Name: Author is DROPPED by agent after defending writer of Scarlet Letter
Brand: dailymail.co.uk
SKU: dailymail-co-uk-170
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Author is DROPPED by agent after defending writer of Scarlet Letter

preview

&nbsp;Saturday, Jan 2nd 2021| 1.4k A young adult author has been 'canceled' after she defended the writers of The Scarlett Letter and other classic novels on .The incident occurred when antiracist and anti-bias educator Lorena Germán wrote a tweet on November 30 advocating for more diversity among books that are taught in schools.In response, Jessica Cluess, who wrote the Kingdom of Fire series, called Germán an 'idiot' and said authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote works criticizing the very societies in which their novels took place.This led to Cluess's agent dropping her after what he described as 'condescending and personal attacks' by his former client. Germán is perhaps best known for being one of the founders of the&nbsp;#DisruptTexts hashtag and .The movement is meant to center more voices of color in literature and apply a critical lens to many texts written by white authors.'Did y'all know that many of the "classics" were written before the 50s?' German wrote on Twitter on November 30.'Think of US society before then &amp; the values that shaped this nation afterwards. THAT is what is in those books. That is why we gotta switch it up. It ain't just about "being old."'The tweet received nearly 900 likes and more than 140 retweets.However, it was not well received by Cluess, who - in a series of now-deleted tweets - defended many classic authors.&nbsp;She referenced Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote The Scarlet Letter about Hester Prynne, a woman in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony who conceives a daughter after having an affair and is made to wear a red 'A' on her chest.&nbsp;Cluess said Hawthorne was not criticizing Hester for her 'sin' but the Puritan society for their judgement of her.&nbsp;&nbsp;'If you think Hawthorne was on the side of the judgmental Puritans in The Scarlet Letter then you are an absolute idiot and should not have the title of educator in your bio,' she wrote.'If you think Upton Sinclair was on the side of the meat packing industry then you are a fool and should sit down and feel bad about yourself.'This in reference to Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which portrayed the poor working conditions of immigrants in the US.&nbsp; Cluess continued: 'Ah yes, remember Their Eyes Were Watching God, and other literature of the extraordinary Harlem Renaissance? I guess not. D**k.'&nbsp;This anti-intellectual, anti-curiosity bulls**t is poison and I will stand here and scream that it is sheer godd**n evil until my hair falls out. I do not care.'It was not long before Germán saw the tweets and responded to them.'What's interesting to me is how I present a position on an academic point, and yet this 55%er decides to attack me personally over and over again. Sounds like I struck a confederate nerve,' she wrote.Many people on Twitter soon began calling Cluess a racist and asking that her publisher, Random House Kids, drop her.&nbsp;&nbsp;The backlash led Cluess to delete her tweets just one day later and issue an apology. 'I take full responsibility for my unproved anger against Lorena&nbsp;Germán and the impact of my words on her and all who read them,' it read in part.'I want to acknowledge the pain I caused, and to apologize sincerely for it. My words were misguided, wrong, and deeply hurtful.'&nbsp;Just two days later, on December 3, her agent, Brooks Sherman, distanced himself from Cluess and dropped her as a client.&nbsp;&nbsp;'I hold myself to certain personal and professional standards for the values I support,' he wrote on Twitter.'I no longer represent Jessica Cluess. Her tweets against Loren Germán earlier this week were racist and unacceptable.'&nbsp;Share what you thinkThe comments below have not been moderated.The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.Post comment to your Facebook TimelineBy posting your comment you agree to our .Submit CommentClearDo you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.&nbsp;NoYesDo you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usualWe will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our .Published by Associated Newspapers LtdPart of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday &amp; Metro Media Group&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;Saturday, Jan 2nd 2021| 1.4k A young adult author has been 'canceled' after she defended the writers of The Scarlett Letter and other classic novels on .The incident occurred when antiracist and anti-bias educator Lorena Germán wrote a tweet on November 30 advocating for more diversity among books that are taught in schools.In response, Jessica Cluess, who wrote the Kingdom of Fire series, called Germán an 'idiot' and said authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote works criticizing the very societies in which their novels took place.This led to Cluess's agent dropping her after what...

public

Mary Kekatos

For the latest updates on breaking news visit our website: http://dailymail.co.uk 🇬🇧

Author is DROPPED by agent after defending writer of Scarlet Letter

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS