Writing the Other: The Challenges of Creative Writing and Inclusion
While for many years, the literary canon was the province of “dead white men,” the past fifty years have dramatically altered that paradigm. Contemporary creative writers, too, would like their work to reflect the diversity and complexity of human experience in terms of race, gender, sexual identification, ethnicity, nationality, and culture. This panel invites creative writers of all genres, genders, races, sexual orientations, nationalities, cultures, etc., to consider the challenges of being more inclusive in their work. Some questions that will be considered: Is it possible to write from the perspectives of races, genders, etc., of whom one is not a representative?