We Are Many. We Are Everywhere.

84 responses

1. 

   Rhena Tantisunthorn

   August 3, 2012

   Also add Kao Kalia Yang (memoir http://www.kaokaliayang.com/home.html), Annie Choi (humor, essays, memoir http://www.annietown.com/), and Jay Caspian Kang (fiction, sports/ culture journo at Grantland; https://twitter.com/jaycaspiankang) to this list.

2. 

   Melissa Chadburn

   August 3, 2012

   Me! Me! Me!

3. 

   Juliane Okot Bitek

   August 3, 2012

   Juliane Okot Bitek Creative nonfiction, poetry, essay, fiction

4. 

   Ursula

   August 3, 2012

   Thank you for this awesome list, Roxane! Let’s not forget Ha Jin, Chang-rae Lee, and Nina McCongiley. Happy to see T Kira Madden on the list

5. 

   KEC

   August 3, 2012

   Maryam Monalisa Gharavi, Iranian-American essayist and poet. http://southissouth.wordpress.com/

6. 

   Kory Wells

   August 3, 2012

   Several of my favorites of the Affrilachian poets are notably missing – love the work of Frank X. Walker and Stephanie Pruitt, to name a couple. http://www.affrilachianpoets.com/poets

7. 

   jenn b

   August 3, 2012

   May I also add
   David Anthony Durham (http://www.davidanthonydurham.com/) fiction, fantasy
   Daniel Jose Older (http://ghoststar.net/) scifi and fantasy
   Andrea Hairston (http://www.andreahairston.com/) science fiction
   Linda Addison (http://www.cith.org/linda/) scifi and horror poetry
   and myself 🙂
   Jennifer Marie Brissett (http://www.jennbrissett.com) science fiction and fiction

8. 

   Cynthia Ward

   August 3, 2012

   Nisi Shawl: http://nisishawl.com/ fiction and nonfiction

9. 

   Glenn

   August 3, 2012

   The Radius of Arab-American Writers, Inc., (rawi.org), is another organization people could check out if they are looking for some writers who identify as Arab and possibly American.

10. 

    Matt

    August 3, 2012

    You forgot Karen Tei Yamashita, author of National Book Award finalist I Hotel.

11. 

    Shannon

    August 3, 2012

    This is so beautiful. Thank you Roxane.

12. 

    Margie Jacobs

    August 3, 2012

    Thank you for this wonderful list. I’m always looking to expand my reading list.

    Here’s another name for the list:

    Tammara Aguado – “Dahlia’s Bouquet” (A 2012 Indie Excellence Award finalist)

13. 

    Alison

    August 3, 2012

    Amazing list. I would add Ernessa T Carter, author of a great novel called 32 Candles – http://32candles.com/about-the-author

14. 

    Alex Jennings

    August 3, 2012

    I’m a writer of color. My specialty is SF/YA, and my first collection, Here I Come and Other Stories is due out at the end of this month with an introduction by Nisi Shawl.

15. 

    Sonja

    August 3, 2012

    It might also be interesting to see a list of writers who were born and raised in poverty – a truly invisible but powerful forcefield.

16. 

    MariNaomi

    August 3, 2012

    Me too!

    Also (other colorful graphic novelists): Derek Kirk Kim, Jason Shiga, Jen Wang, Lark Pien, Lynda Barry, Marjane Satrapi, Thien Pham

    Yay!

17. 

    jenn b

    August 3, 2012

    Oh! and Ted Chiang scifi and fantasy

18. 

    Cynthia Ward

    August 3, 2012

    Also:

    Carole McDonnell: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/ fiction and nonfiction

    And:

    Milton Davis: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/ fiction (as writer and publisher)

19. 

    Lauren Eggert-Crowe

    August 3, 2012

    Laila Halaby!
    Arundhati Roy!
    Luis Alberto Urrea!
    Maxine Hong Kingston!
    Lan Samantha Chang!
    Linda Hogan!
    Paula Gunn Allen!

