Comments on: “How can we conjure the wondrous world we believe in?”

By: Wolfgang

Wolfgang — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:46:28 +0000

What a wonderful essay! And everything you are writing, Andrea, is not about being just Afro-American, Native American, Irish …, not about being just liberal or conservative, not about being just christian or jewish or muslim but about being HUMAN with oneself and everybody in the world. Thank you for everything you are writing Andrea. It is a big gift!

By: NB

NB — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:27:57 +0000

Brilliant essay. Thank you for using the word “conjure” to frame this personal and universal discussion of history, culture and society. Like hoodoos, artists, academics and activists harness the magical in the mundane and use available resources in service of transformation and transcendence. I am looking forward to seeing REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE in print!!!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:58:58 +0000

Wow. It’s wonderful to get all the thoughtful responses.
I can’t wait to put the book in everyone’s hands!

By: Joe Sutliff Sanders

Joe Sutliff Sanders — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:09:40 +0000

I’m impressed as always, Andrea. As usual, your characters crackle because they are the result of your ruthless self-exploration. I admire the way you use your own ethical and intellectual struggles for a useful truth to drive a story that you are convinced needs to be told.

Plus, your stories are fun! Am I allowed to admit that?

By: Eileen Gunn

Eileen Gunn — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:48:41 +0000

Andrea, I remember talking with you about this new book at WisCon in (I think) 2006. You had me in tears then, as you did with this telling — here is the real American story, all of it, in a single family, black and white, good and bad, old and new, weird and straight, all tipped together by an extraordinary writer.

I cannot wait to read this book.

By: Wanganegresse

Wanganegresse — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:56:49 +0000

Andrea never ceases to inspire and uplift me. Ico highlighted yet another gorgeous gem of wisdom that Andrea generously shares in all of her writing, academic, fiction, poetry, theatre, hell, even emails! I remember when I first read Ms. Butler’s PARABLE books…how the Earthseed passages stayed with me long after I’d finished reading the novels. I remember selfishly wishing she’d publish a whole volume of them, just for us folks who like to spend some time with our poetry. I know that wasn’t her vision or her project, but the Earthseed really stood well alone. I felt that way after reading Andrea’s first novel, MINDSCAPE. I kept wanting to jot down passages from throughout.
Some folk just have a way with putting the pieces of your mind and your heart in the right order, laying it out on a page in a way that not only makes sense, but sounds like good truth. Thank ya Angry Black Woman for this new project of yours. Looking forward to reading more down the line.

By: Cinamon

Cinamon — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:32:19 +0000

Andrea is a down to earth academic, which is a rare find. I’ve had the honor of learning & working with her twice in the past as “Madear” in “Jar the Floor” & as a young girl in one of Andrea’s futuristic originals.

I hope to one day work with Andrea again, she is an inspiration

By: Ico

Ico — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:35:48 +0000

“People with power, talent, and beauty don’t necessarily get wealth, success, and happiness. The tragedies that befall us are not simply caused by the flaws in our characters. Power and talent can be a torment in a system stacked against you. People can shun the magical ones, be jealous or frightened of brilliance. Social forces can thwart even the strongest will and structural reality can crush individual imagination and agency.”

Oh, that is beautiful. That paragraph captures so much truth, and so eloquently. Your novel sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to see it in print. :D

By: Veronica

Veronica — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:35:18 +0000

Just wanted to say how wonderful Andrea is. I admire her so much. I met her a couple years ago at ICFA and her academic paper was just transfixing–and that’s an academic paper. I had no idea she was also a fiction writer, but her writing is so compelling that now that I know, I am looking forward to this novel with bated breath.

Thank you, Andrea, for your work and your post here, and thank you ABW for giving me the chance to read it by giving her the space.

By: Dreams Part II: I just can’t relate to those people

Dreams Part II: I just can’t relate to those people — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 15:59:51 +0000

[...] In my previous post I quoted Andrea Hairston [...]