I Talk About It All the Time
Published on 23. July 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
120 pages
978-0-299-34854-0 (ISBN)
Description
In this biting, lyrical memoir, Camara Lundestad Joof, born in BodO to Norwegian and Gambian parents, shares her experiences as a queer Black Norwegian woman. Joof's daily encounters belie the myth of a colorblind contemporary Scandinavia. She wrestles with the fickle palimpsest of memory, demanding communion with her readers even as she recognizes her own exhaustion in the face of constantly being asked to educate others about racism.
"I regularly decide to quit talking to white people about racism," writes Joof. Discussions with white people about racism often feel unproductive, the occasional spark of hope coming at enormous personal cost. But not talking about it is impossible, a betrayal of self. The book is a self-examination as well as societal indictment. It is an open challenge to readers, to hear her as she talks about it, all the time.
"I regularly decide to quit talking to white people about racism," writes Joof. Discussions with white people about racism often feel unproductive, the occasional spark of hope coming at enormous personal cost. But not talking about it is impossible, a betrayal of self. The book is a self-examination as well as societal indictment. It is an open challenge to readers, to hear her as she talks about it, all the time.
Reviews / Votes
"Beautifully, immersively written, these everyday and reflective snapshots from the life of a Black, queer Norwegian woman are searing, insightful, and so recognizable for other women in the Black European diaspora."-Gloria Wekker, author of White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race"A stunning memoir told in illuminating fragments. Joof's devastating narrative captures what it costs to navigate spaces where you are constantly treated as if you do not belong."-Ethelene Whitmire, author of Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian
"This gemlike book relentlessly dramatizes the particularities of Norwegian racism. The power of Joof's observations increases in proportion to their understated precision. Her gentle voice is wholly deceptive. She slices through the delusions, denials, and defensiveness that distinguish the unthinkable racism of Scandinavian society."-Paul Gilroy, author of The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Wisconsin
United States
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
157 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-299-34854-0 (9780299348540)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Camara Lundestad Joof is the 2020-24 playwright in residence at Nasjonalteateret (The National Theatre) in Oslo, Norway; her works have also been staged in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and Germany. Recent plays include Samtaler med bror and De mA fOde oss eller pule oss for A elske oss.
Olivia Noble Gunn is an associate professor of Scandinavian studies and the Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies at the University of Washington and the author of Empty Nurseries, Queer Occupants: Reproduction and the Future in Ibsen's Late Plays.
Olivia Noble Gunn is an associate professor of Scandinavian studies and the Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies at the University of Washington and the author of Empty Nurseries, Queer Occupants: Reproduction and the Future in Ibsen's Late Plays.
Content
Introduction: Let's Talk about Race
Monica L. Miller and Nana Osei-Kofi
Dear Brother
Quitting
What's in a Name?
Friend First
National Costume I
A Less Significant Event
Whiteness
Quid Pro Quo
Pavlov's Bicycle
Going Out
Brownness for Sale
The Stupidity of Youth
Stockholm-Oslo-Copenhagen
Stop
Mass Effect
African Time
Pillow Talk
Low-Frequency Feelings
A Little Man
Playing the Victim
Cultural Capital
Traveling by Plane
Traveling by Train
The Arts and Culture Center for Nynorsk
Tequila
Blabbermouth
Gratitude
Youth, First
New Sweater
Loop
He Hit First
The Rope
Mania
Source Critique
Mom's Memory
Red
Apolitical
Someone Else's Brother
You're on the Wrong Train, Sir
Avalanche
National Costume II
Mom Is a Superhero
Your Silence Will Not Save You
Epilogue
Translator's Note and Acknowledgments
Olivia Noble Gunn
Monica L. Miller and Nana Osei-Kofi
Dear Brother
Quitting
What's in a Name?
Friend First
National Costume I
A Less Significant Event
Whiteness
Quid Pro Quo
Pavlov's Bicycle
Going Out
Brownness for Sale
The Stupidity of Youth
Stockholm-Oslo-Copenhagen
Stop
Mass Effect
African Time
Pillow Talk
Low-Frequency Feelings
A Little Man
Playing the Victim
Cultural Capital
Traveling by Plane
Traveling by Train
The Arts and Culture Center for Nynorsk
Tequila
Blabbermouth
Gratitude
Youth, First
New Sweater
Loop
He Hit First
The Rope
Mania
Source Critique
Mom's Memory
Red
Apolitical
Someone Else's Brother
You're on the Wrong Train, Sir
Avalanche
National Costume II
Mom Is a Superhero
Your Silence Will Not Save You
Epilogue
Translator's Note and Acknowledgments
Olivia Noble Gunn