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Coming Soon: Bowdoin Digital Collections

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The Bowdoin College Library is pleased to announce the creation of a new platform, Bowdoin Digital Collections. This is the first step in bringing all of the Library’s Digital Collections & Projects into one system for access and preservation, including the contents of Bowdoin Digital Commons. Bowdoin Digital Collections will provide improved searching of content, streamlined access to Library digital collections and projects, and a more responsive interface for use on mobile devices. Bowdoin Digital Collections will formally go live in January, and at that point submissions of new material will be welcome. Bowdoin Digital Commons will remain available throughout the migration process until the new system is live. Please contact Digital Archivist Meagan Doyle (mdoyle@bowdoin.edu) with any questions.

BIPOC Book Dosplay: The Black Artist

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The Black Artist PosterThe 2024-25 BIPOC Book Display, “The Black Artist,” curated by Neiman Mocombe ’26, opened with a kickoff event on Friday, September 27 at Hawthorne-Longfellow.

Curator’s Statement

Neiman Mocombe ’26
The Black Artist

This exhibition aims to exemplify, appreciate, and celebrate the individual accomplishments of black artists from the precolonial period to the present. Similar to how Edison, Beethoven, and Da Vinci are archetypes ingrained in our societal consciousness for what it means to be an inventor, artist, or icon – black people around the world have created invaluable objects, genres, and methods, which we commonly overlook, intentionally or passively.

The collection of books I have curated exemplifies the extraordinary tenacity, intellect, and resilience of black artists. The collection also tackles (broadly) what it means to be an artist. Since art as we know it is usually constricted into painting, sculpture, and drawing, I wanted to expand the possibilities of who could be considered an artist. For this reason, I have included works that showcase athletes, orators, academics, scientists, business tycoons, etc.

The achievements of these (black) individuals become even more remarkable when we consider that these artists accomplished them while enduring unimaginable levels of bigotry, violence, and animosity solely due to the color of their skin.

Through this exhibition, I hope you can learn that the world around you, the words you hear, and the things you see resulted from black creativity and, by extension, the black artist.

Book List

There is an online display of the collection in Compass.

BIPOC Book Display: Asian America and Asian Diasporas

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Several books by and about Asian and Asian American identities and experiences.The 2023-24 BIPOC Book Display, “Asian America and Asian Diasporas,” curated by Hannah Kim, ’24, opened with a kickoff event on Friday, October 13 at Hawthorne-Longfellow. You can watch a recording on Facebook of Hannah’s conversation with Carmen Greenlee, our Humanities and Media Librarian.

The display will be in place through the 2023-24 academic year.

This display also coincides with this year’s Asian American Reckonings.

Curator’s Statement by Hannah Kim

This display aims to share the vibrancy of newly released literatures by Asian American and Asian diasporic authors. It features a multi-genre range of creative expressions and focuses on marginalized groups within Asian American and Asian diasporic communities, including working class, queer, multiracial/multicultural, and adoptee narratives. Through their fiction, nonfiction, poetry, visual art, and hybrid/interdisciplinary works, the authors in this collection demonstrate unique modes of inquiry, investigation, and self-representation. Together, these titles touch upon a wide array of topics, such as personal and collective grief, climate and the natural world, mental health and racial justice, arts and entertainment, language and translation, immigration and labor, coming-of-age and intergenerational dialogue, social media and digital technology, and COVID-19 and communal repair.

Book list

There is an online display of the collection in Compass.

BIPOC Book Display: Latinidad, Identity, and Queer Love

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The Library’s 2022-23 BIPOC Collection, curated by Karla Lainez, ‘24, opened with a discussion with Karla on November 17. The video is on Facebook.

The display remained in place through the 2022-23 academic year.

Karla’s curator’s statement:

Hi! I am so happy you are here, browsing through the 2022 Fall BIPOC Collection focused on Latinidad, identity, and queer love at the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library.

