Re-Search 13 by Angry Women (1992)

Re-Search 13 by Angry Women (1992)

Author:Angry Women (1992)
Format: epub


@ WC: Because it’sa war! Certainly we're being warred against. In my books of short stories, all the stories are about this constant self-conscious confrontation that happens the minute you meet a black person. Because in order to have any kind of constructive dialogue, there has to be a context. And often that context is music, like jazz or rap music —which gets to be a drag! When I go somewhere like Atlanta, I get really excited because I am not used to seeing so many black people —I start staring! I go into a restaurant and it's amazing; I| go into the street and the police are black — everybody who's doing things is black. You don’t have that experience in Southern California. So for me, when I go to D.C. or Philadelphia or even Chicago, I get really excited — @ AJ: Because here you can never forget you're black — @ WC: And it gets to be achore. Every time you go toa party, you're an Wyue just because you're there; I don't have to say a word. It’s hard to have a good time! Even socializing on a minimal level gets to be a pain—why can't it just be a party?! But somebody always opens their mouth and says something wrong, like, “Well, Wanda — your people have sure made a lot of progress, haven't they?” And then I have to say, “Wait a minute. . .” @ AJ: They say that now? @ WC: Oh yes—in fact, that happened a month ago, baby—here in the 1990s! Ignorance yet abounds ... And the other side of the coin is: I get tired of being “Wanda the Explainer.” I get tired of giving people an education on racism—have my brain picked for free. I feel like saying, “Motherfucker, if you can’t handle it— tough!” [laughs] @ V: “Read my books!” @ AJ: Do you get hassled for being sexually explicit? @ WC: [laughs] So far I haven't. If anybody’s denied me anything, I don’t know about it. I’ve gotten my share of grant money, because not everything is a diatribe, and not everything has four-letter words. I like communicating with mature minds, and you need a certain life experience to really appreciate the bulk of my work. So I don’t talk to a junior high school audience without giving them a certain context. And I have enough work (I’ve written a couple thousand poems and a hundred short stories) to select from, so we can come to a real good understanding without having to blow their lids! I don’t need to do that, nor am I interested in doing that, because I’m about communicating. I'm not about shock; if any shock is present it’s the shock of recognition . . . or the shock of understanding which might just go with the turf. But I’m not deliberately out to just shock people — I'm not about being sensationalistic. I want freedom when I write, I want the freedom to use any kind of language —whatever I feel is appropriate to get the point across.



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