20. 

    Ariana

    August 3, 2012

    Rad. I needed this. I’m going to sit down and add every author to Small Demons (I’m in charge of content management for them and we’ve been somewhat lacking in this department).

21. 

    Veronica Henry

    August 3, 2012

    And another…

22. 

    Dini

    August 3, 2012

    I really appreciate this article. I agree that it’s important for all of us to read widely but it’s equally important that editors and publishers (especially in the mainstream outlets) stretch themselves and look beyond the borders of what they are used to. After all, that is largely how consumers come to know books and writers.

23. 

    Penina Roth

    August 3, 2012

    Great list – thanks so much for this! I have a few more suggestions: James Hannaham, Zetta Elliott, Toure and Deanna Fei.

24. 

    betsy

    August 3, 2012

    Ta-Nehisi Coates. I just read his memoir and it was good.

25. 

    Kate

    August 3, 2012

    Poets Simone White, Khadijah Queen, Shanxing Wang, Bojan Louis, Yael Villafranca, Layli Long Soldier and Ronaldo Wilson!

    Fiction and hybrid-form writer, and editor/publisher, Tisa Bryant!

    Cartoonists/graphic storytellers James McShane (full disclosure: we’re married), Rina Ayuyang (not married to her), and Hellen Jo! (Not married to her either.)

    You got a lot of my favorites, though, Roxane, as well as many names I didn’t know before. This is a list I’ll be happily grazing, probably for years to come, as well as sharing it with others. Thank you for compiling it.

26. 

    Tree Turtle

    August 3, 2012

    I would like to add a few more writers to the list whose work I recently read or reread in the month of July 2012 (in addition to myself–I write poems, stories, essays):

    Ahdaf Soueif (fiction)
    Jewel Gomez (poems, fiction, essays)
    Cheryl Clarke (poems and essays)
    Kevin Simmons (poems and essays)
    Reginald Harris (poems and essays)
    Slangston Hughes (poems)
    Tara Betts (poems and essays)
    Jimmy Santiago Baca (poems and essays)
    Emanuel Xavier (poems, fiction, essays)
    Donald Goines (fiction)
    Randall Kenan (fiction and essays)

    …wow, and the list goes on..which is precisely the point of your marvelous list.

27. 

    Caleb Powell

    August 3, 2012

    Add my man Jervey Tervalon (Understand This, Dead Above Ground). Along with NBA winner Charles Johnson, Athol Fugard, & Jung Chang.

    Thing is, Roxane, I’ve gotta push back against reading someone or seeking someone just because they are ethnic as opposed to being a quality writer. That’s just me, but that’s the problem I got with some of your previous posts (on “Privilege” and on Vida counts for ethnicities, the former seemed to resent Aff. Act., the other called for Aff. Act. by ascribing “blame”).

    Thing is, most of us already seek out ethnic writing, or so I’d like to think, it’s the responsibility of a reader curious about the world. I think the relative lack of ethnic writers in the US is similar to the dearth of doctors, lawyers, etc., which are disproportionate due to privileges and benefits accrued due to a history of racist principles. This is troubling, but I think the problem runs deep and I am more cynical as to whether solutions exist.

    Furthermore, I don’t think I’m the only one here familiar with many of these writers. Some of these listed are as boring as white writers.

    Just adding some thoughts, but writing is a human passion, good writing stands out, regardless.

28. 

    Brian Spears

    August 3, 2012

    I second Betsy’s suggestion of Ta-Nehisi Coates, and not just because I recommended the book to her or because I interviewed him for The Rumpus. Also, he’s one hell of a blogger over at The Atlantic.

29. 

    Roxane Gay

    August 3, 2012

    Caleb, I am not suggesting people read writers because they are ethnic. I believe that reading from a culturally diverse group of writers will make someone better read, more culturally aware, and a happier reader. So yes, people need to read more than just white writers. As people work through this list, they can find writers they like and writers they don’t like. But people consistently say there are no writers of color. This is a list to help those people who say that.

