Devin Wright

There is more than one way to approach a liberation narrative. Many stories are crafted to appeal to the gaze of those outside of the struggle, as a window looking down upon those struggling and looking up, wishing to achieve the status of the reader. It's comfortable and even a tad elitist, this place the reader is allowed to sit, and it often sacrifices entire swaths of the population to create this comfort. For example, what "ghetto" and "urban" bring to mind, as such popularized tropes are synonymous with negativity and places to be escaped by the "good" characters, and only appreciated or celebrated by the "bad." Even readers from the ghetto separate themselves from such a degrading space while taking in these stories. Devin does not belong to that writing fraternity, placing little value in comforting those beyond the struggle, and instead valuing, mostly, pulling them into it. With, his characters refuse to apologize for their condition neither through behavior or goal setting, just as the author refuses to himself.