Episode 41: Reading, Hope, and Politics
K
Hello, my beautiful cinnabar moths or any kind of moth you’d like to be. Welcome to this week’s podcast. And today I’m going to be talking about reading as a political act. I’m going to try and keep it light because I know the world is super heavy right now. And I thought, a great example of how reading for escapism can be a political act because it can inspire and create hope, and create joy and joy is an inherently political thing to have. I thought I would read an excerpt from my favorite line about hope. And it’s from one of our middle grade books, The Secret benefits of invisibility by CW Allen and it’s super fun. And it’s a great ride a great bit of escapism, but I feel like this quote is really timely. Keeping a light burning might seem like a small symbolic thing. But it gave the people what they needed hope, hope that when they felt outnumbered and powerless, when it seemed useless to keep trying what little they had to offer, could be enough. After all, the war was not yet over. But the miracle inspired our ancestors to keep fighting. And I think that’s such a poignant and timely and I think can apply to anything that you’re, you’re going through, right, we need hope, to keep our energy up and to do all of the things that that we need to do to keep going. And I feel like, keep just something as simple as that as keeping a light on. I know, for me, when I saw people wearing safety pants, I gave me so much hope. When I see people, you know, putting their pronouns and their bios on social media, that gives me hope, little things like that, that tells me what the majority of people are thinking. Because what politics what politicians do, do not reflect what the majority of people are thinking. They don’t actually, in any country, and I live in Japan, I see this all the time, when I look at Japanese parliament, they don’t represent my values. And I don’t know of any country where you can see in the political system 100% of anyone’s values represented. So when you think about reading as, as a political act, it doesn’t mean that you have to read something heavy, or depressing or sad. You can read middle grade, why a picture book. And you know this, and I’m not being facetious when I say a picture book, one of my favorite picture books in the whole world is a snow day. And to me, that picture book gives me so much hope and joy, because the main character is a small, black child, and this the cutest little red snow suit you’ve ever seen in your life. And they’re just going about their day, having fun in the snow. And that celebration of Black joy makes my heart sing, and makes me feel happy and empowered and, and hopeful. Right. And there’s nothing that pushes back against the darkness of political misdeeds than hope.
K
Because hope gets us voting hope gets us motivated hope makes us organize. But we also have to take care of of our own energy, and we have to unplug and step away from it. Because it gets so dark. And that’s when they win is when we go dark, right? And there are so many issues, that and so many, in every country, you can go in any country right now today in the world. And there are there are issues that are out there that are just wrong, where countries are just doing things wrong, where somebody’s rights are being taken, or somebody’s being limited or someone’s being oppressed, or that people aren’t being cared for the way that they deserve and to fight the good fight and to make good trouble. We need to take care of ourselves. And I find refuge in books, and I always have I like reading for escapism I also sometimes like reading dark and sad things that that mirror what I’m feeling inside or horror that that just really lets me see that it just connects with me and I’m like the wall is a dark, twisted, messed up place. I love reading something really twist twisted and dark and messed up. And I’m sorry Joe Jones work comes to mind. So I don’t think I’m I shouldn’t say study but Joe is an excellent horror writer. And Joe stuff is just really dark and really twisted and I also Tom Howard’s work is just as dark and twisted and I love reading, reading their work because it is so dark and twisted and it it does sort of reflect back is sort of like the scream into the void for me, I feel so connected with them. And I feel like they get me I feels, I feel like my anger and my rage is seen heard and validated in the horror that they write. And other horror writers I think are the same. And I also like seeing stories that are twisted and dark. But you can saying that we can survive the worst that is that is done to us. And I feel like for me, the person who does that the most that like gets under my skin. And appropriately so is my husband, not my records is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read in my entire life. I tell everybody, it’ll break your heart. And the best way, no, this book will mess you up. And it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Like you will find yourself thinking about it, the narrator had to stop halfway through the book and say some like expletives and then go back to narrating it. But at the end of the day, all of these horrors, they survive. And it’s not a spoiler.