30. 

    Oona

    August 3, 2012

    Frank X. Gaspar, poet and novelist: http://www.frankgaspar.com/

31. 

    Sonali Deuskar Gurpur

    August 3, 2012

    Count me in !

32. 

    Brian

    August 3, 2012

    As a person who is in love with writers of color, especially chicano lit, after seeing this list, I’ve gone some more writers of color to read.

33. 

    Brian

    August 3, 2012

    *got to read…

34. 

    Caleb Powell

    August 4, 2012

    Roxane, I’ll agree with what you said.

35. 

    Berit Ellingsen

    August 4, 2012

    Thank you so much for compiling this list and for adding me to it.

    I feel very honored to be on it, and to be a part of showing that writers of color do exist and write in all genres and styles, not just “ethnic memoir” or “postcolonial”.

    Thank you so much again.

36. 

    Pensacola Washington

    August 4, 2012

    Let’s not forget both old and new generations… Gloria Naylor, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Olympia Vernon, Marci Blackman.

37. 

    jenn b

    August 4, 2012

    Kenji Jasper (http://aalbc.com/authors/kenji.htm) fiction, screenplays, and journalism

38. 

    MariNaomi

    August 4, 2012

    Also: the brilliant Jewelle Gomez! (fiction writer)

39. 

    Christopher Higgs

    August 5, 2012

    This is a fantastic resource. Thank you, Roxane!

    A few more to add, of the experimental persuasion:

    Bhanu Kapil (poetic prose)
    Clarence Major (novelist, poet, painter)
    Ishmael Reed (poet, essayist, playwright and novelist)
    Renee Gladman (poetic prose, editor and publisher of Leon Works)
    Samuel Delany (novelist, memoir, criticism)
    Sesshu Foster (novelist)
    Tao Lin (novelist)
    Claudia Rankine (poet and playwright)
    Suzan-Lori Parks (playwright and screenwriter)
    Adrienne Kennedy (playwright, prose writer)
    Tan Lin (poet, critic)
    Michael Mejia (novelist)

40. 

    Dorothee Lang (Germany)

    August 5, 2012

    thanks for this post, and this additional comment: “I believe that reading from a culturally diverse group of writers will make someone better read, more culturally aware, and a happier reader. So yes, people need to read more than just white writers.”

    here’s a simple yet surprising task i joined this year: to read a book from each continent. which after a couple of books, made me sit down and look at world geographics and world population, and i arrived at this note:
    “so looking at the world from this angle, if you want to read around the world in 7 books, you actually would have to go and look for 4 books from Asia and 1 book from Africa – and then for 2 anthologies that cover the rest of the world in their pages.”

    here’s more: the world in 7 books: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2012/03/world-in-7-books-or-mapping-our-world.html

    this of course isn’t directly about ethnicity of authors, and of course, people in Asia will read more books from Asia etc, but still it gives a perspective that usually isn’t adressed in book canons or “best book / most important book of the year” lists.

41. 

    Samantha

    August 5, 2012

    A great list!

    Also these:
    Eduardo C. Corral (poet, won Yale Younger series)
    Laila Halaby (fiction, won PEN award)
    Cheryl Clarke (poet)
    Rosebud Ben-Oni (poet, fiction)
    Khadijah Queen (poet)

42. 

    lisa

    August 5, 2012

    Also add to the list: Nana brew-Hammond, Ayesha harruna Attah, dahlma Llanos-figueroa.

43. 

    Lisa

    August 5, 2012

    Please add the beautiful poet/fiction writer/performance artist: le thi diem thuy

44. 

    Cynthia Ward

    August 5, 2012

    Tabish Khair (novelist)

45. 

    Cynthia Ward

    August 5, 2012

    Alexandre Dumas, p̬re Рnovelist and playwright [The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, etc.]

