2016 has been a year of deep political divisions in this country. But it would be a mistake to say that divisions are something unique to this year, or the United States. They’re a phenomenon of which Milwaukee writer Shauna Singh Baldwin is keenly aware.
Baldwin is the author of several novels, including The Tiger Claw and The Selector of Souls. But she is also regularly called on as an essayist and lecturer, and her new book is a collection of some of her nonfiction writings and speeches. It’s called Reluctant Rebellions, and Baldwin says her aim in collecting these works under one cover would give a book one greater value, versus keeping them as separate pieces.
Much like her own life, integrating separate pieces of writing reflects her need to live "as hyphenated as possible," or as "a bridge to get from one way to the other."
"I was born in Montreal, I grew up in India, I live in the U.S., I'm Canadian as well. I have many identities, many different parts and facets," Baldwin explains. "Becoming hyphenated in many directions is also becoming as human as possible. The more groups you can be part of, the more you can incorporate others into your life, I feel that it’s helping you to understand how to be more human."
The book contains 15 speeches and essays written by Baldwin between 2001 and 2015. Each adds a new perspective from her personal journey as a writer and a South Asian woman with multiple identities and backgrounds that at times conflict with one another. Baldwin hopes that her experiences can change not only how others present themselves, but how we see other people as well.
"There are people who will change from their world view when they see the impact of what they are creating," she says. "And it is only from the effects of those changes that we can change ourselves."
Milwaukee writer Shauna Singh Baldwin will talk more about Reluctant Rebellions Monday evening at Boswell Book Company.
