What did Veeky Forums think of pic related?

What did Veeky Forums think of pic related?

I found this book to be eye opening because it was one of the first I read where I realized that African-Americans, or maybe non-Europeans in general, have an entirely different ethos I find difficult if not impossible to resonate with. Yet at the same time, I now realize what it must be like to read "great" literature that you're not represented by. And I don't mean in the sense of skin-colour alone, but culturally as well. I can read everything from Russian to South American (Western) literature and feel a connection to those stories. Suddenly I'm more open to the idea of substituting certain works with others in school curriculum.

I've only read Song of Solomon and didn't experience quite as dramatic a break, but I think Morrison is a lovely writer. I had a similar Othering experience with Fanon's Wretched of the Earth and it was a really surreal feeling.

>Fanon's Wretched of the Earth

Can you go into more depth about the "othering experience" you had reading this? I'll be sure to check it out regardless.

Well, it was just a very definite sense that this book was written to someone that very definitely was NOT.a person like me, but also the book talked ABOUT me anf people like me in a way that made me the Other, which is something I have very rarely experienced. I was the foreign body in the universe of that text. It was wild.

>Suddenly I'm more open to the idea of substituting certain works with others in school curriculum.
Maybe it's time you take the redpill and realize that Toni Morrison is inferior to me, you disgusting liberal swine. Unbeknownst to you, you are promoting white genocide

I had to read this as part of some shitty lesson. Sick.

Well the thing is, I was exactly the kind of guy that would have said "great lit is great lit, who cares who it's written by..changing the curriculum is just pandering to minority groups, etc" but now I can see how substituting some books for others like The Bluest Eye or Wretched of the Earth as recommends could be very worthwhile and enriching.

>muh struggle
>muh oppression
>this is what it's like being a black woman in America

Into the trash it goes.

I'm curious, and might pick up the book now. In a vague sense, what do you mean by a different ethos? I've found underlying humanity in almost all literature, and I'm assuming its present here, but what's seperate?

That is probably a good break, OP. Morrison is a really nice writer, and a lot of the ethics espoused by her characters and plots are fairly other to me, and I find them beautiful. Song of Solomon was magnificent, and besides it's obvious fantasy/myth contrivances, it felt decidedly fantastical even though it was an American story. I'd suggest that book, if you wanna read more of her.

For me with Song of Solomon, there was a noticeable difference in the treatment/importance of family, possessions, spirituality, a difference in the significance of certain emotions (love meaning something kind of different than most people I know would probably say it means) and roles. These are all things that play a part in daily humanity, but the treatment was definitely different than my upbringing and the culture I live in handles those things.

Btw, as the user who recommended Wretched of the Earth, I should probably also mention that it is NOT a novel, but instead a collection of essays which are written from decolonial/psychoanalytic perspective.

their not human XD lord kek approves!

I really hope you're making this joke on your own, and didn't see anything in my original post that suggested I think black people aren't human. If anything, Song of Solomon made me wish that my life was full of people more sensitive to these human feelings than they were. Made me wish people gave some time to think deeply about love, and the way they love.

You sound like a liberel. For me there's a significant difference between blacks and me. They can never attain my status and will always be inferior given how the blood in my veins is the blood of philosophers, literal kings, princes, knight errants, innovators, and the greatest artists. Morrison's blood consists entirely of the blood of rapists and savages

I'm gonna ignore the retards who probably look less Aryan than me in the thread and talk to you.
I'm at an MFA for fiction right now but did an academic thesis utilizing Morrison in relation to disparate literary traditions on trauma. I think you would love Beloved for how she provided a metatextual root for this pain. But above all I'd caution she is one of the most humanistic writers in English for how ugly her characters are. There is no ability to make caricature anyone because of their unquestionable human essence. She wrote her thesis on Faulkner and I feel she surpasses him i n capturing the genealogical failings of American. Similarly, American Pastoral by Phillip Roth captrures this human essence at its ugliest.

OP, Morrison also has a number of interviews with Charlie Rose on his site that are worth checking out.

Lol no thanks. I'm not an idiot. I'd rather die than listen to something that cucked

I can definitely see the Faulkner connection, and I have a suspicion that if I read more of both authors I'd agree that Morrison may surpass Faulkner. I will definitely read Beloved next, and I am super happy to hear that someone is out there thinking critically about what she's doing and the power of her humanization of her characters. Godspeed MFA-kun.

Charlie Rose is great. I'll check those out.

>She wrote her thesis on Faulkner and I feel she surpasses him i n capturing the genealogical failings of America
Wrong

You just know this is a black roastwhore writing this trying to use big words to say something, inspite of an inferior intellect. Just another attempt to bluepill, huh? A paid shill here now too?

nah

Listen ironic redpell senpai, I'm just saying Faulkner is better

K.

Also, for everyone interested in exploring Faulkner in relation to the thread, Intruder in the Dust is a really complex treatment of race.

Thanks to those who have recommended other works in this thread. I'm adding some to my reading list.

Interesting post OP. Not being ironic. Can anyone recommend me a good book by a black author?

You may want to start with Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, or Sula.

Langston Hughes' poetry is excellent.

Alice Walker's The Color People and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God are classics for a reason.

If you're looking for something more contemporary, I suggest the memoir The Prisoner's Wife by Asha Bandele; she's got a beautiful way with words.

Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood by bell hooks

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

As I was assembling this list I realized that I apparently read way more female black authors than male black authors. If anyone has suggestions of good contemporary male black authors I'd appreciate them.

Hey dude, happy people are still posting here. Yeah I would ignore the obvious trolls because anyone with a genuine love of art cannot deny Morrison as a master of American fiction. Whether or not you enjoy her is totally fine; I had my brother read her and Roth and Pynchon this summer and she ranked lowest, but he still agreed it was a monumental book. I think people who try to limit the definition of good writing or even suppose there is no inherent value are doing it to maintain a very poor construct of literatures function, for them namely a fashion statement at parties.

I recommend looking at Chester Himes, John Keene and Percival Everett in terms of fiction. Poetry is Rita Dove, Natasha Trethewey, Terrance Hayes and Jericho Brown.

You could also include Delaney but i feel enough people recognize him outside the canon similar to someone like Zadie Smith or Derek Walcott.