Tayari's Blog: July 2009
July 30, 2009
Wired Links
Everette Lynn Harris: 1955-2009
Everybody, take care of yourselves; watch the sugar & salt. Try and get some excercise. I know we're all busy, but get out and at least do a little walking. We lost somebody special in E. Lynn Harris. Honor him by honoring yourself.
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July 29, 2009
Pretty Little Boxes are For Pretty Little Girls
Today I ran across this interesting article about Jennifer Weiner’s dust-up with a bookstore in Boston. Apparently, the bookstore owners asked her to give a reading without any curse words. It’s not like Jennifer is Richard Pryor. Her work reflects a sort of average diction. The work “fuck” comes up here or there, but not generally as a transitive verb—if you know what I mean. Anyway, Jennifer is now #1 on the NYT list, so obvs this didn't hurt her, but it’s still something worth blogging about. I was once told to tone down the language. It took place at the public library in Phoenix. I won’t say that I was scarred for life by the incident, but I still remember the moment.
If you know my work, you’ll know that there are probably a grand total of seventeen curse words in my whole oeuvre. But about three of them occur in one of my favorite readings from The Untelling. I am speaking of the scene when the girls come home to find their crazy mom has locked them out of the house. The rebellious older sister curses up a tiny storm over this. But, I like to read the scene because it has a lot of dialogue and it’s kinda funny.
After I read this scene, a woman raised her hand. “Why did you put so many curse words in your book. Are you that kind of person or did your editor force you to be obscene to try and sell a book?” I was shocked. Obscene? A little naughty, maybe.. but obscene?
Despite the fact that I knew I wasn’t in the wrong, I felt oddly ashamed. The closest I can come to describing it is to say that I felt the way you do when you are all dressed up looking cute and someone tells you that you are showing too much cleavage or your dress is too short. I use this example because her criticism felt very gendered. I have been to so many readings by men who curse like they invented profanity. But when it comes to women writers, people are way more likely to try and make you reign it in.
After that experience at the library, I started feeling weird reading that section. I often ask my host before I go on the mike, “Is this place conservative? Can I say ‘fuck’ here?” That one woman in Phoenix with her bitter-orange complexion hsd given me a complex. She somehow tapped into the residue of my conservative southern upbringing. I spent so much of my life trying not to be a pretty little girl, living in pretty little box, and I had let a judgemental stranger stuff me back in.
About a year or two ago, I gave a reading in Atlanta. For the theme of the reading, it made sense to read the scene when Aria gets into a fight with her crack-addict neighbor in the front yard. And, you can bet there's some spicy language there. I started my worrying about saying "motherfucker" in a public place and a friend said, "Listen. They invited you here as a writer. They didn't ask you here to be a nice girl." He was right. If I am woman enough to write the book, I am woman enough to read it out loud.
Posted at 08:35 PM | Comments (3)
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The Writing Life
Ready For My Close Up Links
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July 28, 2009
Going Forth With Gratitude
I have heard back from many of the members of Team T and now it’s time to figure out what to do with their feedback. This is something that lots of writers deal with, particularly those who work in workshop settings. Of course, the big difference between Team T and a typical workshop is that I had the luxury of choosing the members of Team T and there is no one on the team whose opinions I don’t value. Below is a sort of guide to how I process feedback. (It’s applicable to the workshop setting if you first weed out the people who you don’t value.)
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The Writing Life
July 27, 2009
Sexy Octogenarian Links
July 26, 2009
WTG Carleen and Kelly!
Remember last summer when this blog ran a series called Cocktails With Writers? Well two writers featured in that series have fabulous news which I am delighted to share!
CARLEEN BRICE has just been told that her novel, Orange Mint and Honey, will be made into a movie for the Lifetime network! You can read about her novel, and see her recipe for Orange Mint Mojitos! (It IS summer, you know.)
KELLY MCMASTERS has just gotten the Oprah seal of approval! Her book, Welcome To Shirley: A Memoir of An Atomic Town, tops Oprah's list of "addictive non-fiction." Read about Kelly's book here, but try her recipe for Long Island Iced Tea for at your own risk!
Posted at 06:52 PM | Comments (1)
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Guest Bloggers
July 24, 2009
R.I.P. E. Lynn Harris
Only 53. Goodbye to a trail blazer.
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Fabulous Opportunities!
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The Writing Life
July 23, 2009
Summertime, and The Linking is Easy
July 22, 2009
Not a Cover, But a All-Out Remake!
I'm not happy with the last chapter of my novel. I'm pleased with the way things end up, but I just don't think that I have figured out the best way to really show that part of the story. In order to knock something loose in my head, I have been listening to a lot of music.
