#alex wheatle

[bookbuffoon]

“nobody free till everybody free”

Alex Wheatle

Cane Warriors

[sloshed-cinema]

Small Axe: Alex Wheatle (2020)

Upbringing is a complicated thing. The biopic character study Alex Wheatle explores the challenges of growing up Black in Great Britain without a family. Going through childhood and adolescence in the foster care system, Alex is subject to racism on top of all of the other abuses heaped on orphans by an indifferent and maladjusted system. But when he moves to London, he’s too White to fit into the Afro-Caribbean community that he’s trying to claim as his own. Especially as laid out in its opening act, society has built for someone like Alex a pipeline of pure misery, set up to fail at every turn and punished both legally and socially for things far out of his control. The pair of actors portraying Wheatle are perfect avatars of pure empathy: his is a silent or almost non-verbal presence through much of the early scenes, merely a victim of circumstances. Oftentimes the camera simply lingers on his traumatized face, drinking in the effects of what has happened to him, his complete isolation. Though it does even out and find its footing, the opening stretch seems to prepare the viewer for an exercise in naked misery as the character suffers from all sides. Indeed, all sides do strip him to the core: Alex is introduced undressed during his prison booking for a crime we don’t yet understand, and his potential music producer orders him to take off his clothes to prove he isn’t wearing a wire. Alex is adrift, loathed for the color of his skin by some and the nature of his learned mannerisms—coping mechanisms to fit in while in care—by others.

An oasis comes for Alex in the form of music. Reggae music is a release for him, a way to engage with his culture without judgment or expectations. It’s also, crucially, a way for him to begin to find his own voice. And that he does through his Crucial Rocker sound system, finally able to share something with others. Similarly, sound is crucial to his expression. How he chooses to express himself through his accent and dialect reflects how he chooses to engage with people. Initially slow to adopt mannerisms and terms, eventually he chooses to embrace Afro-Caribbean-influenced lingo. Sure, some can nitpick—his producer insists that he sounds too British—but who can blame him for being the product of his upbringing? Alex sure as hell didn’t have a say in the matter.

THE RULES

SIP

Voiceover narration begins.

Someone says 'money'.

BIG DRINK

A jump in the continuity of film occurs.

Raggae music is mentioned.

[semper-legens]

195. Cane Warriors, by Alex Wheatle

Owned: No, library Page count: Moa was born into slavery, knows no other life. But that doesn't stop him wanting more. Even though he's only fourteen years old, he is ready to fight for his freedom, and the freedom of all Akane people in Jamaica. He has everything to gain, and everything to fight for. Nobody free 'til everybody free. The blood remembers. My summary: 180 My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

This is a relatively short one that's been staring at me from the shelves for a while - I had it on display in October for Black History Month, and I read the summary then and thought it was interesting, so I wanted to check it out for myself. This is a short telling of Tacky's Rebellion in Jamaica in the 1760s - a slave revolt where the enslaved people rose up against their enslavers, but were brutally suppressed. Many of the fighters who survived the battles took their lives in the caves beneath Jamaica rather than be punished by their enslavers or return to slavery. It is, as is much of the history of slavery, a horrible little corner of history, but an important one to learn about.

The thing I found the most interesting about this book was how well it balanced the need to educate people about the historical incident and the need to tell a good story. Moa is an engaging viewpoint character, with a big heart and a lot of strength, who struggles with the morality of his actions even while seeing the necessity of them. And as a whole, the characters involved in Tacky's Rebellion as presented here are are very well humanised. The men aren't just fighters, they're people too. They have dreams of living free and growing old unbothered by white enslavers. They love their families and their friends. They honour their gods, primarily Asase Ya and Nyame, and mourn those who fall in the fight. And, importantly to the narrative, they look after Moa. Moa is the youngest of the rebels, and Tacky and the others make it increasingly clear that they do not expect him to fight, they do not expect him to lay down his life for the cause, because he is young and should get a future. They leave him out of the pact they make to die rather than return to slavery, and Tacky explicitly tells him to go back to his parents rather than lose his life. Moa stays as long as he can, a testament to his own courage and devotion, but eventually his life is saved after the chaos of the final battle and he returns to the plantation he is from, then takes off to the mountains and to an uncertain future.