    Alexandre Dumas, fils – novelist and playwright

46. 

    Rae

    August 5, 2012

    Andrea Lee, fiction

47. 

    Lana Barkawi

    August 5, 2012

    Thanks for this great article. Add to the publications list the only journal of Arab American literature, “Mizna: Prose, Poetry, and Art Exploring Arab America.” Many of the Arab and Arab American authors listed here and in the comments have been published in Mizna, as well as many many others over our 13 years of issues. Check us out at http://mizna.org

48. 

    Laura E.

    August 5, 2012

    Great resource and idea.
    Here are some more poets:
    Elizabeth Alexander
    Daniel Beaty
    Rafael Campo
    StacyAnn Chin
    Chrystos
    Lucille Clifton
    Camille T. Dungy
    Martin Espada
    Joy Harjo
    Major Jackson
    June Jordan
    Yusef Komunyakaa
    Li-Young Lee
    Audre Lorde
    J. Michael Martinez
    Pat Mora
    Tracie Morris
    Reginald Shepherd
    Tracy K. Smith
    Natasha Trethewey

49. 

    Tisa

    August 6, 2012

    Also the brilliant Manuel Munoz

50. 

    Leslie McGrath

    August 6, 2012

    Hi Roxane,
    I don’t know a single writer or staff member of an American literary press who has ever come close to saying “there aren’t many writers of color.” I *do* know a number of writers of color who would rather have their work judged for its own sake. I wonder if any of them are none too pleased to be included on this list.

    Writers should read the work of our peers and our forbears, regardless of color, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation, and regardless of all the many other elements that make each of us unique.

    Here’s my question: to what end, this listing?

51. 

    Roxane Gay

    August 6, 2012

    Leslie, I am not even remotely suggesting the writers here should be judged on anything but their work, and frankly, I make that clear. While you may have never heard such complaints, the lament that there are few writers of color is a constant refrain. This list rebuts that claim, no more, no less.

52. 

    Leslie McGrath

    August 6, 2012

    Thank you for answering my question “to what end?” I didn’t think you were suggesting that the writers you list should be judged on anything but their work. You’re one of the best writers and subtlest thinkers around. Still, my experience in the literary world, and this includes years editing Drunken Boat, teaching at the college level, giving readings, etc, etc. Could this be because I’m not a person of color? It may be. And if this is the case, I’d be quite angry.

    My wondering about how some of these listed writers might feel about their inclusion in the list stands. But I have no dog in that fight.

53. 

    Roxane Gay

    August 6, 2012

    Leslie, if someone didn’t want their name on the list, it would be removed. Thanks for your comment.

54. 

    ernie brill

    August 6, 2012

    Some of the world’s greatest writers of “color” are not on the lists.
    How about two of t he finest poets of the twentieth century, or any century: Pablo Neruda and Mahmoud Darwish? And there are many African American writers missing: Richard Wright, Jean Toomer, Ralph Ellison, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks, Sterling A. Brown, Ronald Fair, John Oliver Killens, Colin Whitehead, James Allan McPherson
    There are also many fine Latin American writers not listed: Nicanor Parra, Jorge Luis Borges, MIguel Angel Asturias, Jorge Amado, Carlos Fuentes, Roque Dalton, Gabriela Mistral, Vicente huidboro, Rosario Castellanos, Derrick Walcott, Edgwidge Danticat, Wilson Harris, Earl Lovelace, Nancy Morejon, Alejo Carpentier, Roberto Retamar, and many others….. Rueben Dario, Caesar Vallejo
    and Asian writers such as Ryonosuke Akutagawa, Haruki Murakami, Kenlzuboro Oe, Ozamu Desai, Yukio MIshima, Yasunari Kawabata….
    I”ll stop there for now.

55. 

