Talk:Teju Cole: Difference between revisions
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I apologize for writing this here, as I don't yet have the hang of the talk pages. I hope it's the right place. Thank you for your work on these pages. I am the author, but I did not write the original entry, nor do I regularly adjust the information on here unless it is factually wrong or misleading. I changed back the particular edit using the birth names and the nickname in the main column of the article because the birth name is clearly stated on the Wikipedia page, in the infobox (indeed, that information is there because I myself put it there, in 2012). There is no standard for handling changes of name on Wikipedia: what is significant is that the birth name, if known, is included in the infobox. Names, like gender, ought to be treated as matter of preference. Otherwise, since each author or artist has a different reason for a name change, and different degrees of change (legal, marital, social, literary, etc), the inconsistency in the way it is handled is to be expected. In my case, the change of the name extends to all current usage, including publication, professional, and legal. Given this, it seems to me misleading to assert the birth name and previous nickname in the main body of the article (again, it is clearly marked in the infobar), and thus push it to the top of search results, as though the new name in this particular case were "only" a pen name, and somehow not real. My preferred name is Teju Cole. Nine years ago it was something else. Fourteen years before that it was something else. "Several articles" is inaccurate; and there have been dozens of articles since, with the preferred name. |
I apologize for writing this here, as I don't yet have the hang of the talk pages. I hope it's the right place. Thank you for your work on these pages. I am the author, but I did not write the original entry, nor do I regularly adjust the information on here unless it is factually wrong or misleading. I changed back the particular edit using the birth names and the nickname in the main column of the article because the birth name is clearly stated on the Wikipedia page, in the infobox (indeed, that information is there because I myself put it there, in 2012). There is no standard for handling changes of name on Wikipedia: what is significant is that the birth name, if known, is included in the infobox. Names, like gender, ought to be treated as matter of preference. Otherwise, since each author or artist has a different reason for a name change, and different degrees of change (legal, marital, social, literary, etc), the inconsistency in the way it is handled is to be expected. In my case, the change of the name extends to all current usage, including publication, professional, and legal. Given this, it seems to me misleading to assert the birth name and previous nickname in the main body of the article (again, it is clearly marked in the infobar), and thus push it to the top of search results, as though the new name in this particular case were "only" a pen name, and somehow not real. My preferred name is Teju Cole. Nine years ago it was something else. Fourteen years before that it was something else. "Several articles" is inaccurate; and there have been dozens of articles since, with the preferred name. |
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I respect Wikipedia's standards, but I also feel that this is a case where there is interpretive leeway. This information is handled differently for Toni Morrison, Marguerite Yourcenar, Tea Obreht, Jhumpa Lahiri, Xeni Jardin, and a number of contemporary writers who use a name other than the ones they're born with, but whom I do not wish to out. The information, when available, is provided, but there is no standard format, and it is clear that authorial preference, while not the deciding factor, is taken into consideration. This gets at the heart of the complexity behind changes of name. |
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I would really like to explain this rationale at length to the previous editor, and would invite correspondence from him at tcole@bard.edu. It matters to me. Thanks for your consideration. |
I would really like to explain this rationale at length to the previous editor, and would invite correspondence from him at tcole@bard.edu. It matters to me. Thanks for your consideration. |
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Revision as of 04:12, 28 February 2015
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This article looks like an advertisement for the author and needs to be rewritten in a more unbiased way. 96.231.154.140 (talk) 21:26, 23 March 2012 (UTC)
First mention
I recently revised the first mention to include Teju Cole's full name:
- Obayemi Babajide Adetokunbo "Yemi" Onafuwa, better known by his pen name, Teju Cole...
Simultanagnosia reverted this edit. It's possible Cole has changed his name, but I think this is his birth name and current legal name. It wasn't my intent to "out" Cole; rather, I noticed that his full and preferred names are published widely in biographical articles with his consent. A few sources:
Yemi Onafuwa
- "Current PhD Students". Columbia University Department of Art History and Archeology. 2011.
- DeRitter, Margaret (September 2011). "From New Yorker Envy to Literary Acclaim". BeLight. Kalamazoo College. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
{{cite web}}:|archive-url=is malformed: save command (help) - "Teju Cole Wins 2012 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award". Kalamazoo News. Kalamazoo College. 6 March 2012.
Obayemi Babajide Adetokunbo Onafuwa
- "Book of the Month: Open City, Teju Cole". The Buzz...About Books. Toronto Public Library. July 2014.
Cole has published several Flemish art history articles as Yemi Onafuwa, so it seems like signficant information to document. His birthname is mentioned in the infobox, but it's my understanding that the above is the standard "first mention" format for writers using a nom de plume, c.f. Lewis Carroll, Dr. Seuss, George Orwell, and Manual of Style policy.
Please let me know if I've misunderstood the policy, if Cole has changed his name, or if there's another good reason to conceal it from the lead. Nickknack00 (talk) 15:18, 26 February 2015 (UTC)
I apologize for writing this here, as I don't yet have the hang of the talk pages. I hope it's the right place. Thank you for your work on these pages. I am the author, but I did not write the original entry, nor do I regularly adjust the information on here unless it is factually wrong or misleading. I changed back the particular edit using the birth names and the nickname in the main column of the article because the birth name is clearly stated on the Wikipedia page, in the infobox (indeed, that information is there because I myself put it there, in 2012). There is no standard for handling changes of name on Wikipedia: what is significant is that the birth name, if known, is included in the infobox. Names, like gender, ought to be treated as matter of preference. Otherwise, since each author or artist has a different reason for a name change, and different degrees of change (legal, marital, social, literary, etc), the inconsistency in the way it is handled is to be expected. In my case, the change of the name extends to all current usage, including publication, professional, and legal. Given this, it seems to me misleading to assert the birth name and previous nickname in the main body of the article (again, it is clearly marked in the infobar), and thus push it to the top of search results, as though the new name in this particular case were "only" a pen name, and somehow not real. My preferred name is Teju Cole. Nine years ago it was something else. Fourteen years before that it was something else. "Several articles" is inaccurate; and there have been dozens of articles since, with the preferred name.
I respect Wikipedia's standards, but I also feel that this is a case where there is interpretive leeway. This information is handled differently for Toni Morrison, Marguerite Yourcenar, Tea Obreht, Jhumpa Lahiri, Xeni Jardin, and a number of contemporary writers who use a name other than the ones they're born with, but whom I do not wish to out. The information, when available, is provided, but there is no standard format, and it is clear that authorial preference, while not the deciding factor, is taken into consideration. This gets at the heart of the complexity behind changes of name.
I would really like to explain this rationale at length to the previous editor, and would invite correspondence from him at tcole@bard.edu. It matters to me. Thanks for your consideration.