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Wiscon 31: Genre Tokenism Today: The New Octavia
Wed, Jun. 6th, 2007 03:23 pmDescription: After the untimely death of the great writer Octavia E. Butler, some have asked who will take her place. A panel of African-descended women currently writing genre fiction addresses this question, talking about Octavia's oeuvre and their own: similarities, differences, market forces, and the pressures to model their contributions to the field on hers. How many ways is this question just plain wrong? Who has a vested interest in there being "an Octavia," new or old? What would "a new Octavia" look like? How does her literary legacy affect the field today, and how might it do so in the future? And how does this legacy relate to this disturbing question?
Panelists: Nora Jemison (mod), Nisi Shawl, Candra K. Gill, K. Tempest Bradford, Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbachu
This was my favorite panel of Wiscon;![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
coffeeandink mentions the cool factor of seeing a panel entirely composed of black women at an SF con; I agree. Also, like Mely, I hope one day that I'll be so used to seeing many POC at SF cons, on panels, not talking specifically about race, that the coolness factor will wear off.
Note: it's really odd writing this up, because I'm consulting the transcripts and noticing that my memory of themes aren't the same as the actual track of the conversation. But since this is my LJ and because the transcript is available, I'll be organizing more via theme and subject than by time things were said.
Nora Jemison jokingly introduced all the panelists as the "new Octavia;" all of them refuted the notion. I think Nisi Shawl said something to the effect of: "I am the current Nisi Shawl, not the new Octavia." All of them mentioned that their styles were basically nothing like Butler's; Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu wrote fantasy YA, Shawl said her language was not as spare. K. Tempest Bradford said she was the Angry Black Woman -- I was too busy being delighted to tell for sure, but I am certain that other audience members were just as delighted as me that she was at the con.
( Cut for length )
( Cultural appropriation and the panel )
Links:
- FSFWiki's page (includes transcript and links to other write ups)
Panelists: Nora Jemison (mod), Nisi Shawl, Candra K. Gill, K. Tempest Bradford, Nnedi Nkemdili Okorafor-Mbachu
This was my favorite panel of Wiscon;
coffeeandink mentions the cool factor of seeing a panel entirely composed of black women at an SF con; I agree. Also, like Mely, I hope one day that I'll be so used to seeing many POC at SF cons, on panels, not talking specifically about race, that the coolness factor will wear off.Note: it's really odd writing this up, because I'm consulting the transcripts and noticing that my memory of themes aren't the same as the actual track of the conversation. But since this is my LJ and because the transcript is available, I'll be organizing more via theme and subject than by time things were said.
Nora Jemison jokingly introduced all the panelists as the "new Octavia;" all of them refuted the notion. I think Nisi Shawl said something to the effect of: "I am the current Nisi Shawl, not the new Octavia." All of them mentioned that their styles were basically nothing like Butler's; Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu wrote fantasy YA, Shawl said her language was not as spare. K. Tempest Bradford said she was the Angry Black Woman -- I was too busy being delighted to tell for sure, but I am certain that other audience members were just as delighted as me that she was at the con.
( Cut for length )
( Cultural appropriation and the panel )
Links:
- FSFWiki's page (includes transcript and links to other write ups)