Penguin Classics and Others Work to Diversify Offerings From the Canon - The New York Times

Posted: 30 Mar 2020 10:34 AM PDT

When the playwright and filmmaker Kathleen Collins's short stories were published in 2016, nearly 30 years after her death in 1988, they were called a "revelation." The stories, deeply moving and autobiographical, had been locked in a trunk untouched for decades, along with a trove of other work, until Collins's daughter, Nina Lorez Collins, took on the task of bringing them to light.

At first, Ms. Collins said, she thought no one would publish these "literary short stories by an unknown dead black woman." But in 2016, Ecco released them in a collection titled "Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?," which was met with widespread acclaim. Elizabeth Alexander, in the book's introduction, compared finding Collins's stories to discovering Atlantis.

The revival of Collins's work is part of a larger trend of recently released titles by authors who were previously marginalized or entirely lost to history. Some of these books are being published for the first time ever (like "Romance in Marseille," by Claude McKay, and "Barracoon," by Zora Neale Hurston), while others are being resurfaced for new generations, such as "The Street," by Ann Petry.

The critical and commercial success of these titles is a result of a combination of factors: initiative on the part of writers' families or estates; changing leadership within the publishing industry; and a willingness among modern readers to engage with unknown texts.

Hurston's "Baracoon" has sold nearly 150,000 copies since 2018, and "The Street" has sold 32,000 copies since January, according to NPD Bookscan, which tracks print book sales.

The trend is apparent across the publishing industry, and it has a firm champion in Penguin Classics, the imprint at Penguin Random House responsible for publishing some of history's most canonical authors, from Homer and Marcus Aurelius to James Joyce and George Eliot. Elda Rotor, who has helmed the imprint for 14 years, said the shift to diversify the imprint's vast catalog has been intentional.

"I'm very interested in voices that have been marginalized," Ms. Rotor said, "because there are very essential works that a wider readership should learn about."

This sensibility is present in projects that extend beyond race. In February, for instance, Ms. Rotor started the Penguin Vitae series with five lavishly produced editions, including "The Yellow Wallpaper," by the pioneering American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Ms. Rotor intends to keep adding to the series, encouraging readers to build a collection of classics that reflects their own lives.

"It might not be just Dickens, Brontë and Austen all the time first. In many, many people's minds, it'll be Audre Lorde. Or it'll be 'Passing.' Or it'll be 'The Awakening,'" she said, referring to some of the books that launched the Penguin Vitae series.

William J. Maxwell, a professor of English and of African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, coedited "Romance in Marseille," which Penguin Classics published. He said Ms. Rotor has a more "post-Eurocentric sense of what a classic can be," and has "consciously tried to widen that definition." While running the imprint, Ms. Rotor has broadened the number of its books by Asian-American, Caribbean and African writers. She wants to work on adding more Latinx and Native American writers, as well. Ms. Rotor's expansive definition of classics applies to genre, too — she has brought more horror, science fiction and fantasy under the Penguin Classics mantle.

In the past, the inclusion of these books in discussions about classics, or their use in college classes, was a matter of sometimes heated debate, but Mr. Maxwell has seen those arguments quieting down in recent years. "We now understand that there are multiple canons, that they've shifted over time," he said. "Canons don't come down from God. They're shaped by sociology."

The books being added to lists of classics, Mr. Maxwell said, are broadening and complicating our understanding of history. "Writers themselves haven't respected the narrowing of the canon in many cases," he said, citing as an example how scholars now have a deeper understanding of the Harlem Renaissance as a more geographically and culturally expansive period than was once believed. "Canons are not just about finding new stuff," he said. "They're about finding space for old stuff that didn't seem economically and culturally commodifiable." Ms. Rotor agrees, though she also revels in unearthing new work. "There's just so much more crate-digging," she said. "It's endless. You never know what you can find."

Though there is growing consensus across the books industry about the need to diversify its offerings, including titles from its backlists, there have been moments of controversy about the best way to go about it. In February, for instance, Barnes & Noble came under fire for promoting classic books with new covers portraying characters whose race hadn't been specified, but were long presumed to be white, as people of color. The initiative was canceled after a barrage of criticism from those who thought promoting books by black writers during Black History Month would have been just one of many better, more appropriate possible strategies.

Still, Mr. Maxwell notes the significance of publishing under the Penguin Classics banner, with the books' instantly recognizable black spines and penguin logo. "You can sort of think about these books as one unit, and you can start to see the cross pressures in the way that they're put together," he said.

A significant portion of Penguin Classics sales are from course adoptions by high schools or colleges, where students increasingly expect a more inclusive selection of texts. Ms. Rotor said her team focuses on giving readers opportunities to "intellectually and culturally gather around a book," often in a classroom.

