Description
Book SynopsisA timely, nuanced work that dissects the thorny debate around cultural appropriation and the literary imagination.
Trade Review"Questions of cultural appropriation often crystallize most acutely in works of literature, from William Styron to Jeanine Cummins. Rekdal, a writing teacher, parses the issue to ask who is “allowed” to write what, and in what contexts." -- New & Noteworthy - The New York Times
"Creative writing professor Paisley Rekdal tackles the definition of cultural appropriation and how it fits into our current political climate in her collection of essays, structured as a series of letters to an imagined student. Rekdal picks apart the hotly debated topic of who gets to tell what story as she examines the evolution of cultural appropriation as it pertains to literature. In her scrutinization of authorship, Rekdal points to bigger questions surrounding whiteness, identity and empathy." -- 14 New Books You Should Read in February - Time
"[Rekdal] speaks without condescension to young, ethically conscious writers, and with an awareness that anti-racism is necessarily a constant, ever-shifting struggle; those who presume to have all the answers have got the question wrong." -- Bad Form Magazine
