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PM's Outspoken Authors #24
Parle comme un homme : et autres textes
Un recueil de nouvelles sur l'altérité, l'afro-féminisme, la magie et la technologie. L'ouvrage est complété d'un essai et d'un entretien avec Terry Bisson.
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2019
6 people are currently reading
206 people want to read
About the author
Nisi Shawl
133Ìýbooks570ÌýfollowersNisi Shawl is a founder of the diversity-in-speculative-fiction nonprofit the Carl Brandon Society and serves on the Board of Directors of the Clarion West Writersâ€� Workshop. Their story collection Filter House was a winner of the 2009 Tiptree/Otherwise Award, and their debut novel, Everfair, was a 2016 Nebula finalist. Shawl edited Bloodchildren: Stories by the Octavia E. Butler Scholars (2013). They coedited Strange Matings: Science Fiction, Feminism, African American Voices, and Octavia E. Butler (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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November 15, 2019'The Afrodiasporic religious outlook is deeply pragmatic; it makes use of what is useful'-Nisi Shawl.
I don't want to rate this collection; as it was really only four short stories, an explanation of Ifa (a Yoruba religion and system of divination) and Shawl's involvement in it, and an interview on their writing process and views on SFFH (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror).
The story 'Women of the Doll' was the most memorable for me; a secret, not-so-secret organization that give at risk, vulnerable women the opportunity to protect their most precious essence, so as not to get lost in the crucible of the world.
I did appreciate them explaining what drew them to Ifa and the beliefs and values that make up this religion.
I don't want to rate this collection; as it was really only four short stories, an explanation of Ifa (a Yoruba religion and system of divination) and Shawl's involvement in it, and an interview on their writing process and views on SFFH (Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror).
The story 'Women of the Doll' was the most memorable for me; a secret, not-so-secret organization that give at risk, vulnerable women the opportunity to protect their most precious essence, so as not to get lost in the crucible of the world.
I did appreciate them explaining what drew them to Ifa and the beliefs and values that make up this religion.
October 23, 2024
Women of the Doll was Five Stars, and the interviews were great, but I didn’t get into the other stories. The authors other work sounds interesting though.
July 22, 2021
Je dois avouer que la collection d'anthologie de quelques nouvelles de PM Press (Outspoken Authors Series) ne m'interpelle pas vraiment de manière générale, il y a quelque chose avec le choix des nouvelles littéraires qui ne m'intéresse souvent, et très étrangement, pas beaucoup tandis que les essais, les pièces de témoignages, entrevues, discours, j'adore!
Cet ouvrage ne fait pas exception à la règle, il y a un super texte de Shawl à la fin qui réfléchit les liens entre science-fiction, technologie et religion par le prisme de sa propre religion (Ifá) et des courtes questions par la suite de Terry Bisson qui dialogue avec des nombreux·se auteur·es de science-fiction, Racefail etc. et qui permet de découvrir un peu l'auteurice derrière l'ouvrage.
Note sur la traduction: Je me permet simplement de questionner le résumé à l'arrière qui indique que Nisi Shawl est une "figure de l'afro-féminisme" alors que j'ai l'impression que le mot recherché était plutôt "afro-futurisme" (pas qu'elle ne peut pas être les deux, mais les nouvelles et textes essayistiques penchent vraiment vers le second terme). Le titre et la différence avec la nouvelle soi-disant éponyme (Parle comme un homme est le titre de l'anthologie et Marche comme un homme est le titre de la nouvelle) est présent dans l'édition originale donc je ne critiquerais pas cette reproduction étrange (bien que je la comprends un peu mal, surtout avec le sous-titre et autres textes parce que l'anthologie pourrait être bien porté un nom un peu évocateur d'une nouvelle, mais plutôt indiquer quelque chose d'autre dans sa portée).
Cet ouvrage ne fait pas exception à la règle, il y a un super texte de Shawl à la fin qui réfléchit les liens entre science-fiction, technologie et religion par le prisme de sa propre religion (Ifá) et des courtes questions par la suite de Terry Bisson qui dialogue avec des nombreux·se auteur·es de science-fiction, Racefail etc. et qui permet de découvrir un peu l'auteurice derrière l'ouvrage.
Note sur la traduction: Je me permet simplement de questionner le résumé à l'arrière qui indique que Nisi Shawl est une "figure de l'afro-féminisme" alors que j'ai l'impression que le mot recherché était plutôt "afro-futurisme" (pas qu'elle ne peut pas être les deux, mais les nouvelles et textes essayistiques penchent vraiment vers le second terme). Le titre et la différence avec la nouvelle soi-disant éponyme (Parle comme un homme est le titre de l'anthologie et Marche comme un homme est le titre de la nouvelle) est présent dans l'édition originale donc je ne critiquerais pas cette reproduction étrange (bien que je la comprends un peu mal, surtout avec le sous-titre et autres textes parce que l'anthologie pourrait être bien porté un nom un peu évocateur d'une nouvelle, mais plutôt indiquer quelque chose d'autre dans sa portée).
May 24, 2023
I enjoyed these stories, but I thought the best chapters in this collection were the essay and the interview. I was super interested in everything Nisi Shawl had to say about science fiction and science, Ifa and religion, especially when they spoke about Ifa's social technologies, including altars, music, and offerings. "Viewing Ifa more as a spiritual practice, a cultural and social milieu, than as a theoretical construct of the cosmos, it's possible to see certain of its elements as social tools, as parts of a social technology" (89). I was also drawn to the Afrofuturism conversation, and I wish that there had been more time dedicated to that. The next Shawl work I read will be Writing the Other.
July 17, 2021
Somehow, Nisi Shawl's writing always comes at the right time for me. I enjoyed the shorts and essays here and with "Something More" was reminded of how I wish I could write about music and musicians in the way they do. I was taken back to what struck me about Filter House and see that Shawl still has that flair for making the fantastic part of the every day.
October 6, 2020
I honestly didn’t quite understand what I was reading a lot of the time. Probably not the best introduction to their writing, maybe I should start with something else. Very imaginative, but I had trouble tracking the stories.
November 25, 2019
Some of the stories were decent, some were confusing and boring. I guess I'd probably read something else by them.
December 8, 2019
Some short stories, a lecture, and an interview.
February 28, 2020
I haven't read her novel yet but I like Shawl's short fiction a lot. The essay & interview are interesting too.
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March 6, 2020Fiction S537t 2020
April 2, 2021
I think I would normally enjoy this book (I've enjoyed other books by this author), but these were a little too dense for me...covid brain.
June 15, 2022
Loved these confusing and fascinating short stories, but was underwhelmed by the final interview with its complete lack of rhythm.
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August 12, 2022I wrote a quick review here:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 18, 2024Tried to read it, couldn't get into it and gave up.
August 29, 2024
A good introduction to an interesting author. Reading Shawl feels like crawling into a world thats recognizable but slightly divergent.
December 24, 2024
These stories were maybe too weird for me.
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