Tag Archives: Maggie Block

Arts & Culture

Hinton Publishing Centers Stories From Historically Underinvited Communities

New publishing company aims “to make visible the invisible stories of our communities.”

by Patheresa Wells

Many people can only dream of writing down their stories. It takes a special bravery to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to produce a sharable work, and getting it published and getting it out to a wider audience is a huge next step. People who have been historically underrepresented in traditional publishing are even less likely to take that step. But new publisher Hinton Publishing, an imprint of Vertvolta, has begun operations with a focus on helping underinvited communities in the Pacific Northwest to get their stories published.

Continue reading Hinton Publishing Centers Stories From Historically Underinvited Communities →
Voices

OPINION | Moms for Liberty Say Their Goal Is Protecting Children — Please Don’t Take Their Word for It

by Maggie Block

Self-proclaimed “joyful warriors” Moms for Liberty say on their website that their vision is “Americans empowered and thriving in a culture of Liberty.” Using imagery of children’s faces and describing themselves as “Moms, Dads, Grands, Aunts, Uncles, Friends,” Moms for Liberty paint themselves as a group of sweet-as-apple-pie PTA members just trying to protect America’s children. They project a vision of themselves that is hard (if not impossible) to object to, which is, of course, the point. They know they can use their (strategically not completely) white motherhood to mask their hatred of queer and BIPOC people by calling queer youth acceptance perversion and calling anti-racism hatred against white people. Nothing is more effective at making a hate group look reasonable than a well-put-together middle-class mother at the forefront crying about how deeply she wants to protect “the children.” Unlike the journalists who come dangerously close to treating Moms for Liberty as a neutral phenomenon, we should oppose the group’s efforts, not just when the books they target seem completely innocent, but also when they hold up more challenging books as self-evidently inappropriate.

Continue reading OPINION | Moms for Liberty Say Their Goal Is Protecting Children — Please Don’t Take Their Word for It →
Column

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 3

by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 in this Give the Gift of Resistance series.

Introduction:

We did not put out a holiday book buying list. Partially due to technical difficulties, partially because we know not every parent (caregiver, cool adult relative, family friend, etc) can afford to or would want to buy their kids a bunch of new books. So we’re going to focus on resources to help you find books for your activist kiddos in 2018 and beyond!  Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 3 →

Column

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 2

by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

Read Part 1 and Part 3 in this Give the Gift of Resistance series.

Introduction:

We did not put out a holiday book buying list. Partially due to technical difficulties, partially because we know not every parent (caregiver, cool adult relative, family friend, etc) can afford to or would want to buy their kids a bunch of new books. So we’re going to focus on resources to help you find books for your activist kiddos in 2018 and beyond!  Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 2 →

Column

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 1

by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

Read Part 2 and Part 3 in this Give the Gift of Resistance series.

Introduction:

We did not put out a holiday book buying list. Partially due to technical difficulties, partially because we know not every parent (caregiver, cool adult relative, family friend, etc) can afford to or would want to buy their kids a bunch of new books. So we’re going to focus on resources to help you find books for your activist kiddos in 2018 and beyond!  Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Give the Gift of Resistance, Part 1 →

Column

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Towards a Sex Positive Future

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by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

I recently received a question from an adult who was worried about a teenage family member. The teenager had cheated on her boyfriend by engaging in a sex act with another boy. So… the adult family member wanted to know what they could do to help so the teenager wouldn’t feel hate or disgust for herself. Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Towards a Sex Positive Future →

Arts & Culture

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Comics About Geeky Girls for Kids of All Genders

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by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

When I was a kid I loved comics, but I didn’t really buy them or collect them myself – they didn’t really feel like they were for me. And they kinda weren’t – it’s still a male-dominated medium – but during my childhood, it was nearly impossible to find a comic series fronted by women that I could relate to. If there were women they were always too sexy, too femme, too stylish, too one dimensional, too focused on their love interest, too actually-a-man-reincarnated-into-a-woman’s-body (no, for real) for me to find my child self in them.* It’s important to point out that authentic representations of people of color, in particular women of color, were even harder for young readers to find (after I sent this piece to editing I read about how a variant cover for Marvel’s new Iron Man series, featuring Riri Williams, a 15-year-old Black Girl as Iron Man, was released. The picture was hyper-sexualized, and in no way looked like a 15-year-old girl. Which is to say the comic industry’s over-sexualization of women and girls, in particular, Black women and girls, is not a thing of the past). Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Comics About Geeky Girls for Kids of All Genders →

Arts & Culture

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Self Discovery, Sci-Fi & Struggle in “More Happy Than Not”

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by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera is the single most underappreciated book of 2015. Silvera invites us into a perfectly described world, with an astoundingly complex and beautiful cast of characters, and a subject so contemporary and familiar that somehow manages to tell a completely unique story. How it didn’t rack up every YA award and prize imaginable, I cannot tell you.  Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Self Discovery, Sci-Fi & Struggle in “More Happy Than Not” →

Arts & Culture

Rad Books for Rad Kids: Conjuring Friendly Spirits and Exposing Privilege in “Shadowshaper”

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by Maggie Block

“Rad Books for Rad Kids” is the Emerald’s new spin on a book review column featuring South End librarian Maggie Block’s analysis of youth literature through a radical lens.

So, the first book I wanted to recommend to the Emerald’s readership is Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older. This book busts expectations of Afro-Latino representations in YA fiction every possible way. I mean, just look at that cover. It is so refreshing to see a teen novel with a beautiful young woman who has dark skin and natural hair taking up the entire cover! And that’s all before you even glance at the first page.  Continue reading Rad Books for Rad Kids: Conjuring Friendly Spirits and Exposing Privilege in “Shadowshaper” →