Monthly Archives: June 2018

SciFi Book Club to discuss “Ash” by Malinda Lo

Continuing on our Cinderella Summer theme, the Science Fiction Book Club is now reading Ash by Malinda Lo. Ash is a Cinderella retelling that leans more to fantasy than science fiction. As usual, Ash’s parents have died and she’s left with a Step Mother who’s not so great. Unlike most retellings, however, Ash’s love is not so predictable. This version acknowledges the weight of grief and brings LGBTQ representation into a stereotypically heteronormative story.

Considering Ash is Lo’s first novel, the fact it was nominated and placed on so many award lists is truly impressive. Some particularly noteworthy ones include being nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and the William C. Morris Debut YA Award. Lo keeps a thorough and informative blog on her website. If you dig deep enough you can find some gems such as a reflection on writing five years after Ash was published, a guide to researching for a “diverse” scifi/fantasy novel, and thoughts on self-rejection as a person from a marginalized group.

If you can’t tell from her blog, Lo has been very active in bringing attention to the fact young adult books have historically been very homogeneous. In 2011 she founded a website with fellow author Cindy Pon called Diversity in YA. While it’s currently on an indefinite hiatus, you can still look through their blog posts and statistics on the emerging representation in the genre.

You can find Ash at your local public library or through interlibrary loan.

We look forward to chatting with you about Ash on Wednesday, July 18th at 12pm in Library 314.

 

Announcing the New Issue of PLCS: Transnational Africas: Visual, Material and Sonic Cultures of Lusophone Africa

We are pleased to announce that Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies (PLCS) 30/31, Transnational Africas: Visual, Material and Sonic Cultures of Lusophone Africa, is now available.  You can find this issue as well as all back issues available for free on the journal’s website!Image of the cover of PLCS 30/31. The cover shows a stucco doorway with water views.

Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies (PLCS) is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed hybrid online and print journal that publishes original research related to the literatures and cultures of the diverse communities of the Portuguese-speaking world from a broad range of academic, critical and theoretical approaches. PLCS is published semi-annually by Tagus Press in the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The Center for Portuguese Studies and Cultures ‘s Tagus Press publishes its electronic version of Portuguese Literary & Cultural Studies (PLCS) on the library’s journal hosting platform.