Our perception of ourselves heavily effects what we create. At the root of everything we do and create is the lense through which we view ourselves. I believe an author’s perception of their identity effects their work because it determines what they are passionate about. When an author decides/finds their identity, they have an internal location through which every word they write comes from.
If one is deeply conflicted and confused about their identity, this is somewhat of a unstable foundation to create from but their work can reflect their internal journey and wounds that have caused their deep dissonance. Toomer going back and forth his whole life about his racial identity causes me to believe that the different scenarios he faced truly did cause him to have so many different thoughts about it that would never be resolved. When he wrote “Cane”, I imagine him to be writing from a place of deep fustration of people trying to put him in a box of his race.
The way we read is also absolutely influenced by our perception of our identity. Sometimes I believe that when it comes to taking in information and learning about the world, it’d be best to of course always feel secure in your identity, but to remain so open to the outside world that it is as if we have not found our identity yet. I believe those who are most secure in their identity are able to learn about anything and those who are unreasonably defensive over their views are actually the most insecure in their identity. I find it very easy as a reader to miss out on information and content that could be so valuable because I’m too stuck in my own ways and just assume that content does not pertain to me. When I let go of walls I’ve built up and the protection of my identity, I discover so much beauty in content that is unfamiliar to me.
Kara's Blog 