My name is Karla Lainez, and I am a junior at Bowdoin College. When beginning to think about this collection and what to include within it, I knew I wanted it to have a variety of stories, experiences, and voices that celebrate and show our strength and humanity: the love, the struggles, the family, the humor, the joy, the care, and the empowerment. Often, the narrative is one of lack of power and autonomy, but we are strong, le echamos ganas, continually show up, and are here. Our experiences matter, and finding a character or person to relate to is so crucial. I also wanted to have books in the collection I wished I had growing up, as seeing parts of my identity, and that of my friends represented and honored in school didn’t occur. My identities as a queer Mexcian and Salvadoran American daughter of immigrants have had an impact on how connected I’ve been able to feel. Books on queer love and joy were never on the shelves, much less by Latine/a/o authors, which is why I can’t wait to read these. The younger version of me would have loved seeing these books in the library or recommended by a professor. I probably would have read more. So, I am so glad they can be added here, and I hope you can enjoy them too.

I’ve tried to include an author from each part of Latin America, recognizing that while we have many shared experiences that unite us as a community, our cultures and countries are unique. Additionally, these works will increase the number of books Bowdoin has by Latine/a/o authors within the library, which must continue and expand even after the display of this collection ends. This collection contains a variety of formats, from essays, poems, children’s books, fiction, and anthologies, to even films. It includes stories that aren’t highlighted enough, and experiences that deserve to be shared and heard. Finding a space where you feel seen, welcomed, and understood at a predominantly white institution like Bowdoin is hard. So, I hope that within these works, you find a piece that resonates with you, even if just a line.

Thank you 🙂

The book list:

Title Author
La Señora Varsovia Abend van Dalen, Raquel
The Poet X Acevedo, Elizabeth
Inheritance: A Visual Poem Acevedo, Elizabeth
Performing the US Latina and Latino borderlands Aldama, Artuo .
Violeta: A novel Allende, Isabel
The Woman I kept to myself Alvarez, Julia
In the time of the butterflies Alvarez, Julia
mala mala Antonio Santini, Dan Sickles
Borderlands: the new mestiza = la frontera Anzaldúa, Gloria
This bridge called my back: writings by radical women of color Anzaldúa, Gloria and Moraga, Cherrie
Tía Fortuna’s New Home: A Jewish Cuban Journey Behar, Ruth
Fire from the Andes: Short Fiction by Women from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru Benner, Susan and Leonard, Kathy
We Are Owed Brown, Ariana
Tengo una tía que no es monjita Cardoza, Melissa
13 Colors of the Honduran Resitance Cardoza, Melissa
So Far From God Castillo, Ana
The House on Mango Street Cisneros, Sandra
Caramelo Cisneros, Sandra
Reclaim the stars: 17 tales across realms & space Córdova, Zoraida
Latina Lesbian Writers and Authors Costa, María Colores
Halsey Street Coster, Naima
Homecoming queers : desire and difference in Chicana Latina cultural production Danielson, Marivel
Mango Moon de Anda, Diane
Kiwi de Posadas, Carmen
Cantoras De Robertis, Carolina
Vindictas: Cuentistas Latinoamericanas Delgado, Susy
Here Comes the Sun Dennis-Benn, Nicole
Ordinary Girls: A memoir Díaz, Jaquira
Islandborn Diaz, Junot
Boogie, Boogie, Yall Esperanza, C. G.
“Sabrina & Corina” Fajardo-Anstine, Kali
Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer Figueroa, Jamie
Empanada: A Lesbiana Story en Probaditas Flores, Anel
Antonio’s card Gonzalaez, rigoberto
Calling the doves gonzales, grace cornell
All Around Us Gonzalez, Xelena
Olga Dies Dreaming Gonzalez, Xochitl
Catrachos Guzmán, Roy
The book of Unknown Americans Henriquez, Cristina
Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl Hernández Linares, Leticia
A Cup of Water Under My Bed Hernandez, Daisy
A Child Grows Up and Wonders Hernandez, Felicia O
American Dreamer Herrera, Adriana
Cafe con Lychee Lee, Emery
Fiebre Tropical Lopera, Julián Delgado
Cuentamelo Lopera, Julián Delgado
Peluda Lozada-Olivia, Melissa
Killing Marías: A Poem for Multiple Voices Luna, Claudia Catro
No Filter and Oher Lies Maldonado, Crystal
Our Shadows Have Claws Many
Wild Tounges Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora many
Ophelia After All Marie, Racquel
Alma and How She Got Her Name Martinez-Neal, Juana
Here the Whole Time Martins, Vitor
One of a kind like me Mayeno, Laurin
Lake Lore McLemore, Anna-Marie
Furia Mendez, Yamile
Mexican Gothic Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Alicia and the Hurricane Newman, Leslea
What’s Coming To Me Padilla, Francesca
500 years Pamela Yates
Funeral for Flaca Prado, Emily
The Five Wounds Quade, Kirstin Valdez
Beauty Woke Ramos, NoNieqa
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School Reyes, Sonora
A Girl’s Guide to Love & Magic Rigaud, Debbie
They Call Me Mix/Me Llaman Maestre Rivas, Lourdes
Juliet Takes a Breath Rivera, Gabby
America Vol. 1: The Life And Times Of America Chavez Rivera, Gabby
For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love Letter to Women of Color Rodríguez, Prisca Dorcas Mojica
Aristotle and Dante Discover the secrets of the Universe Sáenz, Benjamin Alire
Hermosa Salgado, Yesika
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Sanchez, Erika
With Lots of Love Sanchez, Jenny Toress
Una Mujer Fantastica Sebastián Lelio
Nameless Woman: An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color Selenite, Venus
Cemetery Boys Thomas, Aiden
Lotería Valenti, Karla
Lulu and Milagro’s Search for Clarity Velez, Angela
Fifteen Hunded Miles From The Sun Villa, Jonny Garza
Las Malas Villada, Camila Sosa
The Grief Keeper Villasante, Alexandra
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina Zoraida Córdova

