i will definitely check out “our kind of people.”

how much does “passing” happen today? not that i’m assuming you would know because of your ethnic background…

bakannal: i’ve never met anyone with that kind of tone to their skin. it makes it sound like acrylic paint.

also, if someone is white, usually they’re “white.” not much exposition on what shade of white.

britta coleman: thanks for stopping by and the comment. interesting questions you have there, and it shows some depth of artistry for even asking them. me, i just write full steam ahead without such considerations.

what is it like in east texas — like louisiana, but with bad food?

leigh: of course, you are right. one should strive for diversity, if it suits the work. does one do “research” in the typical manner of the word, or simply imagine?

there’s no typical “black” experience in this country (just like there’s no typical “jewish” experience), but there are stereotypes. and i guess fiction will kill stereotypes; at least that’s the idea, eh?

bernita: his color [sic] wasn’t the most important thing about him anyway. absolutely. great point

As for kofi’s comment about not writing the “correct” African American experience, that which is accepted as mainstream, I think that simply perpetuates the literary stereotype. I, as a reader, want to know more about the many different kinds of “black” experience – whether it’s growing up in a suburb or the city, in the northeast or the southwest. You as the individual will make the story both unique and universal, not your cultural identification.

i find it fascinating that your years in the deep south has informed your fiction writing — and that the failure to tackle things head on lead you to give up on it.

“they” say one should try writing from the opposite gender’s point of view (or that of another ethnicity) just as an exercise. but academia, and other students, are pretty dead set against the idea in practice. but you’re not allowed to change your thinking.

writtenwyrrd: i was kind of wondering about what that mess regarding the evil dwarf.

it’s interesting how you’ve had conflict between difference “human” species, but not necessarily between different colors of humans. it can be just as powerful a metaphor, if done with a steady hand.

as far as hard-wiring is concerned, i think we are all programmed for at least a bit of tribalism — simply open up the newspaper for evidence of that. when you have people who look alike killing each other because of what tribe they inhabit, then you know something is really messed up…

bakannal: great comment; getting a totally different perspective really puts a fine point on this. maybe your fledgling novel is about race, but it sounds as if your experience is rich with possibilities.