Christmas is coming early for progressives this year, and it’s coming with a sense of humor. Santa’s Husband, out in bookstores this fall, offers an unusual take on the holiday’s central representative. In this fresh reinvention, Late Show with Stephen Colbert writer Daniel Kibblesmith renders Santa as a black, gay man in an interracial relationship with a white Mr. Claus. Among other selling points for its existence, the book is sure to spur some heated cable news conversations about why exactly we hold our national beliefs about Santa–in essence, the mascot of Christmas–so, well, religiously. Like many other hallowed projects before it, this one started off as a joke. After observing the online uproar about Minneapolis’ Mall of America hiring a black Santa, Kibblesmith tweeted about a facetious child-rearing decision he and his fiancé, author Jennifer Wright, had just made: Their hypothetical baby would only know a black Santa, and this one wouldn’t be straight, either. Me & @JenAshleyWright have decided our future child will only know about Black Santa. If they see a white one we'll say "That's his husband" — Daniel "Kibblesmith" (@kibblesmith) December 3, 2016 The ensuing rapturous retweets convinced Kibblesmith the idea could be something more. It inspired the writer, who pens books and graphic novels when he’s not on the Colbert clock, to try out a children’s book. Artist A.P. Quach quickly came on board, and so did Harper Design. Suddenly, it looked as though... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2017-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]