This is a good device - not only in emphasising the humanity of the rebels, but also in giving a bittersweet rather than complete downer ending. Moa survives, but he's lost the fight and so many of his friends, and there's no guarantee of his safety. His parents and sister are still enslaved. It's showing history rather than whitewashing it; giving as good an ending as can be given. It's so clear that the author has a great amount of respect for the rebels and their cause - not surprising, given that he himself is Jamaican, and was told the stories of these events by his family. The author's personal connections with the story also add to its authenticity. All of the black characters talk in Jamaican dialect, and the narration is also delivered in the same dialect. It makes the white characters' standard English seem that much more jarring by contrast, othering them - interesting given that dialect is often used to other the characters who speak with it in white English fiction.

Finally, the last thing I thought was interesting was something I've alluded to earlier - the morality. When the rebels take over the plantations, they kill the white 'masters' and overseers, along with their wives and children. Moa, and a few other of the rebels, aren't really okay with the whole 'killing children' thing. In fact, nobody's really okay with it - those who see the necessity of it are still uncomfortable with the action, but they argue that those children would grow up to become enslavers, and is one white child worth the brutalisation and enslavement of their children? It's messy, and its complicated. There aren't any right choices, but the narrative makes the reasons why the characters did what they did clear, and maintains their sympathy throughout. Again, not whitewashing history, just showing it as it happened. It's admirable, and it's a very good read.

Next - time for some horror, with another Junji Ito collection.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Brenton Brown

By Alex Wheatle.

Design by Holly Ovenden.

[finemaleactors]

Sheyi Cole

[itmbookawards]

5 Nonfiction Titles for Teens:

Akim Aliu with Greg Anderson Elysée and Illustrated by Karen de la Vega and Marcus Williams

Sufferah: The Memoir of a Brixton Reggae-Head by Alex Wheatle

Split Decision by Ice-T & Spike

Work With What You Got by Zion Clark and James S. Hirsch

The Summer of Hamn by Chuck D

[eightwholebreads]

what's the strangest thing you've done in connection with Alex Horne?

what's the strangest thing you'd like to do?

also: have you committed tax evasion?

3 separate bread davieses maybe? but I have been known to make bread. Oh and the wheatle alex horne was more deranged anyway Here he is getting fried in onions

Strange for me? Go to a football match (although it was the comedian's football match (although I would've gone to the chesham vs salisbury game last season if it wasn't for the train strikes))

What would I like to do? I've got what I think are good ideas for a few of the taskmaster book tasks (the bath one, the one where you start drawing by drawing the earth at like a 5cm scale, the butterfly portrait one... I think that's it?). I'm really having trouble thinking of things I've not already thought of. Or things that aren't a particular type of normal...

I have never paid any tax.... read that however you like

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kathryn Ormsbee, ace

Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, edited by g haron davis, trans and many other things

The Secret History, Donna Tart, mlm

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho, lesbian

Spell Bound F T Lukens, nb/m romance

In Deeper Waters, F T Lukens, mlm

So This is Ever After, F T Lukens, mlm

Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots, bi main character

Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree, wlw

She Drives Me Crazy, Kelly Quindlen, wlw

The Atlas Six, Olivie Blake, idk everyone's bi

These Violent Delights, Micah Nemerever, mlm

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, C M Waggoner, wlw

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe, wlw

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, Kristen O'Neal, bi main character

Between Perfect and Real, Ray Stoeve, trans main character

Kemosha of the Caribbean, Alex Wheatle, wlw

Tarnished are the Stars, Rosiee Thor, aro and wlw rep

Golden Boys, Phil Stamper, mlm

Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson, aroace

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid, lesbian part-main-character (one of four)

The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar, wlw

I'm Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya, trans author (autobiographical)

