This month on Spectology, we're reading Brown Girl in the Ring (https://amzn.to/2G9dqqZ) by Nalo Hopkinson, a classic of Caribbean SF & Fantasy. A young mother must outwit a warlord in post-apocalyptic Toronto in order to save her community, but to do so she'll need the help of that community & its gods.
Adrian & Matt are joined by Mendez Hodes (https://jamesmendezhodes.com), a writer & cultural consultant who works on RPGs and education curricula, who has an academic background is in African Religions. Together, they discuss how African religions found their way to the Americas through the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the details of that religious practice, how to respectfully think & talk about race & non-Western religions, and why rap is the ideal translated form for the ancient Homeric epics. We also talk about science fiction books!
Some of the books & resources mentioned in this episode:
* Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (read the book, it's great!)
* Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
* Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clarke
* The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
* Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler
* Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh
And some nonfiction resources to learn more about Western African religions in the Americas:
* Our episode with Tobias Buckell discussing Caribbean SF in depth.
* Flash of the Spirit by Robert Ferris Thompson
* The Serpent & the Rainbow by Wade Davis
* Black Magic by Yvonne Chireau
---
We'd love to hear from you, either by chatting with us on twitter at @spectologypod, sending us an email at spectologypod@gmail.com, or submitting the episode to r/printSF on reddit. We'll reply, and shout you out in the next podcast when we talk about your comment.
And if you like the episode, subscribe at spectology.com or whever you listen to podcasts, and share it with your friends!
Many thanks to Dubby J and Noah Bradley for doing our music and art.
Things We Like October 2019: Video Games, LARPS, and Music
19.1: Zone One pre-read: Zombies, Horror, and LitFic
18.2: Waste Tide post-read: social class in science fiction, translation, and the problems with cyberpunk
Critical Conversations: Ning Ken's Ultra Unreal, how to define a genre, and genre gatekeeping
18.1: Waste Tide pre-read: Chinese Language, Literary History, and Science Fiction
17.2: The Killing Moon post-read: Lucid Dreaming, Writing Compelling Villains, and Genre Blending
17.1: The Killing Moon pre-read: Worldbuilding techniques in SF & Fantasy
Critical Conversations: "Critics: Endgame" by Soraya Roberts & the purpose of criticism in a dying world
16.2: Empress of Forever post-read: Journey to the West, Redemption, and Buddhism in Science Fiction
Things We Like July 2019: Anime, Music, Poetry, and Cookbooks
16.1: Empress of Forever pre-read: Space Opera, Epics, & Journey to the West
15.3: Exhalation (collection) by Ted Chiang post-read: AI, Identity, & Metaphysics in Science Fiction
15.2: "Exhalation" post-read: Re-reading stories, philosophy of mind, & the heat death of the universe
15.1: Exhalation by Ted Chiang, pre-read: Philosophical thought experiments & short stories
14.2: The Raven Tower post-read w/ Reading the End: 2nd Person, Language Games, and Hamlet.
Things We Like May 2019 (feat. Reading the End): TV Shows, Art, and Fish
14.1: The Raven Tower pre-read w/ Reading the End: Fantasy, Genre, & Gender!
13.3 (fixed): Chris Beckett discusses his novel Dark Eden, writing for realism over role models, and how he thinks about genre.
13.2: Dark Eden post-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: From Stories to Legends to Myths to Religion.
13.1: Dark Eden pre-read w/ Kevin Kelsey: Linguistic drift, creating myths, and rogue planets.
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Gulliver’s Travels
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends