Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Obama on my mind

Claudia over at The Bottom of Heaven hipped me to this blog :Literary Obama. I have been quite struck by the degree to which the Obamas have inspired the creation of artwork of all kinds. For my part, I've found myself thinking of Barack and Michelle as I work on my new novel, which features an African-American character who (like myself) was educated at a prep school. I know the similarities between my background and Michelle's are a big part of why I love her so much. But I've been wondering what other folks are thinking. Are you finding the Obamas popping up in your imaginative life? How? We'd love to know.

3 comments:

Claudia said...

Thanks for the (ring)Shout out! I appreciate it.

Truthfully, I am one of those folks who have romanticized Barack and Michelle's relationship to the point where they've become more "fictional" than real to me. My sister and I have added new words to our lexicon about men who "try to be like Barack" or if we are feeling discouraged, we say, "WWMD?" (What Would Michelle Do?)

On a more serious note, I suspect my fascination with the Obamas as "characters" has a lot to do with the fact that I did not know a lot of happily married black couples growing up. My parents have been divorced and re-married three times (each). The same for most of my friends. The only married folks I knew were my grandparents (and the Cosbys) so in that respect, I think we can expect a lot more creative representations of the Obamas - they are, in many ways, the new archetype for a whole, healthy black family.

Carleen Brice said...

I don't know that the Obamas are showing up in my work (tho I do refer to the election in my novel that comes out in July), but I have completely idealized them as heroes, and it's thrilling! It feels wonderful to have living, breathing heroes.

Dera Williams said...

Most definitely. I have blogged about the Obamas,I collect memorabaliba; a sister friend and I have agreed that we just cannot get enough. Additionally, I am a contributor to Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady.

http://www.amazon.com/Go-Tell-Michelle-American-Excelsior/dp/1438429185/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239003461&sr=1-1