So to kick off the new year, and following in the footsteps of fellow writer Troy Wiggins over at AfroFantasy, looking back on 2015 in my creative life–and what I might hope for in 2016.
For the Good of the Order: Writing Goals 2016
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Tag Archives: fantasy
Appropriating The Self- Revisiting The Africa of Our Imaginations
In the wake of a controversy over who the culture of an entire continent belongs to within the context of its far-flung descendants (many quite involuntarily flung at that), I revisit a set of blog posts I wrote several years ago regarding speculative fiction, world building, “appropriation” and the Africa of our imaginations. Can one appropriate the self?
Early Black Writers, Speculative Fiction and Confronting Racial Terror
In the bleakest of moments African-American writers have turned to literature to confront racial terror and the trauma it could induce–turning to poetry, personal narratives, plays and novels. Sometimes, they even dreamed of the fantastic.
Memoirs of an Atypical Blerd
A few years ago someone told me I was a Blerd. I had no idea what they were talking about. But (as I was then told) I’m black, I like SFF, and I talk about it a whole lot. So that makes me a Blerd. Okay. Fine. Whatevs. I didn’t really expect the term to catch on. I mean c’mon. Black + Nerd? Shows how much I know. Today Blerds are everywhere. There are Blerd sites, Blerd podcasts, Blerd blogs, Blerd meetups–you name it. Blerd has become a community. Blerd can maybe even be called a movement. Blerds are also remarkably diverse. And it turns out using one story to define them, may limit the full breadth of who or what they (we) can be.
Art: Phil Noto, Variant cover, Captain America
For the Good of the Order: Writing Goals 2015
I don’t usually do New Year Resolutions. But fellow writing colleagues Troy Wiggins & Khaalidah inspired me to create one of these lists. So even though January’s almost done, here goes.
Phenderson Djèlí Clark 