Jerald Walker: On Exploring the Meaning of Blackness
Jerald Walker is the winner of the PEN/New England Award for Nonfiction, a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award, and the 2020 winner of the Massachusetts Book Award. His work has appeared in publications such as The Harvard Review, Creative Nonfiction, The Iowa Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Mother Jones, and it has been widely anthologized, including six times in The Best American Essays series and in the Pushcart Prizes. A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the James A. Michener Foundation, Walker is a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Emerson College. Learn more at JeraldWalker.com.
Jerald Walker
In this interview, Jerald discusses the surprising amount of fun he had writing his new essay collection, Magically Black and Other Essays, his advice for other writers, and more.
Name (byline): Jerald Walker
Literary agent (if one): Katherine Flynn Managing Partner, Literary Agent, CALLIGRAPH, LLC
Book title: Magically Black and Other Essays
Publisher: Amistad (HarperCollins)Essays/Creative Nonfiction
Release date: Sept. 10, 2024
Genre/category: Essays/Creative Nonfiction
Previous titles: Street Shadows: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion, and Redemption; The World in Flames: A Black Boyhood in a White Supremacist Doomsday Cult; How to Make a Slave and Other Essays
Elevator pitch: Magically Black is a collection of essays that blends personal revelation and cultural critique to create a bracing and often humorous examination of Black American life. In other words, it’s basically James Baldwin meets David Sedaris.
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What prompted you to write this book?
Two things: To explore the meaning of blackness, and to offer a counter-narrative to the stereotype of Blacks as primarily helpless victims of racism’s brutal forces with no capacity to confront or to defeat them.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Three years to write and a year to edit and revise.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I was surprised at how smoothly the process went. I have a brilliant editor, Abby West, who understood, respected, and supported my creative and philosophical world view right from the start.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
OK, this may sound peculiar, and perhaps a little conceited, but I never thought it was possible to have as much fun writing a book as I had writing this one, especially given that I tackle some pretty weighty issues.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I want readers to expand their definitions of blackness, to see the various ways that Black identities can be inhabited and shaped, be it through cinema, religion, or any number of cultural practices. But mostly, I want readers to see the heroism and resiliency that has always characterized the Black race.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
There are countless forces working against writers, but the writers who manage to overcome them to be successful are not always the writers with the most natural talent. They’re often the ones with the most determination. Never give up.
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