Chapter 1: What personal connection does Angie Thomas have with classic literature?
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I loved this book.
Oh, absolutely. I mean, his writing is so crisp, is so matter-of-fact.
Beautifully written. It's very stark in places. And I think she is the most extraordinary writer.
Not to get too, you know, invisible beret about this. And I love her books. I think they're brilliant. My parents read that book to me so many times.
If anything, it's actually a time for poetry. It's a time for slow texts. It's a time for difficult texts.
James Baldwin is someone that I consider my spiritual godfather.
I could just hear his voice. He was singing this story to me.
Hi, welcome to another podcast extra edition of ABC Radio National's The Bookshelf. I'm Kate Evans and every week in the main edition of the show, Cassie McCullough and I read and review three new novels with two guest reviewers. We also hear from writers about the books they've written and the books they read. About a month ago, we talked about Robert Jones Jr. 's American novel, The Prophets.
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Chapter 2: How does Robert Jones Jr. describe the characters in his novel The Prophets?
And so I wanted to be direct in some cases. So those are probably two authors where I kind of went to to say, okay, how should I approach lovemaking, romance, and sex itself?
You haven't mentioned James Baldwin yet, although you do acknowledge him in the book. So tell us about what the writer James Baldwin means to you.
James Baldwin is someone that I consider my spiritual godfather. I first encountered his work as a freshman in college and was immediately struck by the a man living in New York City and also a writer, all of the things I consider myself. And so I went and found all of his works and read everything by him and was wondering, why isn't he more revered? He is so brilliant.
The impact he has on me as a writer is that he makes me think about things like race and sexuality in ways that I had never imagined. He's so crystal clear on who he is as a person, and therefore his writing is so crystal clear. And so when I'm describing the intersection of blackness and queerness, Whatever my philosophical point of view is, it was wholly shaped by James Baldwin.
So when I approach it from a critical point of view, when I approach it from a defiant point of view, all of that is Baldwin. He held me up in those ways.
Which Baldwin books matter the most to you? Are there some that you read again and again?
Oh, yes. There is one in particular that I have read at least four times, and it is his first work of fiction, his first novel, which is Go Tellin' on the Mountain, which is in many ways semi-autobiographical about a young man in Harlem coming of age in a very religious and a very strict family. And it's where his burgeoning queerness comes to light.
He goes back in time to talk about his Southern roots and the migration of his family from the South to the North in the United States. And it's just a phenomenal work. In particular, there's a scene where he's describing his character going through a spiritual awakening in church, something we call catching the Holy Ghost. And the descriptions are sublime.
And I was thinking when reading that, when I write, I want to achieve this level of excellence. If I can only achieve this level of excellence, I think I'll be okay.
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Chapter 3: What themes are explored in the love story of Isaiah and Samuel?
She is, for me, the representation of, when we see in these films and books, we see the character of the mammy. Maggie is actually in conflict with that image, that she is not wanting to be the nurturer of these children, that she is not wanting to be in the kitchen cooking for her oppressors. She wants to be free. And that's who Maggie is to me.
She is the embodiment of liberation at any age and at any cost.
She is fierce and quite wonderful on the page. Robert, what have you read recently that has made an impact on you?
Oh, I'm so glad you asked me this question. I have so many books. I'm currently reading The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Disha Philyaw. It was nominated for a National Book Award earlier.
It is just a phenomenal collection of short stories about the lives of Black women and their relationships to the church, their relationships to each other, their relationships to men, and the disappointments and the difficulties they face in a patriarchal society and a patriarchal religion. It's just so, so, so lovely. Next up for me is a book called The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett.
which is getting rave reviews. It is sitting at the top of the New York Times bestseller list right now for at least the last couple of weeks about two Black women who are so fair-skinned that they can pass as white, and one chooses to do so while the other one does not, and it examines where those paths lead them. And it just sounds so absolutely intriguing that I have to read it.
Lastly, I just finished reading a book called These Ghosts Are Family by Maisie Card, which tells the story of Jamaican immigrants to America. And it does this wonderful thing with language and time where it goes back and forth between what we consider standard English or the Queen's English.
and Jamaican patois, as well as moving us from the antebellum period in Jamaica to modern day New York City. And it's just a fabulous cast of characters and it's written so exquisitely and I loved it.
Oh, and I love books that force you to read with a different rhythm because you have to hear that patois in your head for it to make sense. It's quite exciting, isn't it?
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Chapter 4: How does Robert Jones Jr. structure the narrative in The Prophets?
and yet finding a space for yourself to flourish. And it's just beautiful, just beautifully written, heartbreaking, but also heart-mending.
What a fantastic list of books that you've given us. Robert Jones Jr., thank you so much for speaking to us on Radio National.
Kate, it was my absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.
Robert Jones Jr. 's The Prophets is published by Riverrun. And you can find a list of all the books he mentioned there on the Bookshelf website at abc.net.au slash rn. Please make sure you're following this podcast as there are more books and writers every week. I'm Kate Evans and I'll be back along with Cassie McCullough next time to talk new fiction.
So do join us again and meanwhile, keep reading.
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