BIPOC Book Display: Indigenous Peoples

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The BIPOC Book Display, curated by Shandiin Largo ’23, was on display on the first floor of H-L Library through the 2021-22 academic year.  The display highlighted materials held at the Bowdoin Library.

The recording of Shandiin Largo’s conversation with Carmen Greenlee is on Facebook.

Shandiin’s curator’s statement:

I would like to recognize that Bowdoin College is located on the traditional homelands of the Abenaki People. The Abenaki are members of the Wabanaki Confederacy, or “People of the Dawn,” which include five member nations: the Abenaki, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy, and the Penobscot. I pay my respects to the Wabanaki Confederacy who have been and continue to be on this land as the original inhabitants and caretakers of what is now known as the State of Maine. I also want to recognize their enduring stewardship over their homelands, their resistance to ongoing forms of settler colonialism, and their resilience in preserving ancestral knowledge and practices for future generations.

Yá’át’ééh, shí eí Shandiin Largo yiniishye. ’Ádóone’é nishłínígíí ‘éí ‘Áshįįhi nishłį́, Kinyaa’áanii bashishchiin, Tódich’ii’nii dashicheii, dóó Ts’ah yisk’idnii dashinalí. Ákót’éego diné asdzáán nishłį́. Tséta’ tó’alk’olí dee naasha adoo Bowdoin College dee’ ííníshta.’

My name is Shandiin Largo, I am Salt clan, born for Towering House clan. My maternal grandfather is Bitter Water clan, and my paternal grandfather is Sagebrush Hill clan. In this way, I am a Diné woman. I am from the Eastern Agency of the Navajo Reservation—Casamero Lake, New Mexico. I am currently in my third year at Bowdoin College.

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, and as part of an ongoing BIPOC series at the Bowdoin College Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, I present to you a snapshot of Indigenous literature, with special focus on contemporary Indigenous authors who have published works within the past year. This collection showcases the complicated history between Indigenous populations and settler colonial powers in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Hawai’i, Russia, and Australia, and includes works from the late 1960s to today. Additionally, I have included a variety of genres, from children’s books, graphic novels, and poetry books to memoirs, horror fiction novels, and academic history books that center Indigenous identities and experiences. The main purpose of this book display is to dispel racist and harmful stereotypes made about Indigenous peoples that still exist in the media and in our classrooms.

As a member of an institution and a society that have been the perpetrators of the dehumanization, exoticization, and erasure of Indigenous peoples, you should let this book display and its contents remind you that Indigenous peoples still exist and are thriving. I hope this book display also reminds you that the work to achieve racial equality and justice does not stop with representation but continues with you and me.

Axhee’ee, Thank you.

