Caryl Phillips Speaks

I saw Caryl Phillips speak tonight. He is one of the best speakers I have seen so far. Here are some snippits of what he said in his conversation with Jeffrey Renard Allen and the audience:

He has not read a review in 17 years.

His first big influence was Native Son by Richard Wright. He was also influenced by James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. He also befriended Baldwin.

He believes history is important because one needs to know where he came from to know where he is, and one needs to know where she is before she can know where she is going. He said that writers help keep the history of the people, not the powers that be, alive and that is why writers are so dangerous.

He bases the structure of his novels on time and music. He says that when things happen beyond characters' control, they no longer trust time. The narrative structure needs to reflect this distrust of time. Writing with a musical structure helps the writer tell a story in his or her own time (own way).

Phillips does not believe that any one character should have supreme authority over the narrative. As for character, the author needs to empathize with the character because "we can't understand who we are unless we understand those around us."