I’m in LA, midway through the second residency (of four) of my low-residency Antioch MFA program. After this residency ends, I enter the second project period, when I must begin to write the required “Critical Paper.” No surprise that my subject will somehow center around literature and adoption. My ideas are still percolating, but I’m intrigued by the theme of “Adoption as metaphor versus Adoption as an experience that is literal.” (Speaking only for myself and my family.)
I’m also interested in this question: How has thinking around adoption evolved over time, and is that evolution reflected in its depiction in books, film, story, dialogue, online content?
Here are a few new books I plan to read:
Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran (a boy born in California to an undocumented immigrant from Mexico is adopted by an Indian-American couple).
Everybody’s Son by Thrity Umigar (a 10-year-old boy in the American foster care system is adopted by a privileged couple whose son died).
What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross (a woman snatches a baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her “own” for 20 years before the grown daughter discovers the truth of her origins)
Will let you know how they are when I finish. ~
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