Graffiti

by Pallavi Dhawan (Editor), Devi S. Laskar (Editor), Tamika Thompson (Editor)

Poetry. Fiction. Literary Nonfiction. Hybrid Genre. Edited by Pallavi Dhawan, Devi S. Laskar, and Tamika Thompson. To create this inaugural anthology from artist collective POC United, the editors of GRAFFITI gave the contributors a special challenge: to write in a way that centers neither "whiteness" nor "anti-whiteness" and that is not limited by their struggle, their oppression, or how their characters will be received by the white imagination. The results are joyous and mind-expanding. Through poetry, short stories, and essays, the works in GRAFFITI expose lives that move in unexpected ways, rendering characters who don't fit the cultural tropes we cling to. GRAFFITI shows what writers of color do when they are invited to scribble, scrawl, romanticize, and speculate without being politicized or exoticized.

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2019

Reviews

[Mills College Library]

810.8092 G7368 2019

[Melissa Fondakowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book - if you are tired of reading the same old same old, pick this one up (and anything published by Aunt Lute press, for that matter). Gripped by all the stories and kept disarmed by the variety of styles. A few standouts for me: Vickie Vertiz's "Winning Prizes for Just Living" and Gary Dauphin's "Suicide Jacq." Also very surprised (in a good way!) to find a professor from my time at Mills in the book: Elmaz Abinader.