Friday, February 29, 2008

Oz 2008: Sydney Bookshop

Peter and I roamed around the near our hotel, the Intercon. We found a bookshop and I asked Peter if the bookstore had an Asian literature section. He suggested that I ask them myself.

A young lady gave me a puzzled look when I asked her the question. She asked her supervisor for help.

I asked again, "Do you have an Asian literature section?"

She answered, "I am sorry we don't segregate."

My jaw dropped but she continued, "We arrange the authors' names alphabetically."

So I realized that I hold prejudices against writers of my race. All that time, I had been thinking of Asian literature, American literature and European literature. I was borrowing a very Eurocentric view of English literature. And the most ironic of all is a white Australian helped me discover it.

No comments: