The Guest Blogger this week is Robert Prickett. He is an Associate Professor of English Education at Winthrop University and is currently working as the Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. The title above is actually an abbreviation of what he sent me. It is actually worth putting the whole title, it is funny, but also captures the angst that many feel in the aftermath:
Ugh! The No More Political Talk Except for this Last Blog about YAL & Politics & Activism & Moving on Past this Election Except When You Can’t or Won’t but Want to and Give a Chance for Peaceful Transference of Power While Still Keeping an Eye On and Out for All But Need to Recognize How Difficult that is & Know that YAL Can & Will Help Our Students & Us . . . Blog Post
And.. Robert takes over:
Disclaimer: I’ve spent the majority of my life in “Red” States – Indiana, Louisiana, and South Carolina. In the period of my life when my wife and I lived in Virginia (a – what? – “Purple” State), we still found ourselves living in the part of the state that would likely be “red”. Now, I’ve been “Blue” most, if not all, of my adult life. I’m talking “Denim”. I’m talking “Indigo”. “Navy Blue”. No “Sky”. No “Turquoise”. “Blue-Blue”. So, needless to write (and yet here I go), this election hurt – literally (and I am using “literally” correct here – nausea, head ache, taking my breath away, 5 stages of grief, etc.).
Ugh! The No More Political Talk Except for this Last Blog about YAL & Politics & Activism & Moving on Past this Election Except When You Can’t or Won’t but Want to and Give a Chance for Peaceful Transference of Power While Still Keeping an Eye On and Out for All But Need to Recognize How Difficult that is & Know that YAL Can & Will Help Our Students & Us . . . Blog Post
And.. Robert takes over:
Disclaimer: I’ve spent the majority of my life in “Red” States – Indiana, Louisiana, and South Carolina. In the period of my life when my wife and I lived in Virginia (a – what? – “Purple” State), we still found ourselves living in the part of the state that would likely be “red”. Now, I’ve been “Blue” most, if not all, of my adult life. I’m talking “Denim”. I’m talking “Indigo”. “Navy Blue”. No “Sky”. No “Turquoise”. “Blue-Blue”. So, needless to write (and yet here I go), this election hurt – literally (and I am using “literally” correct here – nausea, head ache, taking my breath away, 5 stages of grief, etc.).
The theme (chosen before the election but I am sure with recognition of the election season) of this year’s NCTE was “Faces of Advocacy”. I did not realize how much I needed NCTE this year (a common thread of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues at the convention) until I was there listening to Laurie Halse Anderson, Ellen Hopkins, Jo Knowles, and Meg Medina discussing censorship and fighting back or listening to the general session of Sharon Draper, Jason Reynolds, G. Neri, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, and Ibtisam Barakat discussing advocating and fighting for students or Ta-Nehisi Coates (admittedly way too briefly) articulating why he (and some of us) should not have been surprised by our surprise. All of these and countless other sessions advocating for, well, advocacy was an anecdote (of sorts) for me.
“Action is the anecdote to despair.” – Joan Baez
So, what do we read at this time? What do our students (many of whom are also shocked and hurting and scared) read at this time? What do we do? As Joan Kaywell repeats frequently, I, too, know that YA saves lives. It is with this disclaimer, this introduction, that I now turn to my book shelves, my book lists, my Young Adult Literature. . . for a completely biased, completely cathartic, completely open (for further discussions, suggestions, and critiques), completely incomplete list –
Do I submit and wallow in my pessimism? Do I need to start practicing and solidifying my post-apocalyptic dystopian skill set?
Do I submit and wallow in my pessimism? Do I need to start practicing and solidifying my post-apocalyptic dystopian skill set?
OR do I visit (or more accurately – re-visit) history/non-fiction and what we need to do to not repeat it?
- The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone & Josh Neufeld
- Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II by Martin W. Sandler
- Denied, Detained, Deported: Stories from the Dark Side of American Immigration by Ann Bausum
- I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai
- We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson
- They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
- Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement by Rick Bowers
- Blood Brother: Jonathan Daniels and His Sacrifice for Civil Rights by Richard Wallace and Sandra Neil Wallace
- March: Book One, Book Two, & Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell
- Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
- Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience b Judith M. Blohm & Terri Lapinsky
- A Young People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
- Enrique’s Journey (The Young Adult Adaptation): The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario
- Gay America: Struggle for Equality by Linas Alsenas
- Strike! The Farm Workers’ Fight for Their Rights by Larry Dane Brimner
- Alia’s Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq by Mark Alan Stamaty
OR do I visit/re-visit those books that sharpen my students’ empathy (which was another advocacy theme throughout my NCTE experience)? *note: literally scribbled down some from off my bookshelf . . . . soooo many great YA titles fit into this pondering. . .
- Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices by Mitali Perkins
- In Real Life by Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang
- The Arrival by Shaun Tan
- Skim by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki
- American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Tyrell by Coe Booth
- The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
- Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
- Shine by Lauren Myracle
- The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
- Nothing but the Truth by Avi
- The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
- Luna by Julie Anne Peters
- Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
- Audacity by Melanie Crowder
OR finally, do I visit/re-visit books that instruct my students and me how to go forth and do – make a difference – take a stand – and love, protect, and work with our fellow human beings – all of them – regardless of gender, orientation, race, ethnicity, age, citizenship . . . . (as if all of these titles listed above don’t do that in some way or another)?
- The Teen Guide to Global Action: How to Connect with Others (Near & Far) to Create Social Change by Barbara Lewis
- The Kids’ Guide to Service Projects: Over 500 Service Ideas for Young People Who Want to Make a Difference by Barbara Lewis
- Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around the World by Garth Sundem
- Yes You Can! Your Guide to Becoming an Activist by Jane Drake & Ann Love
- Be a Changemaker: How to Start Something That Matters by Laurie Ann Thompson
- The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth by EarthWorks Group
- Free?: Stories about Human Rights by Amnesty International
- It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired, & Get Going! by Chelsea Clinton
So, this is where I am – three weeks out – combing through my home and office bookshelves filled with YAL – searching for survival, for context, and for compassion – for me, for my children, for my students, for their students, and for our world. After all, if Baez is right and “action is the antidote to despair” I better get moving.
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