Shweta Ganesh Kumar shared with me this TED Talk from novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about how "a single story" about another person or country can cause critical misunderstanding, and I felt that the talk really reflected why I started this blog. Please watch it below, if you haven't already: I sometimes teach creative writing to children and teens and have been very shocked to see that the first impulse of my students - all Filipinos or Chinese Filipinos ages 11-15 - is to write stories featuring characters with blond hair and blue eyes. It seems that, like the seven-year-old Adichie, my students have "a single story" about what literature is and do not think that people like them can exist in literature. (Needless to say, I am now trying to expose my students to more Filipino literature and literature from other Asian countries.) I blog because our students, nieces and nephews, children, grandchildren, and godchildren NEED AND DESERVE more than "a ...
Tarie- I hope you get to speak to your friends soon. I am thinking good thoughts for everyone in that region. And I will be sending my donation through the Red Cross.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Doret! And yes, I was finally able to contact all my friends. Whew. :o)
ReplyDeleteOn the song I was listening to when I read this post, the last lyrics were:
ReplyDelete"Things can be dark and things can be dangerous
But the road's not so dark when we walk it together,
wait by the wayside for me." (the song is "Wayside" by Scott Cook)
I thought that was especially appropriate to the situation in Japan, and the way people/countries can pull together in the aftermath of tragedy.
Thanks for sharing the song, de Pizan. :o)
ReplyDeleteTarie - Very happy to hear you were able to reach your friends. I hope you don't mind but I borrowed Asia in my Heart for Color Online post heading.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if all of Japan was impacted by the earthquake and Tsunami?
Doret, my friends say that it was northern Japan that was hit hard (people lost their homes, etc.). ARGH. So frustrating. I wish I could go up there to hand out bottled water, blankets, food, and whatever else is needed. ARRRGGGHHHHH.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed devastating. But just like a video I watched, with all these happening, do we respond with fear or love? Sharing this link to you and your readers - http://www.finerminds.com/consciousness-awareness/spiritual-direction/
ReplyDelete