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rose_peterson's review against another edition
3.0
This book helped me to redefine the South and the people who live there and write about it. I discovered many new authors whose work I look forward to exploring. I couldn't help but wonder if there had been prescriptive word limits for each essay that constrained their ideas, though.
book_oasis_'s review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars. Overall, I enjoyed some of the essays, much like any anthology. Some felt like they strayed from the theme of AOC in the South, but this may be because many of essays were 5-7 pages long. But, all of the essays were beautifully written and evoked that author’s experience.
jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review against another edition
5.0
“That’s how I think of it now, this place—a we rather than an it. I’ve acclimated far enough to feel a measure of belonging.”
~
I’m all about regional US nonfiction at the moment—whether it’s food writing or memoir or creative reflections, I’m here for it!
I recently finished A MEASURE OF BELONGING: TWENTY-ONE WRITERS OF COLOR ON THE NEW AMERICAN SOUTH, edited by Cinelle Barnes (@hubcitywriters 10/6). This tiny but mighty anthology grappled with the central question of “who is welcome?” and explored the complexities of race in the American South. Each essay had such a unique angle, covering a range of geographic experiences in Southern states, family situations, professions and more. It’s a collection that celebrations the joy of life in the South, tempering this with experiences of difficulty and confrontation that persist in the region. For those that don’t live in the South, I often find there’s a tendency in writing about the region to fall into either a comfortable romanticized or demonized extreme, with little scope in the imaginary for the grey amid these polarized perceptions and stereotypes. I loved that this collection spoke so honestly to this infinitely complex experience between these extremes, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and people of color living and working in the region.
When I posted about this book recently I shared an extract that had particularly struck me from Kiese Laymon’s essay, and today I wanted to share a quote from Toni Jensen’s essay (from which the title phrase “a measure of belonging” is sourced):
“I know the South is not the only place capable of irony, capable of rough treatment, of racism and worse. I know I have spent so much time considering the safety of my students within my classroom walls, but I have not considered enough the limitations of this place, of this South, of this history, outside my classroom walls, outside my own defining of it.”.
~
I’m all about regional US nonfiction at the moment—whether it’s food writing or memoir or creative reflections, I’m here for it!
I recently finished A MEASURE OF BELONGING: TWENTY-ONE WRITERS OF COLOR ON THE NEW AMERICAN SOUTH, edited by Cinelle Barnes (@hubcitywriters 10/6). This tiny but mighty anthology grappled with the central question of “who is welcome?” and explored the complexities of race in the American South. Each essay had such a unique angle, covering a range of geographic experiences in Southern states, family situations, professions and more. It’s a collection that celebrations the joy of life in the South, tempering this with experiences of difficulty and confrontation that persist in the region. For those that don’t live in the South, I often find there’s a tendency in writing about the region to fall into either a comfortable romanticized or demonized extreme, with little scope in the imaginary for the grey amid these polarized perceptions and stereotypes. I loved that this collection spoke so honestly to this infinitely complex experience between these extremes, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and people of color living and working in the region.
When I posted about this book recently I shared an extract that had particularly struck me from Kiese Laymon’s essay, and today I wanted to share a quote from Toni Jensen’s essay (from which the title phrase “a measure of belonging” is sourced):
“I know the South is not the only place capable of irony, capable of rough treatment, of racism and worse. I know I have spent so much time considering the safety of my students within my classroom walls, but I have not considered enough the limitations of this place, of this South, of this history, outside my classroom walls, outside my own defining of it.”.
mackadesiac's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know if it’s a problem of essay collections or a benefit of essay collections, but I kept being mad that some of the essays were short because I just wanted to know more! Then i would hit one where I thought “oh good it’s short.” But this is a a great series for anyone who maybe has a very outdated view of the South- or worse, doesn’t recognize the racial issues in their own area outside the South.
archytas's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This compendium of 21 short essays includes some fine pieces of accessible writing. Particular favourites include Soniah Kamal's delicately tragic Face, the exhausted fury of Aruni Kashyap's Are you Muslim?, Natalia Sylvester's surprisingly joyful Dysplasia and the lump-in-the-throat evocation of Luthen Rael's Gum. The collection is, of course, diverse in all the good ways - writers love, hate, and tolerate the places they are writing about; some tackle things directly, others slyly from the side. As an anthology, not everything feels perfectly tied together. Miami is a very different place to Charleston and sometimes this led more to a feeling of two sides than variety. Similarly, the relationship of African-Americans to deep South culture is different to that of recent migrants. But the writing is excellent, not least for the exploration of what it means to be home, a question that feels more pertinent than ever.
firesbrigan's review
5.0
incredible.
as a non-southerner, this book was both informative, and reminding me of the roles we cast places and people in without thinking, because that’s what we’ve always done. (as a new yorker, i am referencing here the intellectual superiority complex that the northeast can have about the american south)
every essay and story is masterfully written, poignant, and sticks with you long after.
big kudos to how this anthology was put together, as well. the pieces flowed into each other beautifully.
absolutely absolutely reccomend!
as a non-southerner, this book was both informative, and reminding me of the roles we cast places and people in without thinking, because that’s what we’ve always done. (as a new yorker, i am referencing here the intellectual superiority complex that the northeast can have about the american south)
every essay and story is masterfully written, poignant, and sticks with you long after.
big kudos to how this anthology was put together, as well. the pieces flowed into each other beautifully.
absolutely absolutely reccomend!
rdoose's review against another edition
4.0
Favorites:
"My Sixty-Five-Year-Old Roommate" by Jennifer Hope Choi
"That's Not Actually True" by Kiese Layman
"Suddenly, an Island Girl" by M. Evelina Galang
"Treacherous Joy: An Epistle to the South" by Tiana Clark
"Outta the Souf" by Regina Bradley
"Pass" by Toni Jensen
"My Sixty-Five-Year-Old Roommate" by Jennifer Hope Choi
"That's Not Actually True" by Kiese Layman
"Suddenly, an Island Girl" by M. Evelina Galang
"Treacherous Joy: An Epistle to the South" by Tiana Clark
"Outta the Souf" by Regina Bradley
"Pass" by Toni Jensen
laurabrantreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25