The book list

Author Title Call Number Subject
Akiwenzie-Damm, Katerie This Place: 150 Years Retold PN6732 .T48 2019 Graphic Novel
Alexie, Sherman Blasphemy PS3551.L35774 B53 2012 Fiction
Alexie, Sherman Ten Little Indians PS3551.L35774 T46 2003 Fiction
Álvarez, Noé Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land GV1065.23.N67 A48 2020 Biography
Anderson, Kim A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood E98.W8 A53 2000b Nonfiction
Barnaby, Jeff Blood Quantum DVD PN1997.2 .B5826 2020 Horror
Barnaby, Jeff Rhymes for Young Ghouls Online streaming  access Horror
Beardslee, Louis Words Like Thunder: New and Used Anishinaabe Prayers PS3602.E255 W67 2020 Poetry
Bearhead, Charlene Siha Tooskin Knows the Strength of His Hair PS8603.E3527 S63 Children’s Fiction
Belcourt, Billy-Ray NDN Coping Mechanisms PR9199.4.B448 N39 2019 Poetry
Bellecourt, Clyde H. The Thunder Before the Storm: the Autobiography of Clyde Bellecourt E99.C6 B425 2016 Autobiography
Belin, Esther G. The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature PS508.I5 D56 2021 Anthology
Benaway, Gwen Day/ Break PR9199.4.B45945 D39 2020 Poetry
Boivin, Lisa I Will See You Again E99.T56 B63 2020 Young Adult Fiction
Charles, Mark Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery E93 .C428 2019 History
Cunningham, Francine On/Me PR9199.4.C8645 O6 2019 Poetry
Curtice, Kaitlin B. Native Identity: Belonging & Rediscovering God E99.P8 C87 2020 Autobiography
Deloria, Philip Joseph Playing Indian E98.P99 D45 1998 Nonfiction
Deloria, Vine Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties: An Indian Declaration of Independence E93 .D35 Political Nonfiction
Deloria, Vine Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto E93 .D36 1988 Political Nonfiction
Diaz, Natalie Postcolonial Love Poem PS3604.I186 A6 2020 Poetry
Diaz, Natalie When My Brother Was An Aztec PS3604.I186 W47 2012 Poetry
Dillon, Grace Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction PN6120.95.S33 W35 2012 Anthology
Dimaline, Cherie Empire of Wild PR9199.4.D56 E47 2021 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Dimaline, Cherie The Marrow Thieves PR9199.4.D56 M37 2017 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States E76.8 .D86 2014 History
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne Not “A Nation of Immigrants”: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion E175 .D86 2021 History
Earling, Debra Magpie Perma Red PS3605.A765 P47 2003 Historical Fiction
Elliott, Alicia A Mind Spread Out on the Ground E78.C2 E487 2020 Autobiography
Emezi, Akwaeke Pet PZ7.1.E474 Pet 2019 Horror
Erdrich, Heid E. Little Big Bully PS3555.R418 L58 2020 Poetry
Erdrich, Louise Future Home of the Living God PS3555.R42 F88 2017 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Erdrich, Louise Love Medicine PS3555.R42 L6 1993 Fiction
Erdrich, Louise The Night Watchman PS3555.R42 N54 2020 Historical Fiction
Fajardo-Anstine, Kali Sabrina & Corina PS3606.A396 S23 2019 Fiction
Febos, Melissa Abandon Me PS3606.E26 Z44 2018 Autobiography
Ford, Kelli Jo Crooked Hallelujah PS3606.O7393 C76 2021 Historical Fiction
Gansworth, Eric Apple: (Skin to the Core) PS3557.A5196 A66 2020 Memoir
George, Bridget It’s a Mitig! PZ8.3.G292 It 2020 Children’s Fiction
Gill, Marie-Andrée Spawn PQ3919.3.G53 A2 2020 Poetry
GoldenEagle, Carol Rose Bone Black PR9199.4.G634 B66 2019 Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Good, Michelle Five Little Indians PR9199.4.G6645 F58 2020 Fiction
Grace, Patricia Dogside Story PR9619.3.W67 C37 2009 Fiction
Grover, Linda LeGarde The Road Back to Sweetgrass PS3607.R6777 R63 2014 Fiction
Harjo, Joy Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings PS3558.A62423 C6 2015 Poetry
Harjo, Joy How We Became Human PS3558.A62423 H69 2004 Poetry
Harjo, Joy When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry PS591.I55 W47 2020 Anthology
Hausman, Blake M. Riding the Trail of Tears PS3608.A8765 R53 2011 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Hilton, Carol Anne Indigenomics: Taking a Seat At the Economic Table E98.B87 H55 2021 Nonfiction
Hobson, Brandon Where the Dead Sit Talking PS3608.O248 W48 2018 Young Adult Fiction
Howe, LeAnne Choctalking On Other Realities PS3608.O95 C46 2013 Biography
Howe, LeAnne Savage Conversations PS3608.O95 S28 2019 Historical Fiction
Howe, LeAnne Shell Shaker PS3608.O95 S48 2001 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Hulme, Keri The Bone People PR9639.3.H75 B6 1986 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Ittusardjuat, Serapio How I Survived: Four Nights On the Ice G606 .I8813 2020 Graphic Novel
Johnson, Harold Peace and Good Order: The Case of Indigenous Justice in Canada KE7709 .J64 2019 Biography
Jones, Stephen Graham Ledfeather PS3560.O5395 L43 2008 Historical Fiction
Jones, Stephen Graham The Only Good Indians PS3560.O5395 O55 2020 Horror
Jonnie, Brianna If I Go Missing PN6733.J66 I35 2019 Graphic Novel
Kahakauwila, Kristiana This is Paradise PS3611.A3455 T48 2013 Fiction
