still want to be written.”

Transition From Halloween to Native American Heritage Month With These 3 Books

By Ella Jacob ‘24

Staff Writer & Copy Editor 

 As October comes to a close with Halloween, Native American Heritage Month is celebrated in November. Around this time of year, many people want to curl up with a good scary book. Fortunately, this desire can be satisfied with a list of frightening works by Indigenous authors. Below are some of these books.

“The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones, 2020

“The Only Good Indians,” a July 2020 horror novel by Stephen Graham Jones, follows four young Indigenous men during a hunting escapade on sacred tribal land. What happens on this trip haunts the men long into their adult years as they are trailed by a vengeful being holding an elk’s head. These men are left feeling powerless as, according to the novel’s blurb, “the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.” A USA Today bestseller heralded as “gritty and gorgeous” by The New York Times, “The Only Good Indians” is a dark novel that will stay with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

Jones is a Blackfeet Native American fiction author. He is currently a professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder. Jones has won many awards for his writing, including the Texas Institute of Letters’ Award for Best Work of Fiction, a National Endowment for the Arts fellow in fiction and the Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction. He will be writing an X-Men story for the upcoming Marvel Comics anthology titled “Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices #1,” set for publication on Nov. 18, 2020.

 “Moon of the Crusted Snow” by Waubgeshig Rice, 2018

“Moon of the Crusted Snow” by Waubgeshig Rice, published in October 2018, is a post-apocalyptic thriller novel centered around the Anishinaabe reserve in Canada. It follows the story of Evan Whitesky, an Aboriginal man. Life on the reserve is ordinary until the television in Evan’s home goes out. The electrical problems aren’t unique to his property, though, as the rest of the Anishinaabe community experiences increasing outages until power on the reserve entirely cuts off. Isolated from the world and believing that they’re the only ones who have lost power, they wait for help. Little do they know, the rest of the world has also plunged into a mass blackout, and no one knows why. Visitors soon arrive at the reserve, increasing tension and doubt among the community members. Frustrated by the state of their home, some members fall back on their Anishinaabe traditions to create, once again, a sense of community. Evan himself guides the reserve and its inhabitants as they grapple with their issues, all while trying to discern the horror of the world around them.

Rice is an Anishinaabe writer and journalist from the Wasauksing First Nation in Canada. He has earned awards for various pieces of prose, such as an Independent Publishers Book Award, the Northern Lit Award and the Debwewin Citation for excellence in First Nation Storytelling.

“Deer Woman: An Anthology” by Native Realities, co-edited by Elizabeth LaPensée and Weshoyot Alvitre, 2017

“Deer Woman: An Anthology,” produced in December 2017 by Native Realities and co-edited by Elizabeth LaPensée and Weshoyot Alvitre, is a graphic novel compilation that contains powerful horror stories by Indigenous women artists and illustrators from various tribes and nations. In Native American mythology, the Deer Woman is a spirit associated with fertility and intimacy who uses her attractive appearance and behavior to lure men and women to their deaths. According to the collection’s Kickstarter, the Deer Woman reminds people of their responsibilities and to “be aware of the powerful forces that exist beyond the homeplace.” The stories in “Deer Woman: An Anthology” celebrate the unparalleled “resistance, survival, empowerment and hope” of Native American and Indigenous women.

Nonbinary Author’s Nomination for Women’s Fiction Prize Sparks Controversy

By Amelia Scarponi ’23

Staff Writer

Content Warning: This article contains discussions of transphobia and child abuse.

Author Akwaeke Emezi was nominated for the U.K. Women's Prize for Fiction in March 2019 despite being transgender and using they/them pronouns. 

Emezi was born in 1987 in Umuahia, Nigeria, and is of Nigerian and Malaysian heritage. They began writing short stories at the age of five and continued to use storytelling to escape their violent and chaotic childhood under the Nigerian dictatorship.

The inspiration for the Women’s Prize in Fiction was the 1991 Booker Prize, which shortlisted zero women even though about 60 percent of novels published that year were written by female authors. Each year, the winner receives a prize of £30,000 from an anonymous donor and a bronze figurine created by the artist Grizel Niven.

Kate Williams, chair of judges, called the nomination of Emezi’s novel “Freshwater” a “historic moment.” “Freshwater,” their debut autobiographical novel, explores mental illness, gender and the relationship between body and spirit. The coming-of-age story focuses on Ada, a Nigerian college student who finds out that she has three spirits living in her subconscious. As Ada fades into the background of her own mind and these “alters” begin to take control, her life begins to unravel.

The Guardian reported that “the judges were not aware of Emezi’s gender identity when they selected ‘Freshwater,’ but they did check that Emezi was happy to be longlisted before the announcement.” 