The Gilded Wolves trilogy, Roshani Chokshi, mlm and poly rep

That Inevitable Victorian Thing, E K Johnston, wlw and intersex rep

Girls of Paper and Fire, Natasha Ngan, wlw

Daja's Book, Tamora Pierce, wlw

If We Were Villains, M L Rio, mlm

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, wlw

Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy, sapphic but questioning main character

The Fascinators, Andrew Eliopulos, mlm

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, bi main character

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, wlw

Wilder Girls, Rory Power, wlw

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, Jaye Robin Brown, wlw

We Are Totally Normal, Naomi Kanakia, mlm and some unaddressed trans undertones

Like a Love Story, Abdi Nazemian, mlm

Pet, Akwaeke Emezi

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, Adan Jerreat-Poole, nb gay queer rep

Finding Home series, Hari Conner, mlm

The Sea in You, Jessi Sheron, wlw

Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, wlw

The Summer of Jordie Perez, Amy Spalding, wlw

I Was Born for This, Alice Oseman, trans, mlm, and unlabelled main characters

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman, demisexual and bi main characters

Ash, Malinda Lo, lesbians

Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield, trans and wlw main characters

Confessions of Frannie Langton, Sara Collins, wlw

A Taste of Gold and Iron, Alexandra Rowland, mlm

Even Though I Knew the End, C L Polk, wlw

Huntress, Malinda Lo, wlw

Hope that's better, sorry I missed the submissions form! I checked everything against your list so these are all new.

These are finally all queued! Thanks for your patience :)

[silvanio-rockers]

 Small Axe - Alex Wheatle (2021)

01. The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana

02. Rupie Edwards - Ire Feelings (Skanga)

03. Max Romeo & The Upsetters - War Ina Babylon

04. The Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom

05. Dennis Brown - Wolf & Leopards

06. Pretenders - Brass in Pocket

07. The Flames - Zion

08. Prince Far I - Throw Away Your Gun - 12 Mix

09. Burning Spear - Slavery Days

10. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Time Will Tell

11. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Trench Town Rock

12. Creation Rebel - Frontline Dub

13. Black Uhuru - Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

14. Augustus Pablo - Africa Dub

15. The Main Attractions - Once Upon a Time

16. The J Sisters - I Can't Give You Anything (But My Love) - 7 Mix

17. Sugar Minott - Oh Mr DC

18. Leroy Smart - Pride & Ambition

19. Eek-A-Mouse - Long Time Ago

20. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natural Mystic

[ostrich-riding-cowboy]

film log

third week of July

Mangrove Twisters Lovers Rock (McQueen) Red, White and Blue (McQueen) Alex Wheatle

[sloshed-cinema]

Small Axe: Education (2020)

The British school system is fucked, yo! Going back as far as Dickens and beyond, it’s clear that bullying runs rampant and schoolmasters are miniature fascists with a long leash. And that’s even before you add systemic racism to the mix. Education examines just how fundamental the failings of the British state are—by design—toward the West Indies community in the nation, and how it starts practically from birth. While this is a small story in some senses, it masterfully incorporates elements from prior installments of the anthology, indicating the dual structure of an institutional pipeline designed to grind individuals under the heel of the white majority, and those individuals who are bound and determined to resist that grinding. Initially, Kingsley seems doomed to suffer like Alex Wheatle, utterly isolated both at home and at school. His teachers disproportionately target him, and his overworked mother resents him for not succeeding within the system in the same way his older sister has. But then his mum actually listens. The outreach work of determined activists seeking to end the British norm of simply shuttering away “undesirable” children into a purgatory of non-education gets through to her, and she becomes a fiery and powerful champion for change. Powerlessness to empowerment is an important arc in these films, and here we see the contrast of Kingsley struggling to read a passage from Of Mice and Men with him recounting, if occasionally needing support, the tale of an ancient African queen. Ever aware of textural detail, McQueen depicts the essential boredom of the ill-served children at length. When left to their own devices, they scrawl nonsense on the blackboards and pummel one another. When subjected to their negligent “teaching,” life is a never-ending drudgery: I too long not to listen to one man’s slurred guitar version of karaoke. But the film opens and closes on cosmic possibility, Kingsley awestruck by a planetarium display, and propelled back to those possibilities as he reclaims ownership over his own education.