K
The books been out for over a year now. And if you haven’t read it, you should go read it. But I find that these types of books right when authors are writing what they know. And when they’re writing horror, and they’ve had that much pain in their life, that they can write something so twisted and dark, and have it be authentic and real. I feel like that speaks to my pain and the darkness and me. And I no longer feel alone, when we have like a nother really great book by Phoenix block with the secrets that kill us. And as a former foster kid, this book really speaks to me and my lived experience of what it’s like to be in the foster system. And I felt less alone I felt seen when we’re reading books, and we’re reading books with a political mindset. I think that sometimes we go to the political books that have ebooks, and we don’t look to fiction. And we don’t look at okay, what are the types of authors? What are the types of voices that they want to silence and now you know what, I’m going to go read a book from that type of voice and from that perspective, and it can be something silly and and light hearted. And something that isn’t as dark that isn’t a screamer, maybe something you don’t see yourself. And I don’t see myself in the secret benefits of invisibility except that I do. I was a precocious child, and I did want to be a hero. As a kid, I wanted to do something heroic and seeing kids be heroes and having such an intelligent, middle grade book, where the the adults aren’t bumbling falls, it’s circumstances that thrust the kids into the spotlight. It reminds me that we have another generation coming behind us that has a completely different political view, then all of the old guard. And that’s what this is. This is the Death Battle of the old guard because the world is changing. And if you doubt that, look at the level of activism that we see our kids engaging. And so reading stories and turning our kids on to stories that show them that they make a difference and show them that their point of view matters. And that we want them to feel empowered. That’s a political, a political act, even when the stories are fantastical, we can take something out of that and say, You know what, know that you can know that one person can change the world. One person can make a decision that changes the world or inspires other people to do like things. So the type of of books that we read, and the type of authors that we support.
K
And the type of lessons that we choose to highlight in the books that that we’re reading, I think is really, really important. And I’m speaking as a mother of a black man, and for me, having those stories celebrating Black joy and celebrating him and celebrating his identity and his right to happiness and and Joy, enter just be who he is, was a beautiful gift because I see him moving through the world with a freedom and a carelessness, and an abandon that I didn’t have as a child. And that makes me feel hopeful, and that makes me feel successful. And I did that, in part, by the books that I chose to read to him, the authors that I chose to publish, the doctors that I chose to see. So in his life, he was surrounded by black excellence his entire life. All he saw were incredible black men being successful and powerful and incredible black women, being successful and powerful. And the same with our indigenous family members. We have very, because, as you all know, I’m black, indigenous and Jewish. And for every aspect of our identity, I made sure that our son had literature that reflected our success. And I made sure that he saw that living in the world. And so I celebrate all of these things in the literature I read and and the media I consume, our joy is the most political thing that we can do, I promise you, our hope is the most the most political thing that we can do is not give up and not give in. Because when we give them they win, right? As long as we’re having moments of happiness and moments of peace, and looking at the happy lessons that we can remind ourselves of, and the advances that we can remind ourselves of, and look at the processes that get us to where we want to go, and the processes that get us to where we don’t want to go and fight those processes, and look at life as this continuing adventure. And when we choose to read, we become thought leaders. And how we become thought leaders, is because we say what gets what publishers are going to publish, the more that we pick a specific type of book to read, the more money that specific genre makes, the more will be published. We for better or worse, we’re and we live in a capitalist world. And so becoming the great minds and the great thinkers of our time, read and read any genre, any genre will teach you new vocabulary, words, new modalities of thought, new point of views that you might not be exposed to otherwise. And I think of that even in, in villains when I read just truly villainous characters, they present me with I’m happy, happy that they’re presenting me with a new way of thinking, and just being like, wow, okay, I don’t want to become a villain. I’m looking at their path of why did they become a villain? And I’m not talking like the antihero villains only I’m talking about truly villainous characters, and how did they become that way? And what can I do in my life, to help prevent in my sphere of influence and reach another villain being created. And that immediately makes me a leader. And even if it’s a leader of just a really small group of people looking to make that lived experience better, I think there’s a lot of shouting down that goes on in the world, where someone with a bigger platform will will punch