by Susan Jaffer from the August 5, 2019 issue
Tagline: When Pete stops to deliver chairs to a poetry reading, he hopes that no one recognizes how out of place--and unpoetic--he is. But when Marci appears, it seems Pete has finally met the muse he's been longing for.
Observations: I'm excited to see a character of color in this Woman's World story. I think this is a welcome change. However, there is some debate on whether or not comparing skin color food/drink is mildly offensive to people of color.
On Writing with Color, a website dedicated to "writing and resources centered on racial and ethnic diversity," there is a well-written article on describing skin tone. Part 1 of the article centers on why it might not be a good idea to compare skin to chocolate or coffee and the like. Whether you agree or disagree with the reasons, you should look at Part 2, which gives you a really excellent resource on how you can richly describe a character's skin tone.
As open minded as we all think we are, it's always possible to learn something new.
Photo by Michael Chen via Flickr Creative Commons License
9 comments:
I rate this story a ten. It was good to see a woman of color, and that guy's silly, playful poem at the end was priceless.
I must not have read it very carefully. I didn't notice the reference to color. It was an enjoyable story.
There's a lovely description of her in the third paragraph.
I really loved this story! I thought it was sweet and cute and witty. I liked the fact that at least one of the characters seemed to be a person of color, and I'm sure the author's intention was not to be offensive. It is something to think about going forward. I just thought the way the characters interacted seemed genuine, and they did not fall into "lust" mode right after meeting. The setting was something different, too. Great job!
I loved this story. I did notice the character was a person of color. Loved the premise.
Terrific story. If I was on Amazon, I'd have to say..."I look forward to more from this author!!!" <3 <3
Another “two thumbs up” from me. Loved this story and the diversity was a nice bonus!
Won't it be nice when "diversity" is no longer an exception but the norm? When a 5-minute romance is what it was meant to be--entertainment without (real or contrived) political drama?
Personally, I don't find comparisons to food to be offensive, but I don't mind if people call me Oriental either. I just wanted to point out that there are people who object to it. :)
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