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« Slight Delay | Main | LBC Podcast #3: Betsy Wing »

Aug 11, 2006

Comments

Dan Wickett

Very interesting - thanks again to both Betsy for her quick translating excercises, and to Paule, for replying to the questions.

Betsy Wing

Somehow I posted a comment that was supposed to pertain to this posting at Aug 06 2006 (The Brillian Michael O!). I can't figure out how to move it so, if you're interested, check it out there!

Dan Wickett

The following are Betsy's comments which were misplaced:

A propos the posting of Paule Constant's replies:

There are a couple of things that came to mind when I sent the questions off to her.

First: all the authors mentioned who dealt with the problems of skin tones (dark to light) were black. I think it was a non-issue for white writers in the 20s when black was just black. There is, however, earlier work, especially from New Orleans where racial mixing has gone on for centuries, in which the issue is crucial to the novel. Creoles in 19th century N.O. were people of "some color" and were highly literate (though more famous for their music). These days I think of Toni Morrison (THE BLUEST EYE, a beautiful novel) and Spike Lee as the people who treat the issue most powerfully. I hate to think of "political correctness" as our bete noir (no no--no pun intended!) but, when it prevents our expressing who we are and where we come from as well as--as Paule puts it--what we are not, but imagine, it seems to me that the damage it does may be greater than the protections it offers.

Also, thanks, Ed for mentioning some of my other work. I'd also, however, like to plug another of my translations published by Nebraska in their wonderful series: Edouard Glissant's THE FOURTH CENTURY. It's a lot tougher going than Constant but a wonderful tale of a French Afro-Caribbean search for a place in history for people who lost their history in the Middle Crossing.

Anne

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Wow.

Even in this time of email and instant technology, it's still pretty amazing and cool to me to get to hear Paule Constant's answer--and to think about the complex chain--me to Dan to Betsy to Paule and back, across languages--that made it possible.

Many many thanks to all the links in the chain!! You totally made my day.

merry

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