This week I started reading Erasure, Percival Everett’s 2001 novel about how African-American literature is perceived and discussed in the literary mainstream. (This 2001 novel was adapted into the film American Fiction, which was nominated for an Oscar last year, and which I wrote about here.) I find the title of this novel especially relevant at this time of year, as the annual celebration in the U.S. known as Black History Month draws to a close, and as attempts to erase our nation’s Black history continue. At all levels of government, in schools, colleges, and universities, and in the corporate world, Black History Month celebrations have been “muted,” as Forbes puts it, due to a rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives and practices. One highly visible example: on the eve of Black History Month, newly appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth barred the DoD from using “official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events” related to Black History Month and other “cultural awareness months.”)
Continue reading “Friday Five: the end of Black History Month”Category: flash-fiction
Friday Five: Q&A with MoonLit Getaway founder and editor Brandon Nadeau
‘We are a doom-scrolling alternative. A mixed bag of mixed metaphors where … the only common denominator is quality.’
As I and my fellow Missourians emerge from the vicious grip of a polar vortex from the north, where heartier types deal with these sub-zero temperatures and wind chills more frequently (and where thermometer readings are even lower, thanks to the Celsius scale), it seems fitting that today’s Friday Five highlights the work of a writer from north of the U.S. border, Brandon Nadeau, and the phenomenal literary magazine he launched last fall, MoonLit Getaway.
Brandon is a veteran of the Canadian Army (twice deployed to Afghanistan) originally from northern British Columbia, where he “snowboarded, played guitar in a metal band, and got bad grades in school.” He now lives, writes, and edits in Edmonton, Alberta. He serves as executive editor and fiction editor for MoonLit Getaway, which publishes fiction (including flash), poetry, and visual artwork every two weeks. He and his editorial team also publish book reviews and interviews with featured authors and artists on the website’s blog.
Continue reading “Friday Five: Q&A with MoonLit Getaway founder and editor Brandon Nadeau”
Andy writes! 