busyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dossouye
http://www.reindeermotel.com/CHARLES/charles_dossouye.html
I read the original short stories long ago. They stuck in my mind as iconic examples of ethnic fiction, stories in which the local color shapes the characterization and the plot, so evocatively done that it should be pinned to the bulletin board and labeled "Like This." I have always loved stories that come out of a particular ethnic background, a specific environment and cultural system. In college I managed to find classes on Native American Literature and Chicana Literature. European history and folklore are cool too, and I use them -- but I like having other options. I like being able to read about a totally different worldview and setting. I like being able to write about characters whose virtues, vices, and cultural expectations may be utterly unlike those presented in European-flavored fantasy.
So if you like the local color in my writing, this is one of my inspirations.
March 5 2011, 21:24:42 UTC 10 years ago
Nowadays is indeed easier, back when I discovered mr. Saunders I didn't know English, and my region (and Italy in general, but for a few big cities) was way more ethnically homogeneous than it is now, so African-inspired fantasy was really a treat to me.
The possibility of choice has espanded, and I hope it will continue to expand, I think e-publishing is helping, since a lot of people are bypassing the traditional publishing model and its filters (not always a good thing, some works should have stayed un-published, but considerations like 'works like this one won't sell'aren't road-blocks anymore).
Thoughts
March 6 2011, 05:35:43 UTC 10 years ago
I think that new filtering mechanisms will evolve to meet the need, hopefully without recreating the same kind of bottleneck. The net makes it a lot easier for niche markets to thrive.