WHY DO BLACK WRITERS STIGMATIZE THEMSELVES WITH LABELS? By William Fredrick Cooper
(Written May 6, 2008)
(I hope I'm not nitpicking here, and if this offends anybody, then knowing the ultra-sensitive climate of the world known as African-American Literature, I truly mean no harm.)
I happened to come across a writer whose blog label indicated that the person was lesser known, and it got me to thinking:
Why do we, in the African-American Writing Community, subject ourselves to titles? Why do we adhere to a pecking order by way of politics? Why do some writers, when around others, see the progress of others and say things in conversation like ‘Well, I'm not succeeding like you’, or comments of this nature? Why are there status designations in our community, and is it fair?
I mean, Is there a difference in 1) a person writing for the love of it; 2) a person writing for book sales, prestige and productivity, and 3) a person period? What makes us label people? Politics? Insecurities?
Someone help me out.
From this vantage point, a writer is a writer, period. While it's wonderful nice to see the progress of others, and of the literary community as a whole, I know quite a few of us would be writing even if there was an absence of the trappings that accompany the trade.
You want to know why?
It's because we love it. We're enamored with blending words in an intellectual mixer and concocting a post, a passage, or an eighty to one-hundred thousand word effort. We love sharing opinions, and in some instances, drama, in the reading groups or on blog sites like MY SPACE and BLACK PLANET.
While paying respect to those that are prolific, what does that have to do with the person themselves? Are they giving back to the literary village and helping others with their love for the craft? Should it matter if I share thoughts with a Best-selling author? What about the community: are we encouraging education through literacy, as opposed to drugs, teenage pregnancy, violence and strife? Status, labels and politics are not in the trenches, for these are things you would do without the applause.
And this is not to offend any best-selling authors, because there's nothing wrong with making money doing something you love to do. But why the egos, the preferential politics and condescending dispositions? What's up with all the status labels? Why are some people, in our literary community, treated better than others?
A QUESTION TO PONDER: What if it were all stripped away. Would we all be writing?
I would, for I am a writer not defined by status. Transforming meditation to stories, I write because I love the nuances, and am a student constantly learning to put words together, humbly hoping they sound good. The magical melody that comes from the movement of metaphors and powerful, poignant, poetic phrases please me. Whether emotional or erotic, there's something about the English language that I yearn to master, and I don't need a definition for the love I feel when I read something spectacular, or compose something from my soul.
When alone with a computer, there are no politics or pecking order, or egos telling me that I'm better than anyone. I simply write, and need no labels to categorize my love for the special feeling running through even as my thoughts appear on this screen. It's a genuine, pure feeling that I wish all of us could experience.
Given the ego movement and politics of our community and the labels being passed around, I often wonder if many feel the same way.
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