down or shout down to somebody with a smaller platform, and they may feel helpless. And what I say is talk to the people you know about that experience, and say that this is wrong. And that’s how movements are born. They’re born with one person saying, This is wrong. And looking and reading, looking at what’s been written, whether it be fiction, or nonfiction, fantasy, paranormal, romance, whatever that is, look at the different motives that these characters are having. Because this is some this is coming from someone else’s mind. They’re probably drawing from their own lived experience about an encounter they had, even if there’s two or three steps removed, or what they can imagine to be someone’s thought process and I guarantee you, whatever we can imagine there’s somebody with with that thought process, this flexing my therapist, muscle here, and my lived experience as as a therapist and saying, you know, in my over a quarter of a sudden proof of doing it. People surprised me every modality of thought I’ve, I’ve come across every, like things I’m like, I would think when I’m reading fiction, I wouldn’t think that would exist in real life. And then I meet a client, mon, behold, that does exist. So I my lived experience tells me that getting into literature and understanding different motive modes of thinking and different motivations, it’s such a safe way to explore the dark. And it’s also an uplifting way to explore the light, and as a positive way to take a step back from from the heaviness and still be doing something positive because self care is positive. And words are so inspirational. And I find inspiration in middle grade. I’m not shy about that. But I also find inspiration in and starting a free easing. And I was inspired to have an entire issue dedicated to magical women, because I believe that there is magic and everyone. And I felt like right now was a great time to talk about the magic that is that we have in women, and the stories that I that I put out that I read, they made me feel inspired. And they reminded me just how strong people who identify as women are and how strong that identity is. And it’s unfair that any part of the population needs to be strong, that’s inherently unfair, we should all be allowed to be weak and be safe. And for me, I loved all of the stories that are in, in the July ezine, focusing on on magical women. And for me, I also love all of the authors and this evening. And I hope y’all check it out. It’s free. It’s done. cinnabar moth literary collection. And that’s a political act, it’s a free thing that you can do that. And it doesn’t have to be our zoom, you can go online, every click is a political act, everything you read, everything you consume, is a political act because it creates currency. And even if it’s only three people watch a YouTube video, that’s three more than zero. And the hardest number to convert, when we we study this type of thing in marketing is zero to one.
K
It amplifies voices, but it also inspires and I hope inspires and heals the reader or the consumer. Because again, we’re going for that hope, right? And for me, I just really love words. I just love the power of words. I love the creativity, I love enjoying someone else’s creativity. And I do think about the the authors when I’m reading their books, and I do look up look up authors when I read their books, and it’s really cool to to get to know them and to get to know a part of their mind that maybe nobody in their their sphere of friends that haven’t read their work and shame on you, if you’re friends with writer read their work. But, you know, I’m just kidding with that. But for me, it’s an interesting, interesting side of things. And I feel really, really spoiled because one of my jobs is to read for a living.
K
And I find that so much of what I read works its way into my everyday life. And that to me says Wow, okay, what I consume is really powerful because I see myself as my other gig as being a therapist and I see myself drawing from the literature, be it fiction or nonfiction that I read, to educate and inform myself on how to connect with another human being, which is so powerful that that connection right to let another person know that you see them, that you hear them and that you you care about them. And you’re rooting for them is can be life changing. And I’ve experienced that. Myself personally, I’m very lucky I have a life partner who always believes in me even if I’m having a low moment I’m not believing in mice. stuff. And I’m very fortunate that my life partner also reminds me to unplug, and step away from the news and stop consuming things that cause me pain and to pick up a book. So, for me, I read, for every type of mood that I have, or every type of emotion or feeling that I have, I found that there is a book for that, there is a book that will either amplify it, or pull it off, or help me understand myself when I’m not feeling grounded, and I’m not feeling in my body there are, there is literature out there that centers me, and, and grounds me and gets me back in my body and back in this present moment, because all we have is now and for me, I’m gonna shout out a book that that we didn’t publish this, this isn’t just shameless promotion of our authors, even though our authors are the bomb, and our books are amazing. But I really love the the talent, the Time Traveler’s Wife. And what I loved about the book is that the time caller says, the only moment that we’re guaranteed is this moment right now today. And I read the book. And I just agree with that. And I’ve read other books that have that same, same message. And I really do believe in now. And when I stay