from the editor – She Lit

There are no books by Native Americans in my library.

The stark realization hit me when I peered at the spine of every book in my possession, and nothing centered on Native American life.

November is National Native American Heritage Month. Last month, I wrote a post on the diversity problem in my library when it came to Latina authors. As a Black woman identifying as African and African American, I’m still playing catch up with works by Black authors and finding that it may be more difficult to see books by a variety of Black women in a bookstore or library. For the average person not being exposed to the diversity of female voices is what this website explores.

To increase my knowledge, I read three books in a row by Latina authors in preparation to ensure more voices are added to my to-be-read aka the #tbr list on an ongoing basis. I also have to make that concerted effort to read more books by Native American women and keep searching for their stories to enhance my overall reading experience.

This month and beyond, I plan to read the following award-winning best-sellers:

An American Sunrise and Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is the 23rd poet laureate of the United States, now serving her second term as the nation’s top poet. Among her nine books of poetry, An American Sunrise is one of her most critically acclaimed works. She is also a memoirist with Poet Warrior being her newest autobiography. She is member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Both books are published by W.W. Norton & Company.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a SUNY distinguished teaching professor of environmental biology and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Her second book, Braiding Sweetgrass, made the best-seller lists at The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. She is member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Her book is published by Milkweed Editions.

Five Little Indians by Michelle Good

Michelle Good is a poet and novelist with her 2020 debut Five Little Indians that won several awards, including Amazon Canada First Novel Award. She also works as a lawyer advocating for residential school survivors. She is a descendent of the Battle River Cree and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

Her book is published by Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

Leslie Marmon Silko became one of the first Native American authors to gain recognition in the literary world with her 1977 novel Ceremony. She followed up that success with a series of novels and a memoir. Growing up on the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, her ancestry includes Mexican, Laguna Indian, and European blood.

Her book is a part of the Penguin Orange Collection published by Penguin Classics of Penguin Random House.

For Banned Books Week, One World authors discussed what they wished they had learned in school. As in what they felt was missing from their yearslong education presumably from kindergarten to college. The conversation centered on the absence of racial and ethnic groups that make up the fabric of the United States and the context of discrimination against these groups. English and history classes became a target where authors said they didn’t recall reading works by entire groups of people, their voices missing from our curriculums.

We’re in the midst of National Hispanic American Heritage Month. From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, we as a country are celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The middle of September marks the independence days for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile.

I don’t read enough books by Latina authors. I started she lit to document my adventures of becoming a published author like blogging about the literary industry conferences and networking events I attended in Los Angeles. One factor I realized as a future author is the necessity to read current works. That’s when I noticed the diversity and inclusion conversation in book publishing. And that’s when I realized I read mostly books by men because that was what was marketed to me the most, recommended to me the most. When I started adding more books by women to my #ToBeRead list, I added books by Black women because as a Black woman who had attended predominantly White schools, I rarely had the opportunity to invest the time into reading books by women whose experiences I can identify with.

The disappointing realization that I need to read more books by Latinas occurred to me months ago while examining my book collection. Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of Butterflies and Yo! stared at me from my bookshelf, both fixtures that have been there for years, but the time to read them always slips away. I reread The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros a few years ago since we share Chicago roots, and I had to experience her part of Chicago again. The thick hardcover of Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés sits unread though I bought it last year to replace the paperback Jada Pinkett Smith gifted my class at Spelman College that later made its way to the jungles of Africa with my sister. It didn’t return intact.

As a challenge, I read three books in a row:

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Other content related to Latina authors you can find on she lit include:

Why the Latinx Literary Community Is Warning Us About ‘American Dirt’

Book Review: ‘Sabrina & Corina’ by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

‘The View’ Co-Host Sunny Hostin Gushes Over Debut Novel

Book Launch: ‘The Education of Margot Sanchez’ by Lilliam Rivera

I look forward to blogging about more works by Latina authors, and diversifying that list even more since many of the ones I have read recently are of Dominican descent. Like many readers open to broadening their perspectives, there is always room for improvement. Leave a comment below on the books you recommend by Latina authors 👇🏾