Four years ago, celebrated author Kate Clanchy was cancelled in a swift and horrendous fashion. <\/p>\n
Her book, Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me, published two years before, was set upon by authors and social-media users who decided it was racist, even eugenicist, in its description of ethnic-minority and disabled characters.<\/p>\n
Her publisher, Picador, immediately caved in. It issued a statement apologising for the hurt caused and committed to reworking the text. Not long after, Clanchy and Picador parted company.<\/p>\n
Now, it seems, Clanchy\u2019s former publishers have had a change of heart. Pan Macmillan has issued a striking apology<\/a> to her (Picador being one of its imprints). \u2018I\u2019m sorry for the hurt that was caused to Kate Clanchy\u2019, said CEO Joanna Prior, calling Clanchy\u2019s treatment part of \u2018a regrettable series of events in Pan Macmillan\u2019s past\u2019.<\/p>\n Regrettable doesn\u2019t really cover it. What was allowed to happen to Clanchy \u2013 an Orwell Prize-winning writer with almost three decades of teaching experience \u2013 was truly shameful.<\/p>\n Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me is a reflection on Clanchy\u2019s time as a teacher. It was initially greeted warmly by the public and critics alike. But in 2021, ill-meaning activists decided to revisit it in light of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) hysteria. They were apparently determined to find something they could claim was bigoted, no matter how spurious the allegation. And find something they did in Clanchy\u2019s \u2018controversial\u2019 descriptions of some of her pupils, with references to one\u2019s \u2018chocolate-coloured skin\u2019 and another\u2019s \u2018almond-shaped eyes\u2019.<\/p>\n In the febrile post-BLM climate, this was enough to prompt a social-media-driven cancellation campaign against Clanchy, principally across Twitter and Goodreads. The smears and attacks came thick and fast: \u2018Bigoted, classist, fatphobic\u2019; \u2018This book is so problematic\u2026 I don\u2019t even know where to begin\u2019; \u2018WHO THE HELL AUTHORISED THIS PUBLICATION?\u2019<\/p>\n Perhaps even more revolting than the gleeful public flaying of Clanchy was the response of the literary world. Instead of offering solidarity to a fellow writer, literary types turned on her. Author Monisha Rajesh claimed Clanchy\u2019s memoir was \u2018rooted in eugenics and phrenology\u2026 [and] riddled with racist and ableist tropes throughout\u2019. She later referred to the author as \u2018KKKClanchy\u2019.<\/p>\n Enjoying spiked?<\/p>\n Why not make an instant, one-off donation?<\/p>\n We are funded by you. Thank you!<\/p>\n \n \u00a35 Choose an amount<\/p>\n \n Donate now\n <\/p>\n \n Please wait… <\/p>\n
\n \u00a310
\n \u00a320
\n \u00a350\n <\/p>\n