Beyond ‘Persepolis’

Much good work is being done with Persepolis, both in Parts 1 and 4.  Do remind students, however, that including address of both the words and the images is expected in order to recognize the nature of the work.

I would like to point out that there are two other works on the PLT that you might consider for Part 1.  The first is Marguerite Abouet’s work, Aya, set in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.  This is also an autobiographical work and quite engaging.  Here is a good link which gives you some ideas of the graphic and verbal quality and tone of the work.

And here is a short summary from the Oxford Skills and Practice book for the Literature course:

“Aya is based on Abouet’s memories of growing up in a working-class neighbourhood of Abidjan. Aya is the calm and steady central character in the midst of the chaotic lives of her friends. Though Abouet deals frankly with issues like teenage sexuality, class divisions, sexism, violence against women and teenage pregnancy, she does it with a light touch and a clever plot that almost resembles an entertaining soap opera.”

Another work, from Canada, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming,  incorporates a whole range of words and images, including stick figures, old-fashioned comics, family photos, and others.  It tells the story of Fleming’s great-grandfather who was a Chinese circus performer.  I have found it to be one of the most visually and narratively engaging works I have discovered in this genre. Not useful for Part 1, as it is written in English, but could be used in Part 4.

Finally, there are some enthusiastic inclusions by teachers of the Japanese work, (also on the PLT) Naruto, by M. Kishimoto.  Part of a much longer series, the first volume has also been used successfully; for an overview of this work in the manga genre, check out: The Wikipedia page