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news
New, acclaimed
writer reads from 'Po' book
By Jamillah R. Gabriel
On-line Forty-Niner
Novelist and spoken
word artist Marci Blackman will be reading from her novel
"Po Man's Child" Wednesday at the Center for Faculty
Development located on the fifth floor of the University Library
at 5 p.m.
The San Franciscan
author is relatively new to the literary scene as "Po
Man's Child" is her first novel, but it has already garnered
her the 2000 American Library Association Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender Book Award, and the 2000 Firecracker Alternative
Book Award.
"This is her
first novel, but she is mostly known in San Francisco for
her spoken word," said Eve Oishi, assistant professor
of women's studies, and organizer of the event. Oishi chose
the novel for her Women and Sexual Orientation course, and
asked Blackman to visit the class to discuss the book.
She said she chose
the novel because although its main character is an African-American
lesbian, "the focus of the story is not on sexuality,
it's not a coming out story." Instead, the novel focuses
on the legacy of slavery and how it manifests itself in different
ways in the lives of a black family.
The event has many
supporters and is co-sponsored by the University Bookstore,
College of Liberal Arts, Women's Studies and English departments,
Women's Studies Students Association, and the Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender and Women's Resource centers.
Lynne Coenen, assistant
director of the Women's Resource Center, said she has found
that Blackman is an important writer in the feminist genre.
"We have students
are very familiar with her work ...the students came to us
and we provided a space [for the event]," said Coenen.
One such student
familiar with Blackman is Maribel Johnson, a native of San
Francisco and sophomore majoring in black and women's studies.
"I had attended
a book signing for her back at home, and really enjoyed it,"
said Johnson. "It made want to read her book and
now I am a big fan," she said.
Johnson said she
was at first concerned with the content of the book, but found
that it appealed to her because the issues the family dealt
with were unique to the black experience.
Yet, the novel's
approach to portraying the unique experience of an African-American
lesbian is what intrigued Oishi. She wanted her students to
see that the character's sexuality was just one part of a
much bigger issue.
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