Rethinking the N-word?

Needless to say, the N-word (to be PC) is not one of my favorite words. And the use of it in literature has caused many books to banned by libraries, and not used in many school systems. The re-publication of Twain's Huck Finn is making people rethink this again. Here's a thoughtful article on the Charlotte News Observer's blog, The Reading Life.

There is definite pain involved in hearing slanderous and intentionally cruel terms leveled at you. Being black American and Indian American, I have many times been on the receiving end—often when the speakers thought I was out of earshot and just as often when they sneer and look right at me. I have inured myself to it and can keep on walking with no desire to lash out. That, I know, is useless.

When writing historical fiction, I am conscious of the language of the time-period and like to stay in sync with that. But I also know the reaction to terminology that pops up today, from enlightened non-black Americans to those who still feel the lash in that word. It's a tricky line to tightrope. I've found that in dialogue, an unsavory character can speak all kinds of rough language without using the words many find offensive; the character is still obnoxious and crude. But the intent is the same. I think this is what NewSouth, Inc. intends by changing the Twain text.

I do often wonder, however, if people object to use of words because it puts the character saying them in a bad light—a place they themselves might be because they identify more than they want to admit.

There's a good chance a lot of self-recrimination will be lost with the change in Twain's text. More people might read the American Classic, but will they understand what Twain was intending? I tend to agree with Pam Kelly and Frazer Dobson. I think a lot will be lost.

Public Libraries

I really enjoy reading books. I'm usually reading two or three books at a time. You'd think my house would be overflowing in books. But only one wall of one room has filled bookshelves. I used to have many more than that, and I also once vowed I would always buy a copy of my friends' books. There is a long shelf on my wall filled with autographed books of friends. But I couldn't keep that up; so many of my friends are writers—rather successful writers, too—that I would have gone broke in two years.

But I'm able to appease my reading habit (greatly increased in the winter months) by going to my Public Library. The "New Books" shelves are where I start browsing. Every week I'm there, returning five or six books and borrowing six or seven more. I recently came across mention of a title online that I thought I'd enjoy. My library didn't have it. BUT, they ordered it for me on Interlibrary Loan. No charge. I used that service quite a bit when I was doing research for a science book I wrote. I borrowed books from Portland and Chicago, from military libraries and universities.

Our local library foundation is oldest in the state, dating back to the mid-19th Century—one of the first libraries West of the Mississippi; the building that holds it now is much newer and was recently updated. The library fills other of my needs, too, with lectures, workshops, visiting authors and more.

When I was a kid, the town library was a Carnegie Library--an impressive place with a Greek colonnade at the front doors. I remember the doors as being massive, although I'm sure that's a trick of time. Inside the floors were marble tile; I think of the whole building as one big room with the ceilings fifteen feet or more high. In cavernous spaces like that sound bounces around and intensifies. No wonder librarians have the "shhh" reputation.

The Carnegie Library concept really made books accessible to more people, but back in the early twentieth century when Andrew Carnegie opened one of his libraries in Pittsburgh (his home city), many authors weren't too keen on the idea. According to the Carnegie site, local mystery writer, K.C. Constantine, wrote: "Any writer who sees that one copy of one his books in one library has been lent twenty-six times in one year…and knows that he was paid only one royalty check from the time the library made the original purchase knows plenty about involuntary servitude…"

I appreciate my books being in libraries. When I go to other towns and cities, I check the shelf or computer inventory to see if they have my titles. If I sold to every library in the country, that would be a nice dividend. Occasionally I find a real gem at the library, a book I read and am so taken with that I BUY THE BOOK.

Now, with the eBook evolution, I admit I don’t visit as often; and this winter, when slick roads and whiteouts will make driving the 15 miles to town a treacherous proposition, I will snuggle up with my eBook reader and a steamy mug of tea, glad not to be going out.

But I won’t ever stop going to the library. I like the eBooks, and I also like holding and flipping pages of a dtBook.