    Kristina

    August 6, 2012

    Thank you, Roxanne, for compiling this list. I can’t imagine how long it took, even/especially with your earlier call for names. Thank you, too, to those who continue to add to the list. It’s always easier to add an opinion than make a stand, and it’s always even easier to say nothing at all. Thank you for taking the time.

56. 

    Kristina

    August 6, 2012

    p.s. Is there anything we can do to help you, Roxanne? You put a call out for us to introduce ourselves to five author from the list we haven’t read. Could we find a way to work together, commenters, to break down the list into genre’s to make it easier to find particular interests? Or host a blog for people to respond to the new books? Now that you have helped us, Roxanne, what can we do in return?

57. 

    mak

    August 6, 2012

    I just browsed through the comments and I didn’t see anyone mention these Writers of Color organizations:
    -Letras Latina (http://latinostudies.nd.edu/letras/,
    -Canto Mundo (an organization of Latina and Latino writers similar to Kundiman and Cave Canem http://www.cantomundo.org/)
    -Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas and Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers (http://www.wordcraftcircle.org/)
    -Ed Roberson (http://www.edroberson.net/)
    -Rain Gomez (http://www.ohoyocreole.com/index.html)
    -Jerry Brunoe

58. 

    Sara Habein

    August 6, 2012

    Let me add another name that I forgot during the first go-around, reminded now because I’m reading his book: THE LEGEND OF PRADEEP MATHEW by Shehan Karunatilaka (http://www.shehanwriter.com/)

59. 

    bea

    August 6, 2012

    In my fictional world where I have time to create beautiful tumblrs that are worthy of viewing, “fuckyeahroxanegay” exists and a link to this post is the most recent entry.

60. 

    Roxane Gay

    August 6, 2012

    Ernie, this is a crowdsourced, vastly incomplete list. It’s also a list of contemporary writers so Toomer, Ellison and such wouldn’t have made their way on the list. Thanks for these names.

61. 

    Farid Matuk

    August 7, 2012

    Rosa Alcala

    Roberto Tejada

    Also, see the poetry & race roundtable that appeared at the poetrics journal, Evening Will Come: http://www.eveningwillcome.com/issue10-raceroundtable-p1.html

62. 

    Farid Matuk

    August 7, 2012

    “poetics” not “poetrics”

63. 

    Harry

    August 7, 2012

    Maybe you can turn this list into a permanent title in the Navigation section. Here are two more writers for the list : Ed McGaa and N. Scott Momaday.

64. 

    Sumayyah Talibah

    August 7, 2012

    Thank you for including me! I have bookmarked this post so that I may check out these lovely people.

65. 

    Johnny No Bueno

    August 7, 2012

    I have a couple more:

    Ai: poetry
    Anis Mojgani: Poetry
    Edldridge Cleaver: Non-fiction
    John “Survivor” Blake: Poetry
    Laura Yes Yes: Poetry
    Robert Lashley: Poetry

66. 

    Adalena Kavanagh

    August 7, 2012

    Id like to add Angela Tung, a fiction, memoirist, nf writer.
    http://blog.angelatung.com/

67. 

    mak

    August 8, 2012

    I’m back. How could I forget the freshest Fred Moten, poet. (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/fred-moten)

68. 

    Matthew Daniel Jackson

    August 8, 2012

    You have said so much to uplift people of color and I admire your zeal. I suppose that is why I have only been published in free papers and a little on line. And I have the nerve to be a Black man that has traveled through twenty different religions and got a degree in Psychology from The George Washington University in WDC and then got a license in Social Work without ever even studying Social Work. The exam was 5 hours long and I took 1 and a half hours and passed with a 79/100. But I write for myself so I can never lose. I am my biggest fan and read everybody’s else’s works too. Now because of your list I have even more bonified people of color to read and I am overjoyed. You are quite the Human Being-A god on Earth shining the light amongst us mortals letting us know that we too are gods. We are stepping up and dialoging, blogging, emailing, websiting, self-publishing and sending love around the world. We are Love itself. We are the modern day Griots (story tellers). I appreciate and thank you so much. Call me anytime or email me. I am so happy to know of you. Super woman of
    The Gods of Writing Inclusive Reality, thou art welcome the gift we have been looking for and now I know will achieve our goals. Peace. Matthew Daniel Jackson-The Ultimate Loving Writer with the skill set to make the mind wake up and reach for more and enjoy this Earthly Life as we can achieve as We Are and WE will always have Ourselves and that is all we require to excell. Peace to you, and thank you so much. (301)332-8464 or infinitycrow@yahoo.com

69. 