Ms. Rotor said she and her team are "listening to communities" when it comes to deciding which books to tackle next. "It's nothing to do with our editors saying, 'We have just deemed this a canonical text,'" she said. Instead: "We're seeing what people are expecting from us, and we want to bring those stories, and a more diverse and inclusive program of stories, into our series."

For Ms. Collins, one of the most gratifying moments came when she visited a meeting of the popular Well-Read Black Girl book club to discuss her mother's fiction. "To be in a room full of black women for whom the stories represent something and bring to light something they've never really experienced, or that really rings true but they don't usually see in the culture, was a very, very rewarding experience," she said, adding that books like her mother's are "very simply filling the holes of history."

The present political climate is inspiring publishers to resurface work that could illuminate conversations around civic engagement. Amistad will re-release Dick Gregory's "Political Primer," a breakdown of the American electoral process originally published in 1972, in September. Penguin Classics will launch Penguin Liberty this fall — six small anthologies featuring historical, political and legal texts focused on constitutional rights — starting with a collection of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court decisions and dissents.

As part of her commitment to keep readers actively engaged with classics, Ms. Rotor is also starting Penguin Classics Voyages, which will allow readers to sign up for trips inspired by literary classics, starting next year with Greece, to discuss the "Odyssey."

Posted: 30 Mar 2020 09:51 AM PDT

It hasn't even been a week since the county ordered us all to stay at home, and surely you flew through Tiger King in the first day and are now just streaming through old favorites you've already seen. The best way I know to take a break from TV is to read a good book. It's been my favorite pastime since I was a kid, but since I've been writing about local arts and local news for the last 10 years, I've had a great opportunity to come across countless local authors and their work, be it fiction or nonfiction. Below I've compiled a list of some of my personal favorites from authors in Charlotte and around the state that you may want to check out now that you've got all this free time at home. As is the case with anyone who writes about books, I can never get to them all, and that's why I ask that you leave your favorites in the comments below and we can make this an ongoing list together. Keep in mind that if you'd like to support local, Park Road Books carries many of these titles and will either ship directly to you or offer curbside service. Also, check out the Charlotte Readers Podcast for more ideas, or interviews with a few of the folks listed below.

CHARLOTTE AUTHORS

Carson McCullers
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, 1940

Southern gothic novelist Caron McCullers didn't live much of her life in Charlotte, just the first few months of her short-lived marriage to Reeves McCullers, beginning in September 1937. However, it was during this time that she wrote much of her debut novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, while living first in the Mayer House in Dilworth, now home to Copper Modern Indian Cuisine, and then a since-demolished house on Central Avenue. She was far from a one-hit wonder, but Lonely Hunter remains her most acclaimed work. Find it here (eBook).

Carson McCullers in 1959 (Photo by Carl Van Vechten)

Sophia Henry
Saints & Sinners duet, 2019

Born and raised in Detroit, Sophia moved to Charlotte to escape the cold after graduating from Central Michigan University, and has spent her time here churning out quality romance novels covering a range of different themes. Take her latest duet, Saints & Sinners, the respective titles of two books released last fall that are described as "Russian mafia sports romance" books. The Saints synopsis begins, "Moscow 1989 … The food shelves are empty. The streets are lawless…" and we can relate to at least half of that already. Find it here.

Cheris Hodges
Owner of a Broken Heart, 2020

When I was just a wide-eyed intern at the local alt weekly in 2008, Cheris sat on the other side of the cubicle divider from me, and I was amazed at how consistently she could churn out well-reported news pieces and blog posts analyzing the stories of the day. Since then, she's moved on to become a successful romance novelist, and I'm equally amazed at how consistent she has remained with that, putting out more than 30 books. Her latest takes place in Charlotte and Charleston. When I asked her about it, she said, "I will not take responsibility for any babies that this book inspires," so you know it's hot and heavy. Find it here.

Tom Hanchett
Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975; Second edition, 2020

Charlotte's go-to historian Tom Hanchett takes a look at the racial history of our city and how those themes played into its development and spatial evolution from the end of Reconstruction through the century that followed. Though published in 1999, so much of it remains relevant today. Even better, this month he released the second edition, with a new preface that brings us up to date on issues like gentrification and resegregation. Find it here (eBook).

Kimmery Martin
The Antidote for Everything, 2020

Charlotte author Kimmery Martin released The Antidote for Everything on Feb. 18, a follow-up to her best-selling debut novel, The Queen of Hearts, which she released two years prior in February 2018. The former ER doctor stuck with the medical profession for the new book's plotline, in which two doctors travel a surprising path when they must choose between treating their patients and keeping their jobs. We're thinking of all of Kimmery's former co-workers during this time, and wondering if it will spur the inspiration for her third release. Find it here.

