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June 07, 2007

Girl Writer Given Girl Trophy.

Half A Yellow Sun has won The Orange Prize.

So, essentially, the literary establishment tells Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

You've written a nice little book here, dollface. Cute! Be advised and remember, you're just a girl. And to make absolutely certain readers know that this is a girl book, we're going to give you a big award and slap a Girl Writer sticker on every copy. If you don't like it, you'll seem ungrateful. Be nice and smile!

And in case the world doesn't understand how marginal you are, we're going to have one of our judges explain.

Posted by Katherine Taylor at 12:42 AM in Guest Bloggers |

Comments

Katherine, do you feel that way about other hyphenated awards, such as the Stonewall or Lambda book awards?

Posted by: K.G. Schneider | June 07, 2007 at 07:22 AM

I see where you are coming from... though one could just as easily argue that these kind of awards favor women writers. "Oh, you women and men are all eligible for the big awards, but we are going to give extra awards that only women can get because they are special and more important."

If she hadn't won the Orange award she simply wouldn't have won any awards. It wasn't "well, we can give her this girl award or the big award but lets do the girl." she didn't win the others and now has a chance to get this.

I think that is preferable to no award.

Posted by: CD | June 07, 2007 at 09:26 AM

K.Taylor: exactly.

Posted by: Steven Augustine | June 07, 2007 at 10:39 AM

Well, I think it's fair to say that most American readers don't know what the Orange prize is and would never equate it with a "woman's" prize. I mean, it's not like it's pink, or is called the "Estrogen" prize or something. And, more importantly, it's a gorgeously written book. And, really, at the end of the day, isn't it more important that people read the book, love the book, and Adichie makes a little money? Everything else is just mud.

Posted by: Ks | June 07, 2007 at 05:24 PM

I believe the Orange Prize plays a hugely important role. Women are disproportionately represented in every aspect of the literary cycle--be it bylines, editorships, books published and reviewed, and yes, literary awards. Sure, you have your Joyce Carol Oates' but as a generality, women writers are far less present (see any publishing houses catalogue), and when they are present, they are generally taken less seriously as major literary voices (see The New York Times' 'best books of the last 25 years' list from awhile back).

Obviously, a lot of reasons go into this reality. One of those reasons is simply old habits and patterns...that is, sexism. The Orange Prize exists not to give women writers a prize because they are 'girls who write,' as if it were as much a novelty as a story-writing monkey, but it's to spotlight the remarkably talented writers who are turning out amazing fiction. Same thing with the Lambda award. It's a way to honor the talent that's out there. And given the unquestionable inequalities that permeate our society, and our literary culture, it's a way to keep these wonderful voices from being lost.

And besides, anybody who doesn't think Adichie doesn't deserve every bit of attention and accolade is just plain crazy.

Posted by: Anna Clark | June 07, 2007 at 09:27 PM

I am in agreement with Anna on the value of hyphenated awards. But... since we really didn't talk about it... that judge bugs me. I believe commenters on other sites have already drawn the inevitable James/Austen parallels, yet I'll say again that a writer shouldn't have to write about swashbuckling topics some consider "big" in order to be considered for an award. The living room, the kitchen, and the bedroom are pretty big places in most of our lives, real and imagined. I was present when "Fun Home" was announced as the nonfiction Stonewall Book Award winner, and more than one person said if Bechdel wasn't selected, it was over for them and the Stonewalls, *period.* Its 2-inch-wide bit of lavender-hued ivory has all the freaky haimisch of any Austen novel, and yes I do need to stop commenting and finish an article.

Thanks for being a provocative and interesting blog mom.

Posted by: K.G. Schneider | June 08, 2007 at 09:27 AM

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