When considering the topic of diverse literature, the question of who can be considered to be an author of diverse literature seems to become a very prominent question.
[please take note that this is written before reading this weeks' assigned reading]
it can be said that anyone can write diverse literature, because without literature of the 'mainstream' culture, no other literature could really be considered diverse.
however, i question the appropriateness of people writing about experiences that they have not truely been able to experience. i say this with the thought of how i would feel if someone would try to write a narrative about what it is like to suffer from fibromyalgia. it is something that i could not truly describe accurately to anyone, therefore no one could ever really portray this experience nearly as accurately as someone like me could second hand.
i think that it would be the same for many other experiences that are not mainstream or quite as common as others.
therefore, i don't know if it is appropriate if people who don't experience something can write about the possibilities of that experience.
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I agree that an "outsider" author is going to always be (at least) one step removed from the experience he or she is describing.
Your personal example is interesting because we'll see that, when we get to discussing representations of people with disabilities, the authors are almost never "insiders", although they often have experience as a sibling or caregiver.
I'm curious to hear what people think of this.
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