Art!
Author: Lauren Redniss
Publication: 2020
Genre: Nonfiction, History, Graphic Media
This was super well done, and I think an important read for me as an Arizona transplant. Oak Flat is an area sacred to the Apache tribes that were displaced to a reservation east of Phoenix. The area is rich in copper and has periodically been mined, which both and stimulates the local economy temporarily and destroys the landscape basically forever. A huge mining conglomerate is working to obtain the rights to mine Oak Flat despite substantial opposition from the local community. Redness follows two families in the town of Superior, Arizona, an Apache-Navajo family advocating against the mine and an Anglo family who are less opposed. (A few other viewpoints briefly feature as well.)
I was 0% aware of the history of mining in Arizona, or even its prevalence, until I accidentally drove through some of the areas mentioned in the text. (I was doing a no-destination long drive as a way of getting out of the house on my birthday in summer 2020.) So this was really eye-opening.
I didn’t care for the mixed media format at first, but it grew on me. I would have loved to see more photographs of the people and places featured alongside the artwork.
Pretty typical page example
I also would have appreciated family trees for the two families that are central to the story. The reader is expected to keep track of a lot of people who go in and out and how they’re related, which is sometimes a lot.
Lastly, I got the chance to attend a webinar given by the author about the book shortly after I finished it. That was super fun, and something I would love to do with more authors of nonfiction work especially. She had some great thoughts about her role as a journalist versus an activist on this project.