Since I am happy with what happens in the last chapter, just not too thrilled with the execution, I got the idea to listen to lots of different versions of the same songs. Some remakes were just tributes to the original-- i.e. Mariah Carey singing "I'll Be There." But I ran across some other re-makes that were actually re-envisioning of the original recording. I've made a playlist of a few which were really helpful to me. I included both versions of each song because I am not thinking of one as an improvement over the other.
And to take this a little farther, listening to these covers may help you when you start feeling like the story you want to tell has already been "done." It hasn't been done yet the way you want to do it. You can take a familar story and make it brand new.
P.S. If you have other suggestions, leave them in comments
Du-Nu-Nu-Nu
That headline is my approximation of the Twilight Zone music. You all know that I am at VCCA, way out in the boondocks. For some reason I am having trouble hooking into my work. I've been feeling frustrated and sort of creatively starved. But here is my horoscope:
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): During his time in hiding, the Biblical prophet Elijah was kept alive by ravens who brought him food. John the Baptist survived on nothing but honey and locusts when he was roaming the wilderness. And I'm sure that some unexpected source of comfort and sustenance will likewise turn up during your wanderings, Sagittarius. It may not be what you're used to. You might even have to cultivate a taste for nourishment that seems foreign. But stick with it. You could learn to love it, and in the process become less dependent on stuff you thought you couldn't do without.
You can get your 'scope, here.
Posted at 07:37 PM | Comments (0)
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The Writing Life
July 21, 2009
Tumultous Tuesday Links
July 20, 2009
What Do You Call a Black Man With a Ph.D.?
I believe I am the only fan of the Sam Jackson/Nick Cage movie, Amos and Andrew, that came out in 1993. The premise is this: Sam Jackson plays a black academic big-shot who is mistaken for a criminal after his neighbors see him moving in at night. "When you see a black man carrying stereo equipment, you know what it means..." So the police set up this big operation to arrest the Big Scary Black Man. When they see him on the cover of TIME magazine, they get the cockamamie scheme to make it right. Hijinks ensue. (Best part is when Sam Jackson hits the Sheriff over the head with a skillet, but I won't spoil it by tell you what he says while he does it.)
Well, life is imitating art over in Cambridge, Massachusetts-- minus the hijinks. Professor Henry Louis Gates of Haaarvard University has been arrested. He was mistaken for a criminal as he was trying to break into his own home. One of his neighbors got scared and called the police. The police showed up and there was a "Do You Know Who I Am?" moment. The good professor, one of TIME Magazine's 25 most influential Americans, was arrested for being "disorderly" and "tumultuous."
Update: Here is the police report. Professor Gates apparently gave the police a run for their money.
Another Update: Professor Gates has released a statement. Although the police report makes the whole incident sound like an episode of COPS, Mr. Gates' version reads like the minutes for a NAACP board meeting.
Posted at 04:30 PM | Comments (2)
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Current Events
Beep! Beep!
VCCA is a nice place-- lots of natural beauty and yesterday I went blackberry picking. I ma having some trouble settling in, but I think it's because I don't have enough to do. In a way, this is a high-class problem-- being so far along on the manuscript that the work isn't dragging me out of bed in the morning and keeping my locked in my studio. Team-T is weighing in with their comments and although they are by and large positive, there's still work to be done. For some reason, I just don't feel like doing it.
But enough about me. Let me tell you about VCCA (and of course there are photos). There are about 25 people here-- writers, visual artists, and composers. I've got my own bedroom and bath. I've also got studio space, which is essentially an office. The food is pretty tasty, particularly the dessert situation. (That pound cake last night was the TRUTH!)
My mind is wandering, I must admit. I just don't feel like doing anything. I want to be in NYC hanging out with my friends. I can't tell if it's because I don't want to be done with the manuscript, so I am avoiding finishing or if this roadrunner has just run herself out.
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July 19, 2009
It's Gonna Take a Miracle Links!
Don't ask my how or why, but the "wireless" icon just popped up on my desktop. Whoo Hoo! Here are some links to celebrate.
July 18, 2009
Please Pardon The Interruption!
I'm here at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. I'm safe, I'm sound, but I am suffering from technical difficulties when it comes to internet access. I will spare you the specific details, but I won't be able to put up a proper post until Monday, when I can take my laptop over to Sweet Briar college to use their WiFi. I came *this close* to driving 50 miles to Lynchburg in order to veg out in a Starbucks-- fancy espresso drinks + T1 connection=bliss. But then, I decided I was being a baby and should just drink drip coffee and tough it out with my blackberry.