Landis Wade (right) interviews Kimmery Martin for an episode of 'Charlotte Readers Podcast.' (Photo by Ryan Pitkin)

Greg Jarrell
A Riff of Love, 2017

If Hanchett's new preface isn't enough, Greg Jarrell's A Riff of Love is the perfect follow-up to Sorting Out the New South City, as it tells the story of present day Enderly Park from the ground level, and how all the history told in Hanchett's book has played out in the day-to-day life of residents there. Jarrell runs Q.C. Family Tree with his wife Helms from his house in the neighborhood, and this book tells how that experience has shaped him as a person and a musician (he plays a mean sax, that I can tell you with certainty). Find it here.

Pam Kelley
Money Rock: A Family's Story of Cocaine, Race, and Ambition in the New South, 2018

When Pam Kelley, then a reporter with the Charlotte Observer, first met Belton Platt, aka Money Rock, at Central Prison in Raleigh in May 1986, he had recently been convicted for his role in a shootout in the Piedmont Courts housing project in Charlotte's Belmont neighborhood. Kelley tracked Platt down again 25 years later, and their ensuing conversations — followed by lots of reporting, research and corroboration — turned into a series of Observer stories in 2013, then an MFA thesis, then her book, Money Rock: A Family's Story of Cocaine, Race, and Ambition in the New South, released on Sept. 25. It's a harrowing story of how a man who was once Charlotte's biggest cocaine kingpin turned his life around and now runs Rock Ministries, with locations in Charlotte and South Carolina, but also tells deeper stories about family, systemic oppression and redemption. Find it here.

Author Pam Kelley (right) with Belton Platt at a Park Road Books event in 2017. (Photo by Neel Stallings)

Pamela Grundy
Color & Character: West Charlotte High and the American Struggle over Educational Equality

In 1998, when Pamela Grundy set out to write a book about West Charlotte High School, it was supposed to have a happy ending. For decades, the school had served as a shining example of the success of integration; of why busing works. Within a couple years, that all started to fall apart. Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools would eventually lead to the end of mandatory busing in Charlotte and wipe away much of the progress that had made Charlotte a precedent for integration. On September 5, 2017, 20 years to the day that William Capacchione filed a lawsuit claiming his white daughter, Cristina, was wrongfully denied admission to a magnet school due to racial quotas, Grundy's new book, Color & Character: West Charlotte High and the American Struggle over Educational Equality, hit shelves. The book covers the school's history, from the day it opened on September 6, 1938, through integration, to the end of busing and resegregation of West Charlotte and many other local schools. Find it here.

Shannon Sullivan
Good White People: The Problem with Middle-Class White Anti-Racism

I met Dr. Shannon Sullivan, chair of UNC Charlotte's Philosophy Department, in 2015 shortly after being in a crowd of about 400 people who showed up to hear her speak about her book Good White People: The Problem with Middle-Class White Anti-Racism. The book had gained popularity as movements like Black Lives Matter and Concerned Student 1950 dominated headlines and brought the discussion of racial inequality in America to the forefront. The crowd was the largest Sullivan had spoken to since releasing the book in June 2014. The talk, like the book, covered topics that make both black and white people cringe, such as claiming and embracing her own Southern white heritage and shedding white guilt to confront white privilege. However, they're topics that we all need to hear. Find it here.

Omar Tyree
Flyy Girl, 1993

Charlottean Omar Tyree won the 2001 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Fiction in recognition of his great novels, sometimes written under the pseudonym The Urban Griot, and in the two decades since then he's continued to put out books while also making films, giving speeches and serving as an advocate for urban literacy. His 1993 hit Flyy Girl, regarded as the genesis of modern urban fiction, or street lit as it's sometimes called, was supposed to be made into a movie directed by Dear White People director Effie Brown and starring Sanaa Lathan, but there have been no updates since 2015, so just read the book. Find it here.

Patrice Gopo
All the Colors We Will See, 2018

Gopo's parents moved from Jamaica to Anchorage, Alaska, which had to be one severe case of culture shock on top of the temperature change, and that's where they raised Patrice. She has since escaped the cold to Charlotte, and we should all be thankful to have her representing our city. Her latest, All the Colors We Will See, is a collection of essays that touch on her favorite themes of race, immigration and belonging. Considering that she grew up as a Jamaican-American in Alaska, it's safe to say she has unique and valuable insight on those topics. Find it here.

NORTH CAROLINA AUTHORS

Reynolds Price
The Promise of Rest, 1995

After narrowly surviving what's been described as an "extremely taxing childbirth" that nearly killed him and his mother, Price grew up in the rural towns of Macon, Henderson, Warrenton, Roxboro and Asheboro during the Great Depression. In 1984, doctors found a 10-inch cancerous tumor braided into the core of his spinal cord, which was removed but left him a parapalegic and suffering from much pain through the rest of his life. He passed away in 2011, but left behind myriad novels, poems and essays. The Promise of Rest is Reynolds' conclusion to A Great Circle: The Mayfield Trilogy, but it's fully independent and stands as his best work. If you're up for it, though, feel free to check out all three. Find it here.

