Myriam Gurba Review: Nature of the Memoir Mean(Kenari Curry)

Myriam Gurba spoke about the background, production process, and other subtleties of her book, “Mean” at a Cortland event held in 2021. Throughout the discussions, she brought up some extremely intriguing facts and observations regarding her experience. Being mea, as our Professor says, “makes us feel alive, it’s fun and exciting, and sometimes it keeps us alive.” Putting into words the feelings and messages that may be gleaned from this book. The first highlight she mentioned was when she read an extract about a racial conflict that erupted on the playground while she was in fifth grade, resulting in self-segregation. In reaction, she discusses how she formed a gang/micro family to protect themselves from aggression, and how they badly wanted to escape institutions and organizations that abused them. This simply goes to show how serious it is for children to behave and respond to events and/or other people, and what it may lead someone to do, as well as the impact on the community. As an answer to a student, she also discusses her writing process for the book. She surmised that writing the novel was a jumbled process in which she wanted to include both comedy and terror, which led to her constantly attempting to get the desired style. This is further illustrated when she discusses how she intended to express her unsettling experiences from the imagined perspective of the surroundings, giving the account of what occurred a witnessing and outside party sense that is too horrible to recover from. 

The highlights also show several parallels between Gurba’s book and Maxine Hong Kingston’s renowned work, “Woman Warrior.” The first is how both “Mean” and “Woman Warrior” delve into the complex issues of race, discrimination, sexuality, and sexual assault, with both authors emphasizing the importance of speaking up and owning one’s narrative as a means of empowerment and self-discovery, as well as confronting the silence that surrounds these experiences unapologetically in the hope of breaking free from societal constraints to reclaim their voices. The second link is how Gurba’s “Mean” and Kingston’s “Woman Warrior” both explore the quest for belonging. Gurba, as a gay mixed-race woman, faces the difficulties of managing many identities, as well as the sensation of dislocation that frequently comes with it. Similarly, Kingston’s protagonist struggles to find her place amid two divergent cultures. Both writers are able to shed light on the inner upheaval and self-exploration involved in the search for acceptance and a sense of belonging. In conclusion, the event provided more insight into the mind behind the book Mean, going over her creation process and detailing how the book made her feel and what meaning should come from it, as well as the message it’s attempting to convey, which I believe is best summarized when our Professor again provided a general message behind the book’s purpose. That is, you should utilize your position and privilege to help others who have been harmed or wronged in life.