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July 15, 2009
(At Least) One More Round of Revisions
I am heading out for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts to take my manuscript through another draft. Check out my horoscope:
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don't leave me hanging, Sagittarius. What happens next? How could you even imagine you've wrapped the whole thing up? According to my analysis, you've got at least one more riddle to solve, one more gift to negotiate, one more scar to wish upon. (Yes, that says "scar," not "star.") To stop pushing for more adventure at this pregnant moment would be a crime against nature and a whole chapter short of a bestseller. Get out there and bring this story home.
Is that right on time, or what? I'll be deep into my work, but if you want to be pen pals, send me a letter or postcard. I'll write you back:
Tayari Jones
c/o VCCA
154 San Angelo Drive
Amherst, Virginia 24521
Posted at 09:05 PM | Comments (1)
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Travels & Rambles
July 14, 2009
Soon and Very Soon: Notes from Ghana
While I was away, I caught some of the news coverage of the Obama's visit to the Cape Coast Slave "Castle" in Accra, Ghana. I caught a few minutes of the report on CNN and I had to turn it off. This visit just wasn't treated with the respect that it deserved.
Last November, I visited the "castle"-- and that word must be used with quotation marks. It is no more a castle than Abu Graib is a castle, and more than Treblinka-- despite the size and architecture. These structures-- which dot the seafronts of Ghana-- were torture chambers. I have never encountered a more wretched space in my life. After the "tour", I understood why I felt haunted during my entire visit to Ghana. This was the site of mass murder of mass kidnapping, of torture and rape.
When I visited Cape Coast, I was so full of emotion that I could not speak. I mutely followed the guide from room to room. My Ghanain companion, Aisha, held my hand and it meant a lot that she was there. This was the moment in our history when we had been pulled apart. She might have been my sister, were it not for this place. Even typing this now, I am crying, although my face was oddly dry as I listened to the guide explained what had happened in that place. I didn't cry when I touched a mark etched two feet from the floor-- this is what archaeologists have determined was the level of human filth in which my ancestors had wallowed, for months. The famous "Door of No Return" is a full sized door now, through which tourists may pass, but when our ancestors went through, it was a half door, through which they were forced to crawl. Overwhelmed with grief, I found myself taking comfort in gospel music, humming "Soon and Very Soon." My humming was sometimes so loud I couldn't even hear the guide.
I didn't blog this in November, because I felt like an African-American cliche. And maybe on some level, I felt shame about my level of grief, some residual generation shame about having been victimized. I evn felt a little exposed even writing about the haunted beaches of Accra. It seemed a little too New-Age or Afrocentric, but what happened on that beach did happen.
And this happened too: I left the Cape Coast "Castle", dry-eyed, but shaken to my core. I made my way to the courtyard where my driver was to meet me. I took off my ordinary sunglasses and from them poured a steady stream of water. There was so much water streaming from my sunglasses that it wet the cobblestones and splashed on my feet. Generations of tears, as salty as the cruel ocean itself.
Posted at 12:29 PM | Comments (7)
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Travels & Rambles
What's the Deal With Artists' Colonies?
I've jut gotten home again, but now I am packing another suitcase. This time, I am heading to the Virginia Center For The Creative Arts where I have been awarded a one-month residency. As many of you know, one reason I started this blog was to let people know what opportunities are available for writers. Forgive me if this information is a repeat, but I wanted to take a minute and let new people know a little more about residencies. Here are a few FAQs.
Q: What is a residency?
A: A residency is basically an artists' retreat. Sometimes it will be called a colony. As opposed to a conference, you don't have to do anything while you're there. You're supposed to write, but nobody checks up on you. If you want to you can spend the whole time napping and reading comic books. Sometimes writers need the time to just decompress. I write like mad when I am on a retreat, but I can understand those who just need to lie down and drink more water.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: Most residencies receive outside funding. Some, like Yaddo and MacDowell, require no contribution from the artists. Others, like VCCA, ask that the writers chip in about $30 a day. This is a fraction of the cost of the residency; outside sources provide the rest. Usually, you can explain your financial situation and the residency will work with you. Often there are scholarships and grants. Please, do not let money keep you from applying. Get in, then figure out the money situation.
Q: Do I have to be published to get in?
A: Nope. Most residencies try to have a mix of artists at different stages of their careers. You have to apply to be accepted and your work is looked at in terms of where you are in your career. One of my most favoritest undergraduates, Michael Fauver, went to Yaddo the year he finished college.. in the SUMMER.
Q: Who is going to be there?
