by
Ernest Hogan
About
five years ago, I was moping around, yearning for another New Wave in
science fiction/speculative fiction/whatever they're calling it this
week. If writers of imaginative fiction were going to survive, we
were going to need some alternatives to the collapsing world of
corporate publishing that just didn't have a place for a Chicano
scifiista like me.
Fast
forward to now – and it's happening! Plug into the social media,
and blerds are calling out for more blacks in all genres, Latinos are
referring to science fiction and fantasy in their discussions, and
all kinds of fantastic fiction, by and about all kinds of people, is
being published and finding readers.
We've
come a long way from when people would say that the reading audience was
white, middle class males and not get any argument about it.
The
whole science fiction/fantasy/horror genre conglomerate is no longer
the intellectual property of an exclusive group. Everybody's doing
it. All over the planet. Maybe even out on the space station . . .
A
good place to catch up with this revolution is Black and Brown Planets: The Politics of Race in Science Fiction
edited by Isiah Lavender III. This collection of essays lets you
know what's happening, but also tells about the past, including
things I didn't know about – and I've been obsessed with this stuff
for decades.
I did
a Chicanonautica about a couple of the essays, the ones about High
Aztech, and virtual reality
applied to border issues. But since then I've been able to read the
entire book, and it sent my mind soaring. It's a treasure trove of
authors and titles to note and seek out. Reading it is just the
beginning of the journey.
It's
an expensive academic production, printed on paper that will still be
around long after the first editions of my novels have crumbled to
dust. It should be in libraries. Suggest it to yours. Your community
will the better for it.
You'll
also get the jump on the artistic/literary explosion that is just
getting started.
Ernest Hogan's latest story, “Where Civilizations Go to Die” can be read
free and online at Bewildering Stories.
2 comments:
Now I need to get my own copy. 25 years ago, this was the sort of future for science fiction that I was hoping to see. You know, a wait of 25 years isn't all that bad, considering what we're getting from that wait.
Yes, Paul, the future has finally arrived. And once again, thanks for all your support through it all.
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