WLT promotes tolerance with new booklist
Nov. 21—World Literature Today magazine unveiled its International Day for Tolerance Booklist Thursday.
The organization first released its list in 2017 following the 2016 election.
"We saw the rise of intolerance after the 2016 election here in the United States. The focus on that list was religious beliefs and tolerance," said Daniel Simon, WLT's assistant director and editor-in-chief.
This iteration of the list is the third following the 2018 list prompted by the Tree of Life mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.
"That prompted us to work closely with the Schusterman Center for Judaic and Israel studies to come up with a list of 11 titles in honor of the 11 victims of that shooting, the idea was to promote a different story about tolerance and understanding than what was so pervasive at the time," he said.
The attack on Israel by Hamas prompted WLT to reissue a list of titles on tolerance.
"The real impetus came after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, which has become the worst examples of religious and ethnic violence in recent memory," Simon said. "The ongoing violence now in Gaza and in society on a day-to-day basis really prompted us to think about what we could do in response."
He said this list represents what tolerance represents in 2023.
After soliciting faculty and graduate students, the magazine released the names of 12 books.
—"The Essential June Jordan," edited by Jan Heller Levi and Christoph Keller.
—"Kukum," translated by Susan Ouriou.
—"Where Waters Meet," by Zhang Ling.
—"American Moor," by Keith Hamilton Cobb.
—"All Can Be Saved: Religious Tolerance and Salvation in the Iberian Atlantic World," by Stuart B. Schwartz.
—"Unsettled Belonging: Educating Palestinian American Youth after 9/11," by Thea Renda Abu El-Haj.
—"White Christian Privilege: The Illusion of Religious Equality in America," by Khati Y. Joshi.
—"'Heading Somewhere,' in Things Are Good Now," by Djamila Ibrahim.
—"American Born Chinese," by Gene Luen Yang.
—"No One Cares about Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America," by Ron Powers.
—"Where the Crawdads Sing," by Delia Owens.
—"Sukun: New and Selected Poems," by Kazim Ali.
Julie Tolliver, associate professor in comparative literature, said she nominated "Kukum," a biography/novel which traces the changes that transform an Innu society in Canada during the 20th Century.
"'Kukum' tells the story of Michel Jean's great-grandmother, a newly arrived white settler who marries an Innu from Pekuakami — in what is now called the province of Quebec," Tolliver said. "She joins her husband and his family on their annual canoe journeys from the summer village to the winter hunting grounds."
The book draws upon themes relating to logging and log-driving, enforced sedentarism, boarding schools, and departure for urban centers.
"I recommend the book because it tells, with grace, precision, and incisive generosity, a story of survivance (survival + resistance) in the midst of ongoing colonial violence," Tolliver said.
Kalenda Eaton is an associate professor from the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies department, and she nominated "The Essential June Jordan," which addresses the work of the titular writer and poet.
"Poetry is the language of peace, love, knowledge and power. The best poetry enlightens," she said.
Eaton said she first became aware of global solidarity movements on social justice, human rights and women's empowerment through the words of poets from the 1970s and 1980s.
"Years later, I still see how poetry can effect change and bring awareness to the big issues of our world," she said. "A prime example is the national recognition of the emerging poet from Norman High School received this week. The beauty and poignancy of their poem was a reminder that above all, we need to care for others."
Ping Zhu, professor of Chinese Literature, nominated "Where Waters Meet," which she describes as a compelling narrative of a Chinese Canadian woman who recounts her mother's harrowing odyssey through the tumultuous history of 20th century China.
"As the story unfolds, she unveils her mother's deeply buried trauma: her experience as a comfort woman in the Japanese army during World War II," she said. "Through this cross-cultural narrative, the Chinese mother's trauma extends beyond national boundaries, transforming into a shared human experience that beckons understanding, tolerance and empathy."
The entire list can be found at www.worldliteraturetoday.org/.
Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.
