To begin with I have to confess that, until recently, I had not heard of Kate Clanchy or her memoir. That was until I became aware of a discussion surrounding that particular work taking place on Twitter, and the reaction that it had inspired from Philip Pullman on that social media platform.
Since having heard of the author and the book, what I've heard has not made the memoir particularly attractive to me; with problematic language concerning race, people with disabilities, and class having been highlighted by writers and readers. The passages have been reported on widely now and I won't reproduce them here but, to my eye, they read more like passages from a book that might have been written fifty years ago.
Perhaps though, that is a misconception that I have the luxury of being able to labour under, because I do not see the presence of these attitudes today as much as I might if I weren't looking at the world through white and able eyes. I am fairly certain that I have said, done, and thought extremely foolish things exactly because I have sometimes been stupid enough to not consider the other point of view and the experiences of others. I hope though that I am learning better.
No, I haven't read the book at the centre of the controversy so what I can say about the work is limited by that. However, I did become aware, after the fact, of the abuses directed at writers such as Monisha Rajesh and Dara McAnulty online. And that saddens me, as it should.
I have always thought that the bookish side of Twitter was relatively unproblematic. A friendly and welcoming space. One does like to think that the bookish are a considerate and intelligent bunch. But, alas, it seems that isn't always the case.
Instances like this have the power to highlight wider problems. When the language used in the memoir was pointed out as problematic, it was a gifted opportunity for the author and readers to listen and learn. Instead, the author chose to deny and refused to engage initially. Other writers sprang to her defense and were dismissive of the issues raised. This perhaps encouraged the abuse that followed, directed at those that had highlighted the offensive passages.
According to a poll from 2017, the vast majority of the publishing industry identifies as white. A fact that is very telling. It suggests that it is the white perspective that is still very much getting represented in the literary world, and that perhaps works are passing in front of eyes that might miss offensive and problematic content because of what they do not see.
There are those that will argue the point at any hint someone is trying to censor books or dictate what can and can't be said by writers. And this is understandable; censorship and erasure of literary works has its own problematic and horrific history. However, it would seem nobody who highlighted the offensive content in this book was seeking the book be banned, taken from shelves, or pulped. Instead, they seem only to have sought to shine a light on why they had taken issue with the language of the book. They sought only to ask the questions that needed to be asked. And perhaps they hoped that by having the discussion they could draw attention to a still present problem.
However, rather than being heard and considered, their attempts were dismissed. It's a bad habit that we white readers and writers must break. After all, we are not the only readers and we are not the only ones harbouring writerly hopes and ambitions.
As I write this, I am aware that there is possibly much that I haven't touched upon, that which deserves time and consideration. I write this piece as a book lover, as someone who puts a lot of stock in those who are writerly and bookish. I have the luxury of not being directly impacted by the words and passages written in the book, because I have the luxury of never having been subjected to dehumanising language from others based on my race or a condition with which I have been diagnosed. I am also aware that I may have gotten things wrong myself. I hope that I haven't, because I wouldn't want to cause hurt to anyone reading this, but if I have, I hope that I can learn better.
If any of the preceding is written poorly, please do forgive me. I had my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday and it left me a bit more tired than usual. Still, I will take tiredness and a decline in quality of writing for the vaccination. However, if you have any criticisms then please throw them my way. If you have any praise, I will happily take that too!
Thank you for reading.
If you found any value in this piece, you can buy me a coffee over on Ko-fi; it turns out that once you reach a certain age, you don't get lolly pops for getting jabs any more, but I'll take a coffee for writing instead! All support is gratefully received; it keeps me writing, so thank you!
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