LETTERS TO A WRITER OF COLOR

A loosely epistolary collection elucidating the joys and challenges of being a writer of color.

Although the essays are titled using craft elements like structure or character, the majority of the pieces sprawl vividly beyond their stated intentions. For example, Soomro’s wise and vulnerable essay, “On Origin Stories,” and Tahmima Anam’s devastatingly hilarious and poignant essay, “On Humor,” contain lessons on authenticity that are far more useful than an essay formally dedicated to the topic itself. In “On Character,” Tiphanie Yanique creates not just a lesson on craft, but also a gorgeously frank celebration of the power and knowledge people of color inherently bring to the page. “It is important to me,” she writes, “that I begin by making plain that I am not revealing any damn thing to you, audience, that you do not already know….The gist: since before your own birth this wisdom of character development has been inside of you. The world destroyed you and your people before you in order for you to learn it. Do not let the world take it from you now.” Equally astounding is the generosity with which many of the contributors allow readers into their personal lives. Anappara, for example, candidly describes the self-loathing she felt while working on a novel by the bedside of her terminally ill sister, explaining how the writing both kept her sane and made her feel a kind of “madness.” Kiese Laymon writes about the cruelty he inflicted on himself and his loved ones while grappling with years of manipulation at the hands of his former editor. While the book is addressed to writers of color, artists of all races will benefit from the honesty, profundity, and munificence radiating from each of these letters. Other contributors include Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Xiaolu Guo, Myriam Gurba, and Mohammed Hanif.

A stunningly personal and practical compilation of literary and life advice.