My Father Writes Like Me

[teaberryblue]

Some (likely) closing words on the “I Write Like” Meme (apartment photos and general life updates still to come). I just wanted to address some of the key questions I saw raised repeatedly today as the conversation got very large and I wasn’t able to reply to everyone individually.

1) It appears that several new authors were added to the “I Write Like” meme. Confirmed: Margaret Mitchell, Mary Shelley, Stephenie Meyer, Ursula LeGuin, Agatha Christie, David Foster Wallace.

I have not seen or heard anything about any authors of color being added. Which is, as nojojojo said, making it worse, because at this point he’s knowingly being exclusionary, especially since I’ve seen multiple people suggest authors of color to him directly.

2) I have heard multiple reports that he is no longer approving comments from people who question this issue on his blog. However, he said that he will take suggestions with the hashtag #iwlvote on twitter, and he can’t really do anything about people who comment to @iwritelike on twitter.

3) Many people brought up questions about the original included list. Dmitry said to me yesterday in a private email that the list was gleaned from two sources: top bestsellers listed on Wikipedia, and the top downloads list on Project Gutenberg. While those lists are obviously skewed toward white men to begin with, there were female authors and authors of color on both lists who never appeared to be in the meme, which means that there was some editorial choice on his part about which authors on those lists to include– and which to exclude.

4) This is the first time I’ve posted a post of this nature since I started blogging more seriously off-livejournal. It’s interesting to note that while the vast majority of people who responded to this post on livejournal commented in agreement with the concerns I raised, and the people who didn’t approached the subject with honest questions, the majority of (far fewer) comments on my personal blog at Antagonia.net were criticizing my post, and not in a thoughtful or friendly manner, either. It was interesting to me to see the difference.

5) I just wanted to share the email my father sent to the meme’s creator after reading my blog. My father is a middle-aged white man, just in case anyone is curious.

My friends and I were excited to see this enjoyable “game”. However, it became clear that even though your idea is really good , your execution is lacking.

If you want to really provide something more “professional” you simply
should consider:

1. Including more writers
2. Including different ethnic and religious backgrounds. After all, writers style are very much influenced by their surroundings and period beliefs. This is a real reason why their are differing styles
3. Consider other constructive suggestions you have received and better yourself and your product.

Dmitry, inclusion is a key element of success; exclusion is a road to
narrow minded failure.

Good luck and thank you again for your efforts.

JVF

Of course, when a man wrote to him, Dmitry wrote back saying “thanks for your suggestions!” Although I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that that might be a result of critical mass at this point.

I hope that answers everybody I didn’t get around to replying to. Thanks for your comments and especially for passing on this discussion to others– I think a lot of people only saw one or two results from the meme and didn’t quite realize what was going on with it.

I am still disappointed that this thing is getting national news coverage, though. It’s sort of inspiring me to put some effort in to re-building my meme library once I move. We need a new OTP generator. That doesn’t exclude anybody on any basis apart from “Tea thinks that’s too hard to draw.”

Mirrored from Antagonia.net.

Comments

[prydera.livejournal.com]

So Dickens and Joyce suck? I really wonder WTF this guy is teaching.

My mother just retired from being an English teacher and I'm so glad that where she taught (which is where I went to high school) didn't just do dead, white males. We did a bunch of those (especially in the honours track), but also did plenty of women, people of colour, etc. I think the biggest thing we missed was disabled writers.

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

I know. I was an English teacher for a while (Brit Lit and modern lit for kids at the honors level...) and don't think I would have said Dickens and Joyce "suck." Plus, he's trying to discuss literature with me and uses the word "suck"? Please.

I'm glad your mom's school (and your school, too) taught a wide variety of lit from a wide variety of sources. Sure, I also taught about a bunch of dead white writers (because they were amazing writers... and the curriculum told me so, haha...), but I also talked about women writers, writers of color, and so forth. We even read speeches from Nelson Mandela and such. I felt it important in that regard to avoid some curriculum and add in the influential writings and teachings of other, talented people - no matter their race, sex, or ethnicity.

Disabled writers seem "harder to come by." If I ever publish my book, you'll know one ;) Then again, if you can call Stephen Hawking a writer (and I would, consider the amount of work he has put out into the world - not a "classic" writer, sure, but an amazing scientist whose work should be shared), then that would fit the bill...

It's just sad an English teacher would say to me that Joyce "sucks" and the best writers are white men. Ugh.

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Just an aside, Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy, have a really awesome kids' book called "George's Secret Key to the Universe" which I suspect is appropriate for 6-8th graders.

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that! Cool!

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

Yeah! Also, Helen Keller would be a good author to add, especially since she does write about the experience of being deaf-blind as well as being a female scholar at a time when that was not common.

[writingmoments.livejournal.com]

Helen Keller was AMAZING! I recently visited the museum at her birthplace.

She really, really made a difference all over the world.