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."

Exploring the African Diaspora

I finished a great novel today called Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips. The book consists of four stories, all relating to the African diaspora. In the first story we see a slave owner traveling to Liberia to locate a former slave whom he has fallen out of contact with. In the second, an ex-slave travels great distances to somehow find the daughter she was separated from years ago. The third section consists of a slave trader's ship's log. Finally the fourth section explores an African-American soldier in World War II and the British woman who loved him.

Phillips does a great job of connecting the four stories. He does this with very subtle connections in each story as well as an introduction and conclusion that frame the other stories. The power of this novel lies not in what is stated boldly, but what is mentioned matter-of-factly, or sometimes not at all.

Next Exercise

Stay tuned for my next exercise which I will post in the coming weeks. I will be writing an extended metaphor.

I workshopped part of my novel for a second time and it was once again pretty grueling. I plan on diving back in again this week. I don't feel like doing it. I feel like writing a short story or something. But I am going to try to stick with the novel and see if it comes easier. If not, I will set it aside until wants to play again.