All about Skin

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All about Skin

Title:

All about Skin

Short Fiction by Women of Color

Author:

Ortiz, Jina

Spencer, Rochelle

Viramontes, Helena María

Subject:

Literature

African American Fiction

Short Stories

Fiction

Description:

All about Skin features twenty-seven stories by women writers of color whose short fiction has earned them a range of honors, including John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships, the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the Flannery O'Connor Award, and inclusion in the Best American Short Stories and O. Henry anthologies. The prose in this multicultural anthology addresses such themes as racial prejudice, media portrayal of beauty, and family relationships and spans genres from the comic and the surreal to startling realism. It demonstrates the power and range of some of the most exciting women writing short fiction today. The stories are by American writers Aracelis González Asendorf, Jacqueline Bishop, Glendaliz Camacho, Learkana Chong, Jennine Capó Crucet, Ramola D., Patricia Engel, Amina Gautier, Manjula Menon, ZZ Packer, Princess Joy L. Perry, Toni Margarita Plummer, Emily Raboteau, Ivelisse Rodriguez, Metta Sáma, Joshunda Sanders, Renee Simms, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Hope Wabuke, and Ashley Young; Nigerian writers Unoma Azuah and Chinelo Okparanta; and Chinese writer Xu Xi. Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Reviewers

Publisher:

University of Wisconsin Press

Date:

2014/11/11

Digital Format:

ePub

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Language:

English

Summary

All about Skin features twenty-seven stories by women writers of color whose short fiction has earned them a range of honors, including John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships, the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the Flannery O'Connor Award, and inclusion in the Best American Short Stories and O. Henry anthologies. The prose in this multicultural anthology addresses such themes as racial prejudice, media portrayal of beauty, and family relationships and spans genres from the comic and the surreal to startling realism. It demonstrates the power and range of some of the most exciting women writing short fiction today.
The stories are by American writers Aracelis González Asendorf, Jacqueline Bishop, Glendaliz Camacho, Learkana Chong, Jennine Capó Crucet, Ramola D., Patricia Engel, Amina Gautier, Manjula Menon, ZZ Packer, Princess Joy L. Perry, Toni Margarita Plummer, Emily Raboteau, Ivelisse Rodriguez, Metta Sáma, Joshunda Sanders, Renee Simms, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Hope Wabuke, and Ashley Young; Nigerian writers Unoma Azuah and Chinelo Okparanta; and Chinese writer Xu Xi.

Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians

Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Reviewers

Author Notes

Jina Ortiz is a writer and poet whose works have appeared in many publications, including the Afro-Hispanic Review , Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices , and New Millennium Writings . She lives in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she is an adjunct professor of English at Quinsigamond Community College. Rochelle Spencer is a writer who has contributed to many publications, including Callaloo , African American Review , Poets & Writers , Publishers Weekly , and Mosaic . She is completing a doctorate focusing on Afrofuturism and is on the Board of Directors for the Hurston-Wright Foundation.

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Women of color writing short stories find themselves in a three-strikes-and-you're-out situation when it comes to publishing opportunities. To counter this, writers and teachers Ortiz and Spencer created this stellar anthology showcasing contemporary women short story writers of color who have been nominated for or received prestigious literary prizes, including Unoma Azuah, Glendaliz Camacho, and Learkana Chong. Ortiz and Spencer provide an enlightening introduction and organize the 27 stories into three richly thematic categories: Coming-of-Age, Reinvention, and Borderlands. Then all social and intellectual considerations fall away. The spectrum of identity, experience, and conflict covered in these vivid, sharp-edged, often staggering stories is wide, while key concerns inspire multiple perspectives. Such as the endless battle between the sexes, which is explored with chagrin, sorrow, and wit in ZZ Packer's Pita Delicious, Amina Gautier's Candidate, and Ivelisse Rodriguez's A Different Story. Each candid, creative writer, including Xu Xi, author of the mischievously satiric title story, sets taut dramas in motion in which archetypal human pursuits are cruelly and absurdly complicated by gender and race, adding up to a provocative and commanding collection.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2014 Booklist

Library Journal Review

In this intriguing collection of 27 short stories, editors Ortiz and Spencer demonstrate how widely women writers of color range, with stories spanning mother-daughter relationships (Ivelisse Rodriguez's "A Different Story"); forgiveness (Glendaliz Camacho's "Noelia and Amparo"); the difficulty of being young, insecure, and in an interracial relationship (ZZ Packer's "Pita Delicious"); and issues of nationality (Hong Kong-based English-language author Xu Xi's title story). Throughout, sisterly bonds and self-understanding figure largely-"Coming-of-Age" is in fact the opening section, with "Reinvention" and "Borderlands" following. The featured authors have won honors ranging from a Flannery O'Connor Award to a John Guggenheim Fellowship, and readers understand immediately how wonderful this book will be when Helena Maria Viramontes quotes Paul Auster in the foreword: "Every novel is an equal collaboration between the writer and the reader, and it is the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy." VERDICT Similar to Wild Women Don't Wear No Blues, this strong collection will appeal to lovers of stories by and about women and literary fiction.-Ashanti White, Yelm, WA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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