Why Diversity in Literature is so Important

Novels offer readers a unique experience to travel into the mind, life and reality of someone else. Literature provides people with new perspectives on the world; it exposes them to those with differing life experiences from their own.

However, many bookshops, libraries and curriculums in educational institutions don’t offer access to diverse literature. This limits the exposure that people in many regions and schools have to the truth of the multicultural and global world we live in. Furthermore, it creates a false, dangerous prism of thought that the stories of people from a certain race, nationality or gender (namely, middle and upper class white cis men) are superior and thus the only stories worth publishing and reading.

According to Pearson (a British education publishing service), in British schools three quarters of English teachers are concerned about the lack of diversity in the school curriculum. Furthermore, 98% of English teachers stated they believe that the literature school pupils are exposed to should include more minority authors.

Many concerns have been raised about the fact that most students go through their entire school experience without reading anything written by a person of a minority background. Many children do not get to read work from people who are from the same background as them. This reinforces the idea that their stories are not important. Representation is empowering, and if children see work published by people with names similar to theirs and see people who look like them on the front cover of books, it will inspire them to learn, dream, believe.

Furthermore, according to a 2020 report carried out in partnership between Goldsmiths University, Spread the Word and The Bookseller, big publishers are predominantly interested in catering to a white, middle-class audience, and writers of colour are considered to be a commercial risk. Dr Anamik Saha (Co-convenor of MA Race, Media & Social Justice at Goldsmiths) has stated that “Big publishers and booksellers need to radically reimagine their audience.”

It’s important to note that social media has been crucial in pushing the boundaries of stringent publishers and businesses that have been reluctant to diversify their market and representation, namely due to worries that People of Colour could pose a commercial risk. I remember coming across the poetry written by Rupi Kaur and Nayyirah Waheed on Instagram and thinking… wow. Because, before that, I’d only ever read poetry written by white people (I’d certainly read my fair share of Shakespeare while attending school in Britain).

These insta-famous female poets were pushing the boundaries of what crossed people’s minds when the word poetry came up. Like Rupi Kaur, I’m also South Asian, and I remember feeling so understood after reading her poetry that discussed themes such as immigration, womanhood, body image and racism.

Since Rupi continues to be one of the most admired, recognised poets on social media (5 million followers on Instagram & counting), the publishing industry had no choice but to acknowledge her talent. Her poetry books are currently stocked in most bookstores in London (I’ve personally checked!). This tells us that writers of colour are using their online platforms to push the boundaries of the publishing industry and create pathways of entry for themselves (self-published BookTok hits are another example!).

Change is certainly on the horizon and we now see more diversity in books than we’ve ever seen before. However, we still have a long way to go to ensure more minority voices are published, and that their work is accessible to schools and book retailers.

The truth is that media rules our world. The novels and films and artists in popular culture shape so much of our perception of the contemporary world and the people within it. The books we read should reflect the truth of the diverse world around us, and a select group of people should not have hegemony over the mainstream narratives. Seeing people who look like you in popular culture is crucial to developing a healthy self-image, and we all deserve to feel seen, heard and understood.