What is your textual lineage?*textual lineage?*Identifying books that help us make meaning of our world

Textual + Lineage

having to do with books or writing

those people/things that came before us and help define who

we are

TEXTUAL LINEAGE is........those books that have a significant impact on us because they:

•connect to our lives

•help us understand ourselves and others; and/or

•create a roadmap for where we want to go.

*Textual lineage is a term coined by Dr. Alfred Tatum, Dean of University of Illinois Chicago’s School of Education, to describe those books that help an

individual make meaning of his/her life.

Let’s look at some examples.....

“I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary—to study, to learn some words.....I spent two days just riffling uncertainly through the dictionary’s pages. I’d never realized so many words existed! I didn’t know which words I needed to learn. Finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying.”

from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

“I can remember accurately the very first set of books that really impressed me. I have since bought that set of books and have it home for my children to read as they grow up. It's called Wonders of the World. It's full of pictures of archeological finds, statues that depict, usually, non-European people.”

from The Autobiography of Malcolm X

"I liked the books I read that said things like 'I shan't'," Cisneros says. "I would try to find a way to say in my life, to reply, 'I shan't do that, mother.' That was so far away from my barrio world......”

The first book she owned was Alice In Wonderland. Its highly stylized storytelling, along with that of other fairy tales, made lasting impressions.

from “Intersections: When Languages Collide,” National Public Radio.

“I liked to read everything, but I especially liked stories of times that were different than my own. Maybe it was a sort of escapism, I don’t know. But, I especially liked to read books that were in a sort of curious English — British English.....I would say that authors like Hans Christian Andersen and Lewis Carroll were big influences for me when I was a young person. I think they’re still big influences in my writing now.”

from “A Conversation with Sandra Cisneros,” Miambiance

Tupac read this book when he was about 17 years old and living at the home of his manager, Leila Steinberg. This is a compilation of reflections on what the authors called “the ancient wisdoms.”

source: Thug Angel

Tupac read this and other books that he considered too narrowly focused on the white perspective; and his lyrics often challenged the dominant cultural narrative.

source: Thug Angel

Tupac met Maya Angelou during the filming of the movie Poetic Justice. His song honoring Angelou’s poem was released in 1999, after his death.

from: “Maya Angelou’s Conversation with Tupac Shakur,” George Stroumboulopoulos

Tonight, CBC Radio

Now.....What is your textual lineage?

Now.....What is your textual lineage?