6 Comments

Years ago, I would've agreed with Nguyen's philosophy because I didn't want diversity to merely be superficial. But the problem with his notion is that people like him often have very narrow definitions of what is the proper diverse voice. So if a diverse voice was very distinct in its uniquely non-white (or non-mainstream whatever) perspective, he and his type would still attack it if they didn't agree with that perspective.

For example, when Wesley Yang's book The Souls of Yellow Folk came out, Nguyen wrote a very negative review of it in NYT. It's not like I'm a big fan of Yang's or that I even thought his book was good, but negative reviews on NYT are so rare. So why did Nguyen feel the need to attack Yang? It's not because Yang is a fellow Asian American whose supposedly diverse perspective isn't sufficiently distinct enough, but rather, that it's distinct in a way that doesn't align with Nguyen's ideals.

So yeah, in a perfect world, I'd want all diverse perspectives to be distinguishable from those that we deem non-diverse. But I also don't trust Nguyen's call for diversity, and between those choices, I agree with you in that we should side with what allows for more freedom (and, ironically, diversity) of expression.

Expand full comment

I think an aspect of diversity is simple fairness. All else equal, poc writers ought to have the same chance of succeeding as white ones. A book ought not be rated lower merely because of the color of its author's skin, and there is evidence that this is what happens. A tilt towards diversity just counteracts the prevailing tilt towards racial homegeneity. So I don't think racially diverse fiction needs to be different from the prevailing mode on an aesthetic or political level--mediocre poc ought to have just as good a chance of succeeding as mediocre white ppl do!

I also believe a side effect of racial diversity will be aesthetic and political diversity, and I believe those things are good in themselves. But I don't think it's a problem per se if an Asian writer writes a book a white writer could've written, or that upholds beliefs many white people have. If I thought that, then I'd be saying poc who write books that are too white ought not to be published, which would be kind of a racist thing to say!

Separately, I do agree with you that Nguyen doesn't really want either racial or aesthetic or political diversity, he just wants homogeneity! And his call is explicitly for homogeneity. He does the absurd contortion of arguing that if diversion fiction doesn't have one homogeneous viewpoint, then it's not diverse.

My bias is that what the publishing industry elevates is usually pretty bad, so anything that mixes things up and upsets their biases is good! To that end I think lots of good stuff has slipped in under the call for diversity, and it's only to be expected that lots of bad stuff would as well :)

Expand full comment

Wholeheartedly agree. By the way, not to add to your already immense reading list, but have you read any Dave Hickey? I feel like you might appreciate him.

Expand full comment

No, I've never read much art criticism! But he seems like my kind of thing. Where would I start?

Expand full comment

The two key books are Air Guitar and Invisible Dragon. I'd say start with Air Guitar. Also, if you email me your address I'll send you a copy of my book on Hickey.

Honestly it's much more cultural criticism and essaying than it is art criticism.

Expand full comment

Great piece!

Expand full comment