In early October 2020, Faber, Emezi’s publisher, attempted to enter their latest novel, “The Death of Vivek Oji,” for this year’s prize. Following the entrance, the U.K. Women’s Prize for Fiction asked Emezi’s publisher to provide information about Emezi’s sex as defined by law.” The award’s policy requires prospective entrants to provide legal documentation such as birth or gender recognition certificates. Individuals who identify as nonbinary are eligible only if these forms dictate that they are female. This policy has been scrutinized by many authors and scholars, including Emezi, for its discriminatory nature.

“Forget about me — I don’t want this prize — but anyone who uses this kind of language does not f---- with trans women either, so when they say it’s for women, they mean cis women,” Emezi tweeted on Oct. 5. “It’s fine for me not to be eligible because I’m not a woman! But you not about to be out here on some ‘sex as defined by law’ like that’s not a weapon used against trans women.” Emezi also stated that the documentation policy proves that the Women’s Prize was transphobic for longlisting “Freshwater.” 

In response to Emezi’s tweet, Joanna Prior, the award’s chair of trustees, stated: “As a prize which celebrates the voices of women and the experience of being a woman in all its varied forms, we are proud to include as eligible for submission full-length novels written in English by all women. In our terms and conditions, the word ‘woman’ equates to a cis woman, a transgender woman or anyone who is legally defined as a woman or of the female sex. The trustees of the Women’s Prize Trust would like to reassert that we are firmly opposed to any form of discrimination or prejudice on the basis of race, sexuality or gender identity.”

Kaitlin Gerald ’24 is skeptical. “Their message is that nonbinary folks, like myself, are not welcome and do not exist,” they said. “It’s reassuring that the organization changed their definition of ‘woman,’ but it’s hard to tell if their actions are genuine or in response to the recent controversy. I’ve had enough with companies and organizations trying to save face.”

Despite Emezi formally denouncing the organization, their novel “Freshwater” is still listed on the prize’s website alongside other works nominated in 2019.

Four Latinx Authors You Should Know for Hispanic Heritage Month

Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

By Cat Barbour ’24

Staff Writer

The need for diverse authorship is great. According to a 2019 survey by Publisher’s Weekly, only 3 percent of authors identified as Hispanic. To honor their literary contributions for National Hispanic Heritage Month, which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, here are four books by Latinx authors published this year.

• “Cockfight” by María Fernanda Ampuero

Translated version published May 1, 2020 

Originally published in Spanish in 2018, “Cockfight” was named one of the 10 best fiction books of that year by The New York Times en Espanol. In 13 short stories, the debuting writer reflects in prose on women’s experiences of abuse, sexual assault and survival in an unnamed South American country. Not exactly a light read, “Cockfight” is a gripping feminist narrative that depicts dark realities within the home and family. 

The idea of a family is something Ampuero discussed in an interview in 2019 with the BBC. Ampuero said, “It seems to me that the relationship between parents and children contains something monstrous.” While not from the book, it certainly gives a good idea of the tone of her piece. 

Ampuero was born in Ecuador and currently resides in Spain, where she teaches journalism at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and contributes to the Spanish newspaper ABC in their short story section. “Cockfight” is the first of her books to be translated into English.

• “On Lighthouses” by Jazmina Barrera

Translated version published May 12, 2020

“After spending sufficient time inside a lighthouse, who wouldn’t begin to hear a song in the sound of the machinery, a voice in the wind or the waves?” Barrera asks in her book “On Lighthouses.”

In her combination of personal memoir and literary history, Barrera attempts to “collect” lighthouses from literary works and coastlines from Spain to Oregon. In her obsession, she describes them, never weighing down the reader with too much detail, writing lighthouses into symbols and turning inward for a meta examination of writing itself.

Born in Mexico City, Barrera was a Fulbright Scholar at NYU and won the Latin American Voices prize from Literal Publishing in 2013. She has published several essays both in print and online. Currently, she is the editor and co-founder of Ediciones Antilope, a Mexican publishing house. 

• “The Book of Rosy” by Rosayra Pablo Cruz and Julie Schwietert Collazo

Published June 2, 2020

Rosayra Pablo Cruz opens her novel with the line, “When said with love, my first name rolls off the tongue, the trilled r’s cascading over so many soft vowels, like Guatemala’s crystal clear Río Azul rippling over smooth stones.”  

The story follows Cruz’s experience fleeing Guatemala and reaching the Arizona border, where her two sons were ripped from her arms. Aided by Collazo, the founder of the Immigrant Families Together Foundation, Cruz tells her story, and the story of many others, of [inhumane treatment at the border.

• “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

Published June 30, 2020

Moreno-Garcia’s newest novel springs into action when the protagonist receives a letter that “was therefore uncharacteristic in every way she could think of. It was handwritten, though Catalina preferred the typewriter; it was rambling when Catalina was succinct on paper.”