Kimmerer, Robin Wall Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants E98.P5 K56 2013 Autobiography
King, Thomas 77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin PR9199.3.K4422 A16 2019 Poetry
King, Thomas The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America E77 .K566 History
Knott, Helen In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience E78.B9 K56 2020 Memoir
Kwaymullina, Ambelin The Things She’s Seen PR9619.4.K929 T454 2021 Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Lavell-Harvard, Memee Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada HV6250.4.W65 F674 2016 Nonfiction
Lindstrom, Carole We Are Water Protectors PZ7.L6613 We 2020 Children’s Fiction
Little Badger, Darcie Elatsoe PZ7.1.L57812 El 2020 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Long Soldier, Layli Whereas PS3612.O5248 A6 2017 Poetry
Lundy, Randy Field Notes for the Self PR9199.3.L864 F54 2020 Poetry
Mailhot, Terese Marie Heart Berries RC552.P67 M3555 2018 Autobiography
Mankiller, Wilma Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women Online Book Access Biography
Maracle, Lee Hope Matters PR9199.3.M3497 H67 2019 Poetry
McBride, Karen Crow Winter PR9199.4.M3945 C76 2019 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
McCue, Duncan The Shoe Boy: A Trapline Memoir E99.C88 M34 2020 Memoir
McLeod, Darrel J. Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age E99.C88 M34 2019 Autobiography
Momaday, N. Scott Earth Keeper PS3563.O47 E278 2020 Poetry
Momaday, N. Scott House Made of Dawn PS3563.O47 H6 2018 Historical Fiction
Naponse, Darlene Before the Usual Time: A Collection of Indigenous Stories and Poems PR9194.5.I5 B44 2020 Anthology
Noodin, Margaret What the Chickadee Knows PS3614.O63 W46 2020 Poetry
Orange, Tommy There, There PS3615.R32 T48 2018 Fiction
Ortiz, Simon J. Woven Stone PS3565.R77 W6 1992 Poetry
Pennock, Tyler Bones PR9199.4.P4635 B66 2020 Poetry
Pico, Tommy Feed PS3616.I288 F44 2019 Poetry
Rice, Waubgeshig Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel PR9199.4.R487 M66 2018 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Robertson, David Breakdown PN6733.R63 B74 2020 Graphic Novel
Robertson, David Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory PR9199.4.R582 Z46 2020 Autobiography
Robertson, David The Barren Grounds PR9199.4.R582 B37 2021 Children’s Fiction
Robinson, Eden Monkey Beach PR9199.3.R5334 M6 2000 Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Ruffo, Armand Garnet Treaty # PR9199.3.R77 T74 2019 Poetry
Rytkheu, Yuri A Dream in Polar Fog PG3476.R965 S613 2005 Fiction
Rytkheu, Yuri The Chukchi Bible PG3476.R965 P6713 2011 Fiction
Rytkheu, Yuri When the Whales Leave PG3476.R965 K613 2019 Fiction
Scott, Kim That Deadman Dance PR9619.3.S373 T43 2012 Historical Fiction
Seesequasis, Paul Blanket Toss Under Midnight Sun E78.C2 S384 2019 Biography
Silko, Leslie Marmon Ceremony PS3569.I44 C4 Fiction
Skeets, Jake Eyes Bottle Dark with a Mouthful of Flowers PS3619.K46 A6 2019 Poetry
Smith, Cynthia Leitich Hearts Unbroken PS3568.M57 H43 2018 Young Adult Fiction
Spillett-Sumner, Tasha Surviving the City PN6733.S65 S87 v.1 2018 Graphic Novel
Spillett-Sumner, Tasha Surviving the City Vol.2, From the Roots Up PN6733.S65 S87 v.2 2020 Graphic Novel
Staples, Dennis E. This Town Sleeps PS3619.T3675 T55 2020 Fiction
Tagaq, Tanya Split Tooth PR9199.4.T343 S655 2018 Fiction
Talaga, Tanya Seven Fallen Feathers E78.O5 T35 2017 Biography
Taylor, Drew Chasing Painted Horses PR9199.3.T35 C37 2019 Fiction
Thistle, Jesse From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and  Finding My Way E99.M47 T55 2019 Autobiography
Treuer, David The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present E77 .T797 2019 History
Twist, Arielle Disintegrate/ Dissociate PR9199.4.T94 D57 2019 Poetry
Van Camp, Richard Moccasin Square Gardens PS8593 .A5376 M63 2019 Fiction
Vermette, Katherena A Girl Called Echo PN6733.V47 P46 v.1 2017 Graphic Novel
Vizenor, Gerald Robert Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles PS3572.I9 D37 1990 Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Wagamese, Richard A Quality of Light PR9199.3.W316 Q35 1997 Fiction
Wagamese, Richard For Joshua: An Ojibwe Father Teaches His Son PR9199.3.W316 Z466 2020 Autobiography
Wagamese, Richard Indian Horse PR9199.3.W316 I63 2012 Fiction
Walbourne-Gough, Douglas Crow Gulch PR9199.4.W3243 C76 2019 Poetry
Washuta, Elissa My Body is a Book of Rules CT275.W316 A3 2014 Memoir
Washuta, Elissa White Magic: Essays BF1598.W37 W5 2021 Memoir
Weiden, David, Heska Wanbli Winter Counts PS3623.E4246 W56 2020 Sci-Fi/ Fantasy
Welch, James Winter in the Blood PS3573.E44 W5 2008 Historical Fiction
Whitehead, Joshua Full-Metal Indigiqueer: Poems PR9199.4.W4745 F8 2017 Poetry
Whitehead, Joshua Jonny Appleseed PR9199.4.W4745 J64 2018 Fiction
Whitehead, Joshua Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction PN6120.92.G39 L68 2020 Anthology
Wright, Alexis Carpentaria PR9619.3.W67 C37 2009 Fiction
Yahgulanaas, Michael Nicoll Carpe Fin: A Haida Manga folio PN6733.Y34 C37 2019 Graphic Novel

