Isn’t a black and white cookie –
There are colors that can’t be expressed
Through writing about the same issue again and again,
As if we’re all white males who want to rescue the damsel,
Slay the dragon, and still be home by dinner.
We need more diverse books because we all have different stories to share,
And it doesn’t matter if our stories are strange
Or if they don’t seem to make sense to everyone,
In fact that just might make them more valuable
To the kid in the corner who knows how you feel
And is just waiting for someone to write about those fears
So she can put her feelings to words and finally fit in.
We need more diverse books because life is too interesting-
Too crazy – too silly – too sad and happy and all over the place
To be described with one predefined template.
That would be like only using the grey crayon,
When there are 299 other colors to experiment with.
Look around – people aren’t made up of just flesh and bones,
They’re the clothes they wear, the places they go –
The things they’ve done and the people they know.
We need more diverse books because variety is the spice of life,
And Lord knows we could always use more flavor in our day to day.
A tale only exists so long as people tell it,
So we need to tell our stories so they aren’t forgotten,
Because good stories deserve to exist, to be loved,
And, most importantly, to be remembered for what they are:
Beautiful, inspiring and wholly unique.
We need more diverse books because we all have stories to tell,
And it’s about time we got around to writing them down,
So we aren’t the only ones benefitting,
And other people can learn from us as we learn from them.
An exchange of words is the best medicine for any ailment.
It’s about time we started healing the world,
One page at time,
With diverse books for diverse problems.
This post was for the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign which you can read about here. Feel free to post your own reasons/photos/etc. in the comments.