I am going to take a little break from food today to talk about something else very important to me – books! As many of you have probably already seen on Twitter and online, there is a new novel called, “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins that has caused quite the uproar. In summation, the author and publisher, Flatiron Books is receiving a lot of heat, and even threats to their safety due to the fact that it falsely portrays Mexicans as well as the culture of Mexico. This is in part due to the author not being Mexican as well as the publishing company’s publicity campaign that emphasized this books Latinx roots, when it was all fabricated.

USA Today wrote a very powerful article where they stated, “Writing about a story that isn’t yours requires mindful considereation.” (USA Today) This got me thinking a lot about cultural appropriation in food as well. Cummins reminds me a lot of Rick Bayless in the sense that she is profiting off of a false version of a culture that she had the resources of capitalizing upon. Many authors have successfully told stories from cultures outside of their own, however there is a way to do it with respect that seems not to have been met here. Flatiron had to cancel the book tour in fear for the author’s safety. Nearly one hundred latinx authors reached out to Oprah’s Book Club asking her to remove it from her list.

I think that this reaction from the Latinx community goes to show how they must feel when people who have more privilege decide to make money off of their stories and their food. It will definitely be interesting to follow this book over the next few weeks. Oprah decided to keep it on the list because she thought that based on the uproar surrounding this book, it was clearly a conversation that needs to be had. I agree with this decision. Maybe a “scandal” as big as this book will finally begin a country-wide conversation about cultural appropriation that needs to be had.

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Works Cited

Reyes, Raul. “New Book ‘American Dirt’ Does a Poor Job of Displaying the Real Immigrant Experience.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 31 Jan. 2020, http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/01/31/book-american-dirt-poor-job-displaying-immigrant-experience-column/4588725002/.