A: Most of the residencies I have attended have been open to all artists, not just writers. Composers, poets, sculptors, dancers, painters, you name it. But other than that, you can also expect to meet a lot of sort of middle- to upper-middle class artists. Even if the residency is free, you have to be able to take time off from work, which suggests a certain leisure. However, some residencies offer a little grant to help you with your expenses at home while you are away.
Q: Ummm.. I am not white. Will I be The Only One?
A: Probably. But it's okay. The environment is usually pretty welcoming. I've only had one or two bad experiences and they have been pretty mild. A few hair questions, but whatevs. Then, there is Soul Mountain, which has a very strong commitment to diversity.
Q: How long do you have to stay?
A: Most last from two weeks to two months. I suggest applying for the whole two months, but then you see what you are offered and see how much time you are available to take. No one gets mad if you have to reduce, as long as you do it in advance so another writer can take advantage of the opening.
Q: Are the accommodations nice?
A: Some residencies are swanker than others. Yaddo and MacDowell are the dreamiest. But they are clean and you basically have what you need. Here are my photos from MacDowell from a couple years ago.
Q: What about the food?
A: In my experience, yummy. And even more yummy because I didn't have to cook or pay for it. Some places give you three squares, but almost all give you a sit down dinner. The ones that don't provide lunch usually have lunch fixings in the kitchen, but you have to assemble it yourself.
Q: Why should I go? I write at home.
A: If you can write well at home, stay there. I choose the go to colonies because I find it very helpful to be away from the demands of my life. I find that people who can't respect the fact that I am busy writing, so don't call me, can somehow understand that I am away at a colony. Also, it's just lovely to be in the company of other creative folks.
UPDATE: Here is a way over-comprehensive search of residencies for writers.
Posted at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
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The Writing Life
July 13, 2009
Check Yourself Links
Okay, y'all. I am so tired. The Great Diva Road Trip was terrific fun. Yale University is a gorgeous campus and I love thinking of our very own Natasha Trethewey doing research in those lovely libraries. But car travel is exhausting-- even when you travel diva-style-- and I need to lay this body down.
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July 09, 2009
The Great Diva Road Trip!
Move over Oprah and Gayle! Natasha and I are driving up the east coast-- destination: New Haven, CT. You may not think of this is a swanky destination, but it is when you know that Natasha has been named as the 2009-2010 James Weldon Johnson Fellow in African American Studies at Yale University. Ginormous congratulations to her. You know she will represent us well. We're breaking it up into three days so we don't start to get highway psychosis, and so that we can enjoy the amenities at the fabulous hotels we've booked for our pit stops. (Yes, we've packed our favorite cocktail dresses!)
I will tweet from my blackberry, but I don't know if I will be able to blog during this little adventure. So, if things are quiet over here, know that I will be back home on Tuesday.
I must admit that this outing could not have a better time. Now that my manuscript is in the hands of Team-T, I feel so idle. When I was working on the manuscript, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be finished. I was playing Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In the Dark" over and over, just to hear him say, "I'm sick of sitting around here trying to write this book." Now, I am so lonely for the project that it feels like a romantic break up. Crazy, I know, but a little bit of crazy is an occupational hazard.
Posted at 10:55 AM | Comments (3)
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July 07, 2009
Never Can Say Goodbye Links
July 05, 2009
Assembling Team T
I've just gotten done with the first read-through and basic edit of my new manuscript. I know that it's not a beautiful work of art yet, but I have done all I can do by myself. It's now time to bring in the first team of readers. Here's how I picked them.
Posted at 10:19 PM | Comments (4)
Category:
The Writing Life
July 03, 2009
It's My Anniversary
On this day in 2000, my agent called me and said that Warner Books wanted to publish my first novel, Leaving Atlanta. This was six months after she sent it out and about a year after I had completed work on the manuscript. It would be two more years before the novel was actually in stores.
I remember that I was so excited, but I didn't have anyone to celebrate with. This is when I was living in Arizona and basically had one friend-- she was busy that night. About three months earlier, I'd bought myself a bottle of champagne and two pretty glasses that I was going to break out whenever there was news. I was by myself but I washed one of the flutes and filled it to the rim with bubbly. The bottle was expensive, so I didn't it to go to waste, so I drank most of it.
Needless to say, this was not an evening that ended well, but it was still the best day of my life.
I guess it's only right that I am spending today punching in edits for the last chapter of my third novel. It's not pretty. It's noon and I am still in my pajamas, my hair is all over my head, and I am about to eat a crazy lunch of assorted leftovers. It's not a glamorous life, but I'm still doing it. That in itself is worth a champagne toast.
Posted at 10:48 AM | Comments (6)
Category:
The Writing Life