right now, here, in this moment, and I start with what can I do to make this moment, livable and meaningful for me, and I start from taking care of me, then I find that I am able to do so much more. And sometimes the thing to do is, pick up a book, or pick up a short story. And just shut everything out and just escape into that. And I’m super, super lucky because I get to read books before they’re published. So I get to read many different drafts of a book. And I find that journey to be fantastic. And wonderful the editing journey, the author’s own editing process, and of course, our editors process. And I also find it interesting to watch authors evolve that writes series and write how their voice changes. And I love to read books that authors I enjoy suggests I love Goodreads, huge fan of it. And any review sites I love reading reviews. I love reading reviews, because I’m often shocked by a favorite author’s perspective on others writers that I don’t agree with at all. And it’s like wow, okay, this gives me another insight into another modality of thought. And sometimes this the sweetest people that write like sacrum sweet books will have the most violent and wild reading tastes. And I like that that juxtaposition that dichotomy of okay, I don’t like to write horror, or I don’t like to write a splatter punk. I really love writing picture books, but I’m going to read splatter punk. And I find that to be really fascinating, right? You have just someone who if you only interact with their picture books, they come across as a sweetness and light and honey and and all things good. And then you go to their Goodreads page and they’ve got all of these like really five star reviews on splatter punk and and horror and that’s exciting to me. And it reminds me that even when I think that people are one aspect, that no that’s not true people are multifaceted. And that leaves me open to communicating with people who at first blush may not seem like they’re like minded. And I’ve had that experience where people were very close in terms of, of our share views. And and talking about literature and experiencing literature together. It was a safe space to talk about things that we agree on and things that we disagree on without the heat, that when we’re talking about a specific political issue of the day without the heat and heaviness of that and and I have had my mind changed in those safe spaces. I’ve had what I believe is an evolution and an opening of my mind and a deeper understanding of my own beliefs and a changing of beliefs that were outdated. I’m in my 50s, there’s, you know, so much in the world that exists that I never thought would exist, social media was never a thing when I was a kid, right? So there was just a lot of points of views that I wasn’t exposed to, and a lot of thinking that I just didn’t know existed. And that’s exciting for me. And through books, books were my my first entryway into thoughts that were different than my own. And I fight really hard to not say that everyone in any group is truly evil. There are truly evil people in the world, there is true evil that exists, that’s just a fact. I try to look for the humanity in those who are supporting the evil. And I find literature helps me do that, because it gives me a language and it gives me a safe place to let my guard down, because it’s just me, and the words on the page to let my guard down and see, is there any, any point of reference to where I can enter into dialogue with this point of view and perspective? And if the answer is no, cool, the answer’s no, for me, I’m not advocating for anyone to turn themselves inside out and extend themselves in that way. But there is a safe way to find out your answers and to find out your desired engagement level and to get to know other perspectives. And in doing all of that, all of that is extremely political. But I think, for me, the thing I hope for most in all of the world is that we read for, for entertainment and an interest, we read, For inspiration, we read to support and amplify voices of those who are underserved and, and not amplified in the world and not represented enough in the world. And that we also read, to become the thought leaders of our generation, and to put more positivity out in the world and to find solutions to the most what may seem like the most impossible problems facing us today. And I look at so much of what was science fiction, when I was growing up. And as a kid that I was reading, that just seemed wild to me, just look at the original Star Trek and the fact that they could push a button and talk to somebody across space and time. Think about the fact that, wow, I can Skype anybody or Zoom anybody in the world. And that was the stuff of science fiction.
K
You know, 30 years ago, 20 years ago. And I don’t know how long smartphones have been around, and how long zoom and all that been around. But read, stay inspired, stay hopeful, and know that that is the biggest political weapon that we have, because and hope there’s innovation, and innovation, there’s change, and in change, there’s improvement. So I hope everyone out there who’s having a hard time we’ll take a break from news and all of the sadness and difficulty that surrounds us and get lost in a really great book and celebrate themselves and feed their hope and practice good self care. This is coming from my heart to yours and I want to thank all of our beautiful cinnabar monster any kind of moth you want to be for listening to my ramble about hope and how reading is Paulette is political. And you can even be a butterfly but I’m not Mariah Carey, and I’m not trying to bite her rhyme and talk to you soon. Bye.