    Matthew Daniel Jackson

    August 8, 2012

    Thanks again-Matthew

70. 

    Roxane Gay

    August 8, 2012

    Kristina, this did take a long time but it was absolutely worth it. What can you do to help? Read. The best thing you can do is read and support publishers who have diverse catalogs and support literary magazines with diverse contributors and if you’re a blogger or critic, write about a diverse group of writers, thinking of diversity as more than just race or class or sexuality or gender in isolation but as something that encompasses a wide range of human experience.

71. 

    James Y.

    August 8, 2012

    Thanks for this. You should include Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, whose excellent long-form nonfiction I’ve been following over the past year or so. Definitely someone to look out for.

72. 

    Martha Southgate

    August 8, 2012

    Jacqueline Woodson. Will send other names as they occur to me–oops just thought of one: Randall Kenan. And thanks for including me. This is terrific.

73. 

    Leela Soma

    August 9, 2012

    Great list of authors.

    I would be honoured to be included in this list. I have had two novels published ‘Twice Born’ and ‘Bombay Baby’ by Dahlia Publishing ltd and busy writing my third. Thanks.

74. 

    Roy L. Pickering Jr.

    August 9, 2012

    I’ll have to stalk this comments board to see if I’m eventually mentioned. 🙂

75. 

    Nadia

    August 9, 2012

    hmm where is dream hampton’s name? she should be on this list

76. 

    Ms T. Garden

    August 26, 2012

    I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. As an erotic author, who happens to be a person of color, it’s very nice to see such an inclusive list.

77. 

    Bob Watts

    October 19, 2012

    Thanks for including Stephanie Powell Watts, just announced as the winner of the 2012 Ernest J. Gaines Award.

78. 

    Amelia

    December 1, 2012

    The great Octavia E. Butler of sci-fi! Beautiful examinations of race and sexism in a fantastical context. I highly recommend.

79. 

    Sun Yung Shin

    March 9, 2013

    Bao Phi
    Jane Jeong Trenka
    Matthew Shenoda
    Marlon James
    Don Mee Choi
    Shane McCrae
    me, Sun Yung Shin ^_^

80. 

    PA

    March 11, 2013

    I’d suggest Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who wrote fiction and was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature several times.

    Thanks for the list 🙂

81. 

    Troy Johnson

    June 10, 2013

    Here is a list with almost 1,000 names: http://aalbc.com/authors/author1.htm

82. 

    Andrea Badgley

    January 10, 2014

    This list is encouraging! I am reading my way across America, reading 3 books set in each state from men, women, and non-Caucasian authors. I wrote a blog post today about how much trouble I’m having finding ethnic authors who are native to and have written about their state, and I was getting discouraged. A reader linked to this post in the comments of my blog entry and I’m thrilled to see such a long list of authors of color. Thank you!

83. 

    Jason Price

    January 30, 2015

    Please add my name to your list. I am a writer, of color, from Belize. I have 3 books of poems and a novel published. Thank you.

84. 

    Ken Beagley

    May 19, 2015

    Please add Don Pavey to your list – Colour and Humanism: Colour Expression over History; Buddhist Colour; Colour Symbolism; Colour Concepts Palettes And Pigments; On Colours 1528: A Translation from Latin; as well as Don Pavey His Life & Work on Aesthetics & Colour by Roy Osborne.

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