Does publishing] have a problem with black writers?
Evening Standard|February 12, 2024
In the film American Fiction, black writers struggle to be heard unless they write about trauma. It’s the same in the UK, says Emma Loffhagen
Does publishing] have a problem with black writers?

DURING an early scene in acclaimed D new film American Fiction, the protagonist Monk - played by Jeffrey Wright wanders into a reading by fellow author Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) of her new bestseller We's Lives in Da Ghetto. Monk, who has just left his own sparsely attended panel at the literary event, watches as a packed, mostly white audience sit enraptured by Sintara's words. "Yo Sharonda!," Sintara begins, switching abruptly into a comically "hood" drawl. "Girl, you be pregnant again?!" The camera slowly zooms onto Monk's face - his eyebrows crinkle, the sides of his mouth turn down. His disdain is silent, but evident.

The now Oscar-nominated film, former journalist Cord Jefferson's directorial debut and based on Percival Everett's 2001 novel Erasure, takes satirical aim at the publishing industry's obsession with reducing black writers to offensive clichés to pander to white audiences as one character bluntly summarises, "white publishers feeding black trauma porn".

It follows Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a jaded, middle-class black novelist who rails against the industry's elevation of books that peddle violence and present a monolithic view of blackness over what he sees as his own more rarefied literary pursuits.

This story is from the February 12, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 12, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EVENING STANDARDView All
Why are England wasting time waiting for Tuchel?
The London Standard

Why are England wasting time waiting for Tuchel?

Winning the World Cup is the aim, so the new boss should start now

time-read
3 mins  |
November 14, 2024
He's been shot, and punched by Mike Tyson, but British boxing's great survivor is back on top and aiming to rule the world
The London Standard

He's been shot, and punched by Mike Tyson, but British boxing's great survivor is back on top and aiming to rule the world

This is where the magic happens,\" reads a big neon sign scrawled across the entrance to the offices of arguably the most powerful man in British boxing today.

time-read
7 mins  |
November 14, 2024
How Sketch went from 'obscene' to era-defining
The London Standard

How Sketch went from 'obscene' to era-defining

After arocky start, the glamorous and infamous restaurant is now an institution

time-read
4 mins  |
November 14, 2024
Money is worth less than time'
The London Standard

Money is worth less than time'

He's quit Fendi, but what will Kim Jones do next?

time-read
4 mins  |
November 14, 2024
London's Roman Amphitheatre
The London Standard

London's Roman Amphitheatre

Guildhall Yard, EC2V

time-read
3 mins  |
November 14, 2024
Liberals didn't notice they'd lost relevance in the all-consuming digital sphere
The London Standard

Liberals didn't notice they'd lost relevance in the all-consuming digital sphere

There are many reasons why Donald Trump might have won the election last week.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 14, 2024
Do we have to die?
The London Standard

Do we have to die?

One neuroscientist thinks the answer is no

time-read
4 mins  |
November 14, 2024
The London Standard

How to have a magical Christmas in Edinburgh

From cosy cobblestone streets to abundant Yuletide goings-on, few cities rival the Scottish capital in creating Christmas whimsy.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 14, 2024
London's best festive restaurants
The London Standard

London's best festive restaurants

The social season is upon us once more. These are the city’s most coveted Christmas venues, which need to be booked soon so as to not miss out on the tinsel and tipples.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 14, 2024
Rag'n'Bone Man
The London Standard

Rag'n'Bone Man

I struggle with being recognised... I'll never really feel comfortable with it'

time-read
6 mins  |
November 14, 2024