Posts

Perfection: The Pressure to Perform for Black Female Athletes-- A review of Misty Copeland's "Life in Motion"

Image
There is nobody who faces more obstacles to success and who must prove more than the Black American woman. The first female in any space must be the best in the room to be allowed in the club (and even then she will always face bias and an often toxic work environment.) Add race in? The level for excellence and perfection climbs even higher. No wonder Black athletes are reclaiming their lives and taking rest! (Rest: The greatest form of Black resistance in a culture that squeezes every last ounce of productivity from Black Americans like modern day slaves to capitalism.)  The following review does not actually discuss content from Life in Motion. This is me pulling upon current events and applying them to real themes shared by Copeland about her life in her book. I expand these themes to present them as patterns faced by Black female athletes in general.  In every way, this book is a catalyst to talk about the pressures, bigotry, obstacles and hatred endured by Black female athletes. S
Post a Comment
Read more

Kindred, by Octavio Butler, science fiction, 1979

Image
Octavia Butler's Kindred , is one of the best books I’ve read. It ranks with Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. Octavia Butler was the first and most acclaimed Black sci-fi writer. Though she died young, she left a literary treasure trove . This is the first of her works I've read.  First, what is a science fiction book? To be honest, I had to look up the definition. Sci fi is a genre of fiction. Some possible elements include: advanced science and technology of the future, space exploration, parallel universes and time travel. Also, aliens. Kindred explores time travel and parallel universes to amazing effect. Kindred is compulsively readable. It follows a couple, Dana, who is Black, and Kevin, her White partner. Dana is the protagonist. We view the story through her gaze. Dana travels back to pre-Civil War days. She lives on a plantation, the same one her ancestor Hagar lived on. After a search of baby names on Google, I read that “Hagar” means forsaken. Deserted. Dana is deter
Post a Comment
Read more

Tokyo Ueno Station, by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles; first American edition, 2020

Image
This is the story about the ghost of a man. Truly. Your protagonist is a ghost.                                               As soon as I finished Tokyo Ueno Station, I flipped to the first page to start again. It wasn’t that it was my most favorite book. No. It was that I felt I had only gotten part of the story. The protagonist is unhoused, and, like most on the streets, we never hear their stories. This is Kazu’s story. In Japanese, Kazu means “harmony” or “Peace.” Oh the irony! Our protagonist is never at peace. He sleeps in a tent, subjected to the whims of nature and police who displace him when the Emperor visits.   Yu Miri writes with spare, tight prose. Each word is purposeful. And Morgan Giles delivers a glorious translation. It does not feel stilted or forced. Kazu’s soul and character represents all humanity. We are all haunted in one way or another. According to Kazu, there is no such thing as time, especially if you are unhoused. Days turn into months, into years
Post a Comment
Read more