David Joy
The Weight of This World, 2017

After my sister introduced David Joy's meth-addled mountain novel The Weight of This World to her book club, she brought fried chicken and PBR to the meeting rather than the usual prosecco and charcuterie board, and that in itself is good context for all of Joy's novels. However, his writing goes deeper than the Hillbilly Elegy stereotypes that unfamiliar writers bestow upon the western North Carolina mountains that Joy still calls home. His newest novel will drop in August, but while we wait, it's a good idea to catch up on his three earlier novels. Find it here.

Ron Rash
Something Rich and Strange, 2014

There were two points in the very first short story in Ron Rash's collection Something Rich and Strange in which I audibly gasped — but even that wouldn't suffice as a verb; I yelled. And that's how I knew I was reading an author who exists on a different plane. The stories range in time from the antebellum to modern day, but they all share a setting in the western North Carolina mountains and an anxiety-inducing knowledge that things might go bad at any moment. He's reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor in that way. Rash is best known for his novel Serena, so if you're looking for something a little longer, check that out. Need something shorter? He's a great poet, too. But the short stories are a great place to start. Find it here.

Wiley Cash
The Last Ballad, 2017

Gastonia native and UNC Asheville graduate Wiley Cash has the similar Southern gothic style that Joy and Rash pull off so well, but takes things down the mountains and into the foothills, though he told Bill Poteat of the Gaston Gazette in 2018 that he considers Gastonia a part of Appalachia. His latest historical fiction novel, The Last Ballad, tells the story of Ella Mae Wiggins, a labor leader from Belmont who was murdered in Gastonia during the 1929 Loray Mill Strike after trying to integrate the unions. His debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, and his sophomore effort, This Dark Road to Mercy, are both top-notch literature, and it's honestly hard to make one recommendation over another, but the intrigue I feel for Ella Mae's story is what drives me to say The Last Ballad is worth your quarantine time. Find it here.

Maya Angelou
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969

People will sometimes name Thomas Wolfe as the most renowned writer out of North Carolina, and that may be true if you're talking birthplace, but folks tend to forget that the incomparable poet and memoirist Maya Angelou called Winston-Salem home for more than 30 years, and that's plenty long enough for the state to claim her. She wrote seven autobiographies in her life and was working on an eighth when she passed away in 2014. They were more than memoirs, though, and served as beautifully written defenses of black culture. From her best-known work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to her voluminous collection of poetry, she left behind a trail of classic work that will never be matched. Find it here (eBook).

Charles Frazier
Cold Mountain, 1997

Asheville native Charles Frazier's debut novel Cold Mountain won him the 1997 National Book Award for Fiction and was adapted into one of my favorite movies, then nine years later he followed that up with Thirteen Moons, which tells the story of the removal of the Cherokee people from their land by the U.S. government. His third book, Nightwoods, takes place in the 20th century before he returned to Civil War times for his fourth novel, Varina. He tells nuanced stories of love, partnership and struggle in some of the country's toughest times. Find it here (eBook).

Rachael Brooks
Beads, 2020

A difficult but important read, Beads shares Raleigh author Rachael Brooks' terrifying yet hopeful journey from rape victim to resilient survivor. She speaks to the challenges that sexual assault victims face and the range of emotions they experience throughout the recovery process. Her story describes the many injustices she experienced within the justice system. Find it here.

John Hope Franklin
Mirror to America, 2005

Prominent educator John Hope Franklin was born in Oklahoma in 1915, the son of renowned civil rights lawyer Buck Franklin, who defended African-American survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race riot at what was known as Black Wall Street. After being turned down for clerical service during WWII due to his skin color, John spent those years teaching at St. Augustine's College, now St. Augustine's University; and North Carolina College for Negroes, now North Carolina Central University. He published his autobiography Mirror to America in 2005 at the age of 90, and his published lecture series Racial Equality in America acts as a true mirror, striking a contrast between how Americans held true to certain racial beliefs compared to the actual realities of those issues based on historical texts and documents. Find it here (eBook).

Thomas Wolfe
Look Homeward, Angel, 1929

William Faulkner called him the greatest writer of his generation, and Faulkner was part of that generation. There's not much more you need to know than that. Asheville-native Thomas Wolfe's debut novel, Look Homeward, Angel, remains his most acclaimed work, though he published three more lengthy novels before his untimely death at only 37 years old. Margaret Wallace calling it "as interesting and powerful a book as has ever been made out of the drab circumstances of provincial American life," in a sneeringly condescending New York Times Book Review. She meant it as a stab at the South, but I think that's what makes many of the authors in this list interesting, and Wolfe did it best. Find it here (eBook).

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