2021 BIPOC book display curated by Thando Kumalo

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Thando Kumalo and Carmen Greenlee in conversation April 22, 2021.

The spring 2021 BIPOC book display highlighted materials held at the Bowdoin Library and represented an opportunity to increase the inclusivity of Library collections from a student perspective. Thando curated this inaugural display, which focused on themes of motherhood and spoke to her childhood disappointment in not finding someone like herself among the literary characters she most admired.

Through conceiving of and curating the display, Thando hoped to “increase representation and show children of color everywhere that they can see themselves slaying dragons and saving the world in a way I never could have dreamed.” In conversation with Carmen Greenlee, Humanities and Media Librarian, Thando spoke about the theme of the display and her selection of books included in it and read selected passages. The recording is up on Facebook.

Curator’s Statement:

Growing up, the majority of the characters in the books I read did not match my pigmentation: they were white. I wanted to be like the Hermione Grangers of the world; however, by middle school, I realized that, because of the color of my skin, I would never be able to properly see myself in the characters I loved so much. Consequently, a hate for my black skin began to grow in my heart. I would cry myself to sleep and ask God why he had forsaken me with this skin. Now that I have grown in confidence and love for my melanin, I would like to save young black children across the country from the same destruction of self that I endured. This list is meant to increase representation and show black children everywhere that they can see themselves slaying dragons and saving the world in a way I never could have dreamed. Also, increased inclusivity on the shelves will help white and other non-black patrons gain access to black experiences that they might not be exposed to otherwise.

– Thando Khumalo

Thando created this list of books (Google doc), of which 70 titles went on to become part of the display