The Arts Council is spearheading an unprecedented campaign to get more black and Asian poets published via the same channels often taken for granted by their white counterparts.
Talks between publishers and writers will attempt to beef up the visibility of literary offerings from Asian and balck writers alike, so UK literature can become more reflective of its communities.
According to The Guardian, the move comes after a recent report found that poetry presses failed to enter black or Asian writers into the nominations for the Next Generation Poets List in 2004.
The push for greater visibility of under-represented writers follows the revelation that a higher number of ethnic minority poets perform their work for free, rather than get published.
Commissioned by Spread the Word, the group’s report found almost half (43 per cent) of black or Asian poets rate their chances for publication as either ‘poor’ or’ very poor.’
Explicit racism was only cited as an obstacle by seven per cent, yet the majority added poetry publishing is “unsupportive” of ethnic minority talent.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence lies in the finding that four out of ten writers in either ethnic minority group had to submit their work four times before succeeding.
As for all writers perseverance pays off, given that almost 20 per cent had to pitch their work anything from five to ten times, in order to make the publisher’s grade.
Similar to their white counterparts, just a tiny number actually make money from their literary efforts, but positively 6 per cent reported earnings of up to £2,500.The same number however have been told their work is too “culturally specific,” the report found.
As a result, some ethnic minority writers have resorted to self-publishing (13 per cent overall) – an option all the more likely given just 8 per cent said they found success through a major established publisher.
In a statement, Spread the Word begged the question, “If publishers are, as they claim,
choosing according to quality not ethnicity, the law of averages implies a proportion of BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) poets should be picked for publication.
“But publisher after publisher, both large and small, admits their list is overwhelmingly white.”
Reflecting on the worrying trend, Faber, the publishing giant, reportedly admitted the genre has not “diversified as freely as fiction.”
Paul Keegan, poetry editor, added,” Poetry is an inherently conservative genre. It tends to open up relatively slowly.”
Meanwhile a recent poll of European writers, carried out on Writing Services.com, found that over 70 per cent are writing with the expectation of being published.
May 18, 2006
Email this article
Printer friendly page
Previous Page
