What a terrific, refreshing interview. This made my week! It helps me to look at this Jew/Not Jew thing I've been carrying, especially how I've avoided bringing my religion and heritage into my writing and songwriting. Thank you for sharing and letting us in.
“Interview” is a generous word for hungover rambling among the detritus of us all sleeping on the floor of the same room we read in the night before but thank you so much lol
Loved this whole read. Eris and Tara touch on a lot of issues I have in the "Chicano/a" community & seldom find common ground with others on. I love the bit on how "if you really love community, you need to be able to probe the more complicated aspects of it and call out the disappointments." Especially when it comes to our communities treatment of women, femmes and queer people generally. I still find a lot of conservatism in our movements and the mystical trad thing has always bothered me, as a relatively "spiritual" person myself.
What books would you recommend on indigenous cultures and history in Canada? I’m currently leading a book club on a recent indigenous novel, which is fine for the purpose of this club (helping international students with English, introducing them to aspects of Canadian history), but as literature, it’s rather mediocre and has a lot of the faults you identify here in terms of cliches and stereotypes around tradition. From what I can tell there is a sort of indigenous canon that a lot of Canadians are familiar with through schooling, but I didn’t grow up here and have no idea what’s actually good.
Thank you for sharing this profound and raw conversation. "If you want to show me how much you really sort of like think about and care about and love our community, I don’t believe it unless you’re willing to point to the things about it that disappoint you, the things that upset you, the things that frustrate you, the things that make you uncomfortable, or are more complicated." pulled me in, as I'm working on an epistle where I confront my community — the parts that disappoint me, make me uncomfortable, and horrify me.
It's tough, too, because it's tough to ascertain the poetry, short stories and novels, film series that don't intent to feed white people what they want to see. I perceive that Dark Winds does a good job, and Sherman Alexie, and Natalie Diaz also.
It's exciting to be a fly on the wall in this room
What a terrific, refreshing interview. This made my week! It helps me to look at this Jew/Not Jew thing I've been carrying, especially how I've avoided bringing my religion and heritage into my writing and songwriting. Thank you for sharing and letting us in.
“Interview” is a generous word for hungover rambling among the detritus of us all sleeping on the floor of the same room we read in the night before but thank you so much lol
Loved this whole read. Eris and Tara touch on a lot of issues I have in the "Chicano/a" community & seldom find common ground with others on. I love the bit on how "if you really love community, you need to be able to probe the more complicated aspects of it and call out the disappointments." Especially when it comes to our communities treatment of women, femmes and queer people generally. I still find a lot of conservatism in our movements and the mystical trad thing has always bothered me, as a relatively "spiritual" person myself.
Just saw the footnote on "two-spirit"... yup yup and yup!
i'm so hungry for conversations like this!!
I could’ve kept reading this forever
What books would you recommend on indigenous cultures and history in Canada? I’m currently leading a book club on a recent indigenous novel, which is fine for the purpose of this club (helping international students with English, introducing them to aspects of Canadian history), but as literature, it’s rather mediocre and has a lot of the faults you identify here in terms of cliches and stereotypes around tradition. From what I can tell there is a sort of indigenous canon that a lot of Canadians are familiar with through schooling, but I didn’t grow up here and have no idea what’s actually good.
Really good group chemistry
Thank you for sharing this profound and raw conversation. "If you want to show me how much you really sort of like think about and care about and love our community, I don’t believe it unless you’re willing to point to the things about it that disappoint you, the things that upset you, the things that frustrate you, the things that make you uncomfortable, or are more complicated." pulled me in, as I'm working on an epistle where I confront my community — the parts that disappoint me, make me uncomfortable, and horrify me.
It's tough, too, because it's tough to ascertain the poetry, short stories and novels, film series that don't intent to feed white people what they want to see. I perceive that Dark Winds does a good job, and Sherman Alexie, and Natalie Diaz also.
I am grateful to have found you.