Kate Clanchy - poet - is 'cancelled' by her publisher

But she doesn't need to use such derogatory, snobbish and judgemental descriptions of her pupils.

Some of these pupils will recognise themselves specifically or at least will know they were part of a group she engaged with.

It's as if she had been talking about them behind their backs and laughing and sneering at them. Are they going to wonder if that's what she always thought of them? Were they just being used for her own career advancement?

I have read this book, I specifically read it for all the gossip on Oxford secondary schools (juicy!), but I read all of it.

I was appalled by the fatphobia, some of which is quoted above. I was especially appalled by the combination of the fatphobia with descriptions so precise that any former student would know it was them being written about. (And it's all... "she used to be pretty/graceful, etc, but then she got fat and is unsightly/dumpy, etc." (And her parents are also fat and dumb.))

The Ashkenazi nose quote is even more horrible, something like "he denied any Jewish heritage, but I could tell he had it because of his Ashkenazi nose."

How can we talk about inequality and disadvantage and privilege if we aren't allowed to mention it? If a writer risks her career by even engaging with disadvantaged groups or daring to 'consider her privilege' or - shockhorror - try to address that by helping out (awful 'white saviour' that she is), then where does that leave us?

This is the problem for me. It's quite clear that she's changed a lot of these children's lives for the better by bringing out the best in them - spending time with them, encouraging them to tell their stories, allowing them to flourish. I doubt if those children would have had that in other schools. So if that is makes her a "white saviour", what would have been better? If she'd just ignored them? Not spent time with them helping them write poetry, entering their poems into competitions, giving them the space and opportunity to share their harrowing experiences? I really fail to see how that would have been a better outcome for anyone.

It was sort-of dealt with (new, revised edition, draw a line under it etc) but articles kept appearing citing Clancy that stoked the embers over and over. Her editor defended her in print in The Telegraph, there was a Prospect magazine article too. He then backtracked his defence; Picador withdrew their support for their remarks- they distanced themselves as a company from both author and editor. Here you go, a summary: www.thebookseller.com/news/picador-distances-itself-publisher-and-author-clanchy-piece-sparks-fresh-criticism-1294594

The working relationship is trashed. The best thing for everyone is a fresh start.

I’m sure KC is absolutely devastated; but that’s been the case for months already, since it started. I think you’re naive if you think she won’t get published again. Publishers will make money if they see an opportunity. I suspect that anthology will be out with another publisher quite sharpish. Her agent won’t have just let this stuff slide.

I understand very well about publishing deals!

I’d be interested to know how many people on this thread have actually read the book rather than the excerpts widely quoted.

The episode of Radio 4's series The Hackers called 'End User' is an interesting one in relation to the way this and similar issues have gone so toxic so quickly on social media.

Here's an excerpt, if anyone is interested:

www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/31/kate-clanchy-some-kids-i-taught-and-what-they-taught-me

But I didn't notice them when I read the book and, presumably, neither did the many people at her publisher notice them nor the people who gave the book glowing reviews and awarded her a prestigious prize. Obviously one explanation for that is that we are all privileged white people who are just not attuned to racism (this is possibly true). Another explanation is that they read differently in context. What I took from the book is that this is a woman who is devoted to her students and does everything she can to support them and nurture their talents. Very difficult to square this with the idea that this is someone who is casually racist.

I don't know what the answer is.

@cassandre Yes, me too.

I don't think it's a mutual decision really, my impression is that she's gutted.

It sounds to me less like a publisher-led decision of ‘cancellation’ and more of a ‘this relationship is untenable now on both sides and neither side wants to keep dealing with the other.’

In this scenario it’s right that the publisher doesn’t continue to make money off an author they no longer actively support.

Can someone explain the white saviour thing to me? She was a teacher, mostly working in schools with children from quite disadvantaged backgrounds, she facilitated opportunities for them through her poetry workshops and classes. I didn't get the impression that she did this to be some sort of hero but because she (a) genuinely enjoyed teaching them (most of the time) (b) thought writing poetry might be helpful for those that engaged (c) was partly paid to. When I read the book - before the furore - I was, shocked would be too strong but surprised that she wasn't mincing her words and I did have small concerns that some of the children would recognise themselves - especially the white kids from the school in Essex about which she was extremely disparaging - but I had no sense that this was some giant ego-rub for her. I went to a school at which inspiring teachers were in pretty short supply, someone taking this level of interest in us and our work would have been tremendously helpful and encouraging.

Before diving into beauty tips, it's helpful to know whether you do, in fact, have a set of almond eyes. Typically, with this eye shape, the iris (aka, the colored part of your eye) touches both the top and bottom waterlines—meaning, you can't see any white above or below

Or

If you see a visible crease when looking at your lids and the iris of your eyes touches white on both the top and bottom, you have almond-shaped eyes. You will also notice in almond-shaped eyes that they turn slightly upward in the outer corners

In which case I have "almond eyes".

I have never heard of 'almond eyes' being offensive. When I looked up the expression online, to see if there was something I hadn't understood, I got page after page of make-up tips either to show off almond eyes or to give yourself the appearance of almond eyes! The models were of all colours and ethnicities.

If almond eyes suggest a particular racial group to you, Eishat, what's wrong with that racial group? Why is it offensive to be associated with it? Many people associate white-blonde hair with Scandinavians. Does that offend anyone?

I don't agree with the poster who said If people of colour say something is racist, it is absolutely not the place of white people to tell them they’re wrong (what never? In no circumstances?) no more than I would agree that if a woman says something is sexist , then it must be, but those comments are really not acceptable in the context of a teacher talking about her pupils.

I have been meaning to read the book so I can see the passages in their full context.

I followed the social media furore relatively closely, and I think I learnt a lot about what not to do, if the event I have a book published.

But what I really learnt was that all the discussions of how to foster diversity in publishing are clearly so much flim-flam, and no-one actually comprehends othering or racial stereotyping, for all they talk about wishing to avoid it. That book was not a self-published blog post on Clanchy's website; it went through the editing and decision-making process of a publishing house, and educated people were paid to read that manuscript and spot issues like this. They didn't spot them at all.

The issue to me isn't whether she said objectionable things in her book. She said objectionable things. The question is whether ALL her books should be withdrawn, after she has apologised, and all the efforts she has made over many years to support refugee pupils discounted.

There is a big difference between someone like Lionel Shriver, who has openly spoken out against multiculturalism and immigration, and someone like Kate Clanchy, who has openly spoken out in favour of multiculturalism and immigration.

And I'd think that whoever had written it had done an excellent job of portraying an unpleasant, cynical and snobbish character.

I agree with this short piece in the New Statesman.
www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/01/cancelling-kate-clanchy-wont-root-out-real-racism

If we cannot disagree without shouting “bigot!” at each other, we will learn less about each other, be less able to understand each other – and crucially, make less progress in rooting out true discrimination through understanding. At the moment, there is one less inspired teacher and mentor with a platform to promote young voices of colour. Is that really what we want?

If you had given the various quotes and asked me to guess who had written them I'd have guessed someone like Martin Amis or Will Self or even Lionel Shriver but in the voice of an unlikeable character in a novel, not their own voice.