Right you are, Pipe. I was looking for Bear's name in the URLs, so I totally missed her handle.
I've only read a couple of the articles, but the different perspectives are really quite fascinating. And I think it is something worth thinking about in terms of one's own writing. Where does writing stop and appropriation begin? Is it easier/better for one to not TRY writing the "Other", to stop that appropriation from happening, or is that just as bad as doing it badly? What's the balance between treating something with too much reverence and not enough?
Man, I could probably write an essay on this stuff. But, since I'm supposed to be writing my books right now, I should probably go do that instead.
(Incidentally, I totally don't remember any albinos, evil or otherwise, in any of Guy Gavriel Kay's books. Anybody know what's that about? Granted, I haven't read the Summer Tree... And nobody mentioned Abercrombie's Practical Frost.)