The City We Became
Page 41
Now for the credits, which are substantial. In addition to the usual assistance provided by my editor and agent (thanks!), I needed a small army of advisors and inspirers for this book. First but not most, let me credit fellow writer John Scalzi for the phrase “racist sexist homophobic dipshit.” So useful, that one. Thanks to creative genius Jean Grae for the lyrics Brooklyn uses during her literal battle rap; I wrote them, she fixed them. Particular thanks also to my sensitivity reader for Lenape language and cultural tidbits (and Bronca’s Lenape name!), who prefers not to be listed here, and to the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribal nation for excellent website references (sorry I missed the pow-wow though). Thanks for general advice and guidance to another Indigenous consultant, who also prefers not to be named, and who helped me find my Lenape consultant. Many thanks to fellow writers Mary Anne Mohanraj for sensitivity reading re Padmini’s Tamil heritage and Mimi Mondal for sensitivity reading re Padmini’s Dalit caste markers and nuances, as well as to former Orbit intern Stuti Telidevera for general review and guidance. Continuous thanks to Danielle Friedman for context re survivors of the Shoah. Passive thanks to the Crash Override Network for its tips on maximizing cybersecurity, especially in circumstances that warrant a lockdown; I’ve unfortunately had to use such techniques to guard my own life for years now. Also thanks to accuracy readers Kevin Whyte for checking my math, Ananda Ferrari Ossanai for general Brazil notes and omg delicious brigadeiro, and Orbit UK editor Jenni Hill for assistance with Bel’s Britishisms and helping make this story more comprehensible to people unfamiliar with NYC. Major thanks to fellow writer Genevieve Valentine for overall editing and story direction advice, and for hip-checking some of my more egregious New Yorkisms. Long-ago thanks to writing group mate K. Tempest Bradford for introducing me to Inwood Hill Park and Inwood in general. More recent thanks to Orbit’s art director Lauren Panepinto for puncturing some of my assumptions and clarifying the many myths about Staten Island. Lifelong thanks to my father, Noah Jemisin, for exposing me to NYC’s art world, and its many politics and wonders.
Also, personal thanks to New York itself. I consider myself to be roughly 50 percent New Yorker. I spent most of my formative years in Alabama—but every summer and break in Brooklyn, and of course I have now lived in the city full-time since 2007. Much of who I am as a person comes from those earlier, fragmentary chunks of New York life. I have walked over a layer of crack vials, run into Double Dutch jump ropes (got smacked in the face like 75 percent of the time, but during that successful 25 percent, I felt like a goddess), ridden the Cyclone until they wouldn’t let me on it anymore, run through the spray from a popped water plug, sweated through heat waves without AC, adopted a street cat, kicked a street rat when it came at me. I love hip-hop and fear cops because of New York. I learned courage and adventurousness from New York. I have fantastic problem-solving skills because of New York.
I have hated this city. I have loved this city. I will fight for this city until it won’t have me anymore. This is my homage to the city. Hope I got it right.
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By N. K. Jemisin
THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Broken Kingdom
The Kingdom of Gods
The Awakened Kingdom (novella)
The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus)
DREAMBLOOD
The Killing Moon
The Shadowed Sun
THE BROKEN EARTH
The Fifth Season
The Obelisk Gate
The Stone Sky
How Long ’til Black Future Month?
(short story collection)
THE GREAT CITIES TRILOGY
The City We Became