I actually missed LatinoFest yesterday. I started going years ago with my children and had so many good memories that I kept going on my own after they grew away. I knew the date was coming, but daggone if I didn’t miss it yesterday. Now, I have to wait an entire year for it to come again. And today, it’s raining.  What a weekend.

In the blog world, there’s dissatisfaction brewing from Lelac Almagor’s posting on  ReadRoger. There is so much to criticize in her essay that for me, it’s easier just to ignore it. Unfortunately, she’s given voice in a forum that brings credence to her ill-formed opinion.  Sharon Flake has articulated an insightful response where I would simply have urged Almagor to get out of her bubble are read Tanita Davis, Sherri Smith, Zetta Elliot, Varian Johnson,  Julius Lester, L. Divine and so many, many more! She reminds me of the person who recently asked me to recommend “urban authors”. I have no idea what that means, is it code for “Black authors”? Does she really want urban/hiphop fiction? Or perhaps she’s looking for what’s being calling ‘real fiction’ by majority authors?  Does she know her label has no single definition?

On another note, I’ve realized how little non-fiction I review.  I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but the numous bibliographies, histories and other fact based books should probably be reviewed with greater zeal than fiction. Why? Because the nonfics need to be verified for accuracy. And therein lies the problem with the review process: the background work that must be done. Rather than commenting on how well written, how engaging or informative, nonfics have to be examined on the merit of the author’s research. Read Debbie Resse for an idea of how it’s done.

The same holds true with fiction in some ways. We’re finding out about the inacurracies that exist in the relationship between images on a cover and those in the story. How often does the author’s culture  actually match that of story? I know of a couple of very popular books that people assume are written by Black authors, but they’re not. Does it make a difference? Read Neesha Meminger and decide. There is often telltale evidence when a person writes outside their culture, but what bothers me most about it is that too many authors outside the African American experience rarely choose to write about middle class characters, those with intact families, or much other than than crime, drugs and lacking.  Back to the same stereotypes Almagor writes about! It happens in other cultures where writers use pseudonyms and promote themselves to be Native or Latino/a or Asian. And they get published where people of color cannot. Is there a rational explanation for this?

I do have to applaud author Melissa Kantor for not only including an African American character in her recent YA book The Breakup Bible but for including racism as a major part of the story’s plot. Kanto proves that books can successfully mirror real life, because boys and girls with world around us is full of color!

Don’t forget the contest!