[icosa]

It's an interesting read of someone struggling with a hard idea. Im glad he started to think about the context, and why it's different for him to write about a Belgian nun than if he wrote a book with a black or trans main character. But he missed the idea that if he does want to write a book where the context is tricky, he should ask for help from people who know more about the context, who might help him realize whether or not the book is "misbegotten" and if he is "not up to this particular task." Writers look up lots of weird things for their books. They can look up a person who knows more about it and pay them for their help. That person might even give them ideas that they would never have thought of! The writer can also ask more questions to find out if what they want to write has tricky context: between the writer and the subject, who has the power? Who might be harmed? Does this fit bad patterns? What is the context? []

[] Questions from this post about how to have deeper conversations about cultural appropriation: https://jamesmendezhodes.com/blog/2020/1/2/how-to-change-you...