THE RULES

SIP

Someone names an occupation.

A teacher is a paragon of pedagogical perfection.

Someone says 'Kingsley'.

BIG DRINK

A prayer begins.

Children making animal noises in a scene.

[semper-legens]

87. Kemosha of the Caribbean, by Alex Wheatle

Owned: Yes Page count: 306 My summary: Kemosha Tate was born into slavery. After her mother died, she was left the only guardian of her younger brother, trying to save him from the harsh plantation life they both must lead. But when she’s sold away, a rare opportunity to escape arises. When she gains her freedom, she knows what she must do. But there are so few opportunities for a black woman in the Caribbean - so she must rely on her skills and wits to survive. My rating: 3.5/5 My commentary:

If you know me at all, it's really obvious why I picked up this book. A story about Caribbean piracy? Hell yeah! I had high hopes going in, hopes which were in retrospect possibly somewhat misplaced. Or at least, my expectations were too high and not really based on anything other than my own desire for the book to be great. It's not bad or anything, I ultimately enjoyed it, but there were a lot of problems in the writing that led to it being a somewhat disappointing experience, which is annoying because it genuinely had a lot of promise.

My biggest problem with this book is that the prose often seemed kind of bland and matter-of-fact. Plot beats happened because it was the right time for them to happen; actions didn't always feel earned. I think the book might have been written for younger readers than I was expecting? This reads a lot more middle-grade than young adult. Everything is very black and white - sure, I wasn't really expecting sympathetic enslavers or anything, but it does fall into that trap of good people liking Kemosha, and bad people disliking her, with no in-between. One particular bugbear of mine was when songs and chants were mentioned - none of them bore any resemblance to any sea-songs or shanties that I knew, they didn't have any real rhythm and most didn't even rhyme, which was a weird choice. The prose was just far too simplistic and bland for me to really engage.

Which is a shame, because there was some really neat stuff in this book! The author explains in an afterword that he was in part inspired to write a young, black, female protagonist after seeing how black people in stories of Caribbean piracy get shafted or ignored. Seriously, I saw a book claim once that there were no black Caribbean pirates, as the white Caribbean pirates just saw them as property to be bought and sold. Which is true for some pirates, but the reality is that pirate crews weren't exactly working to some rulebook. There were as many pirate crews who set enslaved people on the ships they raided free as crews who treated them as property. Kemosha herself is a compelling protagonist, single-minded and determined to gain not just her freedom, but the freedoms of all of her loved ones. Some of the supporting characters were great as well, like Ravenhide, Kemosha's mentor, and Isabella, her lady love.

One last thing I thought was a nice touch is the use of dialect. While the book's first-person narration is in Standard English, Kemosha's direct speech and thoughts (as well as the speech of other characters) is written in Jamaican Patois, a creole language that evolved among enslaved people on Jamaica. It's not strict Patois (as far as my limited understanding goes) but a more anglicised version using English spelling so that it is more intelligible to an English speaking audience. Nevertheless, it still retains the grammar and sound of Patois, in particular Kemosha using 'me' as a first-person pronoun. It's really cool! I love the linguistic diversity on show here, and the characterisation that is borne from the dialects spoken by each character. Ravenhide, himself a black man, speaks Standard English - others from Kemosha's plantation speak a mix of Spanish and Patois. It did annoy me that the Spanish was rendered in Spanish and then translated by Kemosha's narration every time; either do something like '"Example!" she said in Spanish' or leave bits untranslated, we can pick up the context. But anyway, this was overall a fairly decent book, I just wish it could have been so much better.

Next, some tales from a crematorium.

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Brixton Rock

By Alex Wheatle.

Design by Holly Ovenden.