Poets & Writers – July-August 2019

47 POETS & WRITERS^

through my characters—around,
above, and below them—and playing
out as they fell in and out of love and
life. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes
Were Watching God made me want to
try writing a love story. Jennifer Egan’s
A Visit From the Goon Squad plays with
form in a delightfully brazen manner.
And Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon
has a biblical scale. As a mother I am
also in conversation with children’s
books and fairy tales.

It’s incredible how you managed to
achieve both a grandness of scale and a
depth of intimacy in this book. How did
you do it?
I engaged with the characters one at
a time—and I didn’t have agendas for
them. When I went back I saw the
connections. One trait the characters
shared was reinvention. They were all
reinventing themselves in response to
their personal experiences. Perhaps the
novel feels intimate because the focus
was on each character as they revealed

themselves. The unsettling part was

not always knowing where the narra-

tive would take me. When I became

overwhelmed by the scale, I’d stop until

the next day. I’d dance, listen to music,

and go for long walks. I’d also take naps.

Naps let the mind make links, address

problems, or relax into the story.

You are also an accomplished playwright.

How has that experience and expertise

been helpful, or perhaps even

challenging, in writing fiction?

On a craft level, I was

daunted by writing physical

descriptions. Plays rely

heavily on dialogue and

characterization—which was

an advantage, but physical

description is important to

fiction. Margot Livesey ex-

plained that it’s not entirely

different from describing a set.

She mentioned that one way

she learned how to write phys-

ical description was working

with playwright Beth Henley. Hearing

this was a breakthrough for me.

I’m curious to get your perspective as a

woman of color working on this project

at programs like Iowa and Tin House. And

what would you advise and caution about

workshops and writing communities?

At Iowa, Margot Livesey was my first

workshop teacher. She reads constantly

and is open to different forms of fiction,

so I felt I had room to ex-

periment. If you don’t take

chances in a writing pro-

gram, where do you take

them? As a woman of color,

I’d say it’s important to go

into a program knowing

who you are and trusting

your gut. What are your

specific goals? What is your

process? How would you

like a program or workshop

to help you develop your

voice and the truth of your

work?

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FIRST FICTION 2019

Agents: Ellen Levine,

Alexa Stark

Editor: Alexis Washam

Publicists: Julia Bradshaw,

Rachel Rokicki