For those of us who grew up in the United States, you've probably had to read books like The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, and Lord of the Flies in school. These books are regularly assigned because they’re a part of the literary canon, a set of texts that are considered high-literature with significant cultural, social, and intellectual value. But if you go through the list of books in the canon, you’ll notice an all-too-familiar trend. They are largely the stories of Western, white, and male authors, which raises the question: Whose voices are worth preserving and studying? Whose voices are excluded? Whose voices are co-opted and whose are given credit instead? What do we lose when we only consider a narrow group of art as “important?”
When marginalized authors are excluded from the canon, their values, beliefs, and social and cultural impacts are silenced and erased from history. While authors like Shakespeare and Hemingway are taught in classrooms, lesser known Black authors, for example, like Harriet Jacobs (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl), James Baldwin (Notes of a Native Son), or even entire movements, such as the “Harlem Renaissance,” become footnotes at best, despite their cultural influence on important moments in history, like the Civil Rights Movement. Unsurprisingly, books by or about people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, or persons with disabilities are also the most targeted by book bans.
Reading fiction helps us understand the diverse human experience, exposes ourselves to new perspectives, and breaks down barriers of inequality, stereotypes, and bias. Our examples highlighted Black authors as we near Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but there’s an abundance of books written by other marginalized identities that deserve your attention too. So if you’re an avid reader gearing up for a 2024 reading challenge or just looking for something new to read, we encourage you to check out the recommendations below!
Reading recommendations
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