What's your name on GoodReads? Here's mine. Vaids
Black Literature not rooted in black tropes (such as.. Slavery, Jim Crow, Modern Day Microagressions)
- Thread starter earthwalka
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earthwalka
All Star
yea she's incredible. I'm reading Kindred right now but I've read Dawn as well which is apart of her Xenogenesis Trilogy. That's also a great book.
Nah, as a writer myself, OP has a point. Most of Black American literature mirrors "Black" films in Hollywood. In other words, they're mostly Black trauma porn made with ink and paper instead of cameras and lights.
In college I was interested in finding some great Black authors, but all the popular ones that were pushed to the forefront got their recognition from the "hard-luck, downtrodden negro tales" that upper-middle class Whites AND Blacks tend to swoon over.
Don't get me wrong, James Baldwin was a phenomenal writer. And Ta-Nehesi Coates is sharp as well. But it seems like the only way to get on as a Black writer is to talk about how bad we have it and how systemic racism has fukked us over for generations.
I'm certainly not saying those subjects should be ignored, but I'd just like to see something outside the sea of "We Shall Overcome" essays and "Thug Love" romance novellas.
Like OP said, where's our Murakami or Dostoevsky? They're among us, somewhere. They just need the chance to shine.
S/O to Octavia Butler
Well said, breh.
I love supporting us in entertainment, but exhausted by every "black voices" show, movie, or book reiterating that we have been, are currently, or will be fukked over due to racial circumstances. While those stories DO need to be told, they absolutely shouldn't be the only stories we can tell.
earthwalka
All Star
ObsidianDev
All Star
Exactly, I feel that whenever we do discuss the past in media, we should also focus on plans for the future and legitimately push towards those aims, versus simply celebrating past victories over adversity.
In a way, it almost feels purposefully done by the media, as if to implicitly say to us "Look how far you guys have come!
Things were so much worse back then, weren't they?!" 
"Now be grateful for what you DO have and don't get any bright ideas."
Next thing you know...
"Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels present: 'White Massa, Black Lover'. In theaters and on all streaming services this Thanksgiving"
Patrick Kane
Superstar
Paul Beatty writes specifically about race. He does it masterfully and is hilarious but I don’t think he’s what OP is looking for. Highly recommend The Sellout though.
I haven’t read Hal Bennett though. I will check for some of his books.
This is a great thread OP. What OP said is true. I haven’t seen any books recommended that are critically acclaimed with high praise that don’t fall under the tropes OP mentioned. I’ve had this thought often and as a writer and lover of books, it’s something I’ve thought about for years. My favourite author is Robert Bolano and his book 2666 is one of the greatest pieces of literature of the 21st century. There’s even a portion of the book told through the perspective of a young American bruh. I was shocked at how well he wrote that voice and how it fits into the story, considering he was a 50 something year old Chilean when he wrote it. Ever since reading him I’ve been SEARCHING for anything similar from a black male author and it almost doesn’t exist it seems.
The Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James is a great book and I’d highly recommend it. I’d say it’s rooted in historical Fiction about Jamaica and their political system but links back to America in different ways, I won’t spoil it. And even that, another rare book by a black author, the protagonist is a black woman. So it’s still not told from the perspective of us. Now as a Canadian breh, imagine how starved we are. We’ve had a few black male authors but everything is rooted in what OP outlined. We have great legendary black authors throughout NOrth America and some in Europe and Africa but like OP said, we need our postmodernist writers. Ya boy might have to fukk around and try
new and improved... Aetheon and K'nuba... amazon.com
earthwalka
All Star
Yea Paul Beatty I've heard is definitely grounded in stories dealing with race but in a more comical or satirical way which honestly I'd prefer over the depressing or melancholy vibes we get from most contemporary books.Paul Beatty writes specifically about race. He does it masterfully and is hilarious but I don’t think he’s what OP is looking for. Highly recommend The Sellout though.
I haven’t read Hal Bennett though. I will check for some of his books.
This is a great thread OP. What OP said is true. I haven’t seen any books recommended that are critically acclaimed with high praise that don’t fall under the tropes OP mentioned. I’ve had this thought often and as a writer and lover of books, it’s something I’ve thought about for years. My favourite author is Robert Bolano and his book 2666 is one of the greatest pieces of literature of the 21st century. There’s even a portion of the book told through the perspective of a young American bruh. I was shocked at how well he wrote that voice and how it fits into the story, considering he was a 50 something year old Chilean when he wrote it. Ever since reading him I’ve been SEARCHING for anything similar from a black male author and it almost doesn’t exist it seems.
The Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James is a great book and I’d highly recommend it. I’d say it’s rooted in historical Fiction about Jamaica and their political system but links back to America in different ways, I won’t spoil it. And even that, another rare book by a black author, the protagonist is a black woman. So it’s still not told from the perspective of us. Now as a Canadian breh, imagine how starved we are. We’ve had a few black male authors but everything is rooted in what OP outlined. We have great legendary black authors throughout NOrth America and some in Europe and Africa but like OP said, we need our postmodernist writers. Ya boy might have to fukk around and try
Yes I've read 2666, truly an incredible experience reading that. I've often searched too (which is why I made this thread) for black male authors who ventured into the same territories as a Bolaño or a Murakami. It's definitely been tough. Marlon James is definitely an author I want to get into but haven't yet. I own both Seven Killings and Black Leopard but haven't read em yet.
RamsayBolton
Superstar
Wait, so it doesn't sound like you want to avoid "black tropes" to me? Maybe you're more looking for stories that are genuinely good, whether or not they include them - rather than some that are boosted because of their message rather than the quality of their content?
earthwalka
All Star
Well I want both really. I like Kindred because of the way it uses slavery to teach things other than just "slavery bad". It's a critique on humans in society and our susceptibleness to "go-with-the-flow" so to speak. I just think some of the tropes are used in very tired ways, there's no voice behind the messaging, you know what I mean?
Just want more original thought put in.
Jean toomer
Superstar
His books are the very essence of race matters. He’s a brilliant writer.
earthwalka
All Star
I don't have a strong aversion to the tropes, I just wish they were used in more unique ways. Tarantino did a western set to the backdrop of slavery and I understand the criticisms that that movie brought but to me that shyt was cool and different.
It's not so much the tropes I guess, but the way they are used. Like I'm completely fine with more stories in the jim crow era but maybe bend the genres. Tell your stories of the black experience but come at from different ways. give us new types of characters to latch on to. idk, i'm not writer so it's easy for me to say just do it but idk i'm reading all these other books from other cultures and they got this certain type of energy to their writing that I don't see often in black literature. I'm extremely open to whoever can find more stuff tho.
It's not so much the tropes I guess, but the way they are used. Like I'm completely fine with more stories in the jim crow era but maybe bend the genres. Tell your stories of the black experience but come at from different ways. give us new types of characters to latch on to. idk, i'm not writer so it's easy for me to say just do it but idk i'm reading all these other books from other cultures and they got this certain type of energy to their writing that I don't see often in black literature. I'm extremely open to whoever can find more stuff tho.
Jean toomer
Superstar
Octavia butler - any damn thing
Nnena okorofor - binti series
NK Jemmison - broken earth series
For the sci fi fans…
Colson Whitehead is superlative.
Nnena okorofor - binti series
NK Jemmison - broken earth series
For the sci fi fans…
Colson Whitehead is superlative.