“Mexican Gothic” follows Noemí Taboada as she travels to High Place, a house deep in the countryside of Mexico, to her newlywed cousin’s aid after receiving a disconcerting letter. The debutante does not know what to expect from the new area and her cousin’s English husband but must call on her smarts and toughness to figure out what is going on. Her only ally is the Englishman’s young nephew, who may be hiding some of the family’s secrets.   

In what NPR called “an inspired mash-up of [Charlotte Bronte’s] ‘Jane Eyre,’ Ann Radcliffe’s ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho,’ [Bram Stoker’s] ‘Dracula,’ [Daphne du Maurier’s] ‘Rebecca’ and that 1958 classic sci-fi movie, ‘The Blob,’” Moreno-Garcia ties in subtle social commentary with criticism against racist politics and eugenics.  

Describing herself as “Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination,” Moreno-Garcia has had a successful literary career. Her debut “Signal to Noise” won a Copper Cylinder Award, and her novel “Certain Dark Things” was one of NPR’s best books of 2016. Another acclaimed novel, Moreno-Garcia’s “Gods of Jade and Shadow,” won the 2020 Sunburst Award for Adult Fiction, as well as the 2020 RUSA Books and Media award for fantasy.

Class of 2024 Book Club Connects Students Through Literature

Image above: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning Nigerian author.

By Elizabeth Jacob ’24

Staff Writer

In the midst of COVID-19 and its accompanying social distancing guidelines, I and other college students are dealing with the loss of a traditional college experience. Not only has this loss manifested in a suspension of in-person classes and physical socialization, but it has led to a decrease in our ability to interact with people in general, whether that be through clubs or on-campus activities. 

When envisioning what Mount Holyoke would be like in the fall, I never imagined it full of online assignments and meeting friends and professors through Zoom. Actually, I pictured waking up in my dorm for Mountain Day, excitedly anticipating elfing, walking around campus with new friends and feeling a growing sense of belonging. In light of all we’re missing, students have been working to create and join their own clubs and activities in the hope of simulating this on-campus experience.

As a first-year and self-proclaimed bookworm, trying to socialize with other students and create a normal college experience has been a difficulty, one that has resided in me since the beginning of the pandemic. For casual readers and bibliophiles alike, finding a place to interact with other literature enthusiasts has proven to be particularly hard. Without the opportunity to congregate in the campus library or to meet others in English classes, I felt like there was a significant loss to my freshman experience. In order to fill that gap, I decided to start an informal book club through the class of 2024 Facebook group, very appropriately titled The Mount Holyoke Book Club.

What originally started out as a desire to meet a handful of students with a similar interest soon grew to be a club of around 30 members, all looking for a way to meaningfully connect with one another in the midst of the pandemic. Since we wanted to establish a routine of meeting at the end of every month, we only had about two weeks to pick and read a book. We all expressed interest in reading something that was short and discussed issues that we were interested in, such as women’s rights. Through different polls and opinions, we decided on the book “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an award-winning Nigerian author, to begin with. This book is a compressed essay adaptation of Adichie’s TEDx talk on what it means to be a feminist and how societal standards and masculine identity have influenced how women are treated. 

While our Zoom book club discussion took place, we noticed a lot of parallels between Adichie’s experience as a woman and our collective experience. Both experiences are characterized by flagrant sexism and societal expectations that serve to pigeonhole women. In conversation, we expanded upon the rights — and the lack thereof — that women have in comparison to men, and how this has worked to actively prevent women from reaching for and achieving goals that men have historically had easier access to. As the meeting concluded, we touched upon our collective fear as women not only in the U.S. but internationally. In the midst of the current political climate, we noted that we fear that any rights we currently have could be taken away, especially as the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election may determine the fate of gender equality and women’s rights.

As everyone left the Zoom call, I walked away feeling happy and inspired. Not only did the connection with other people who were passionate about reading help me feel more involved in the Mount Holyoke community, but I felt I had learned something new about how feminism on a global scale is approached, thanks to our discussions that began with Adichie’s book. 

Through our different backgrounds, experiences and characteristics, everyone in the club had their own unique definition of feminism and what it means to be a feminist — definitions that transcend dictionary verbatim and societal standards, that they all brought individually to our meeting. I noticed that, while we may have had different experiences with feminism, or a lack thereof, we all agreed on one thing: Being a feminist is important and advocacy for women’s rights needs to be centered on both domestic and global scales.

Through the creation of this informal book club, the novel-sized space in my mind that had been created by the pandemic began to heal itself. Meeting monthly, I finally feel like I am starting to become a part of MoHome while at home.