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This week in BIPOC lit news, there’s everything from a new look on assimilation (or a lack thereof) to a Black teen romance set in L.A. in 2018 that was adapted from a Judy Blume classic.
A friend of mine put me on to Bianca Mabute-Louie’s latest work—Unassimilable: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie—which looks at the value there is in not assimilating for Asian Americans. I haven’t read the book yet, but the argument reminds me a bit of how some Black Americans critique how integration has been handled, which Noliwe Rooks explores in her latest book Integrated: How American Schools Failed Black Children (out March 18).
Julio Anta writes about what inspired his bilingual graphic novel series Hillside Valley. Through this series, which starts with Speak Up, Santiago, he hopes to not only provide bilingual kids with a chance to read dialogue in both English and Spanish but also help Latine children see themselves in literature.
At an elementary school in Fort Campbell—home of the same 101st Airborne Division that escorted the Little Rock Nine—librarians have been busy trying to comply with a DOD order to remove any materials that contain “discriminatory equity ideology,” among other things. Because of a lack of guidance on what this means, but a firm deadline to have it done, librarians just started filling carts with hundreds of books that could potentially fall under that criteria.
In more hopeful news, Jewel Rodgers is both the youngest person to be appointed Nebraska’s Poet Laureate (she’s 27) and the first Black American to fill the role. Another interesting fact about her is that her father is the Heisman Trophy-winning Johnny Rodgers.
Adaptations
Forever adaptation trailer
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My Hey YA co-host Kelly Jensen made me aware of this adaptation of Judy Blume’s enduring YA classic Forever. Where the 1975 original followed white teens, this latest adaptation follows Black teens in L.A. in 2018, and I just have to say that the trailer makes it look really good. Look out for it on May 8th.
Campy mysteries done well—like Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building— are having a moment. Combining that with the power of Shondaland, I think The Residence will be big. It stars Uzo Aduba as detective Cordelia Cupp, who is trying to solve the case of the deadliest White House state dinner ever. The show isn’t quite a 1:1 adaptation, but does use the nonfiction book Brower’s The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen as a starting point. It’s out March 20th.
With new shows like Scam Goddess, nonviolent true crime adaptations are also having their day in the sun. The latest translates Tanya Smith’s memoir, Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System, into a big-screen heist-thriller starring Janelle Monáe as the woman who got 40 million big ones out of the FBI.
All Access members, continue on for 7 BIPOC releases out this week
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