How we do it Black writers on craft, practice, and skill

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this stirring anthology, editor Brown (The Tradition), director of the creative writing program at Emory University, brings together new and previously published interviews with and essays by Black authors on how they "go about making what they make." Among other topics, contributors discuss how they approach characterization, inspiration, developing a sense of place, and writing about personal experience. Novelist Crystal Wilkinson weighs in on creating complex fictional characters and provides questions to help flesh them out, encouraging writers to ask themselves "what is your character most afraid of?" and "what did being good mean in their family?" Marita Golden recounts how a literary agent convinced her to pivot from novels to memoirs and counsels readers to "focus on that slice of your life that haunts and inspires you" when writing autobiographical material. On finding inspiration, poet Camille T. Dungy emphasizes the importance of observation, while novelist Tayari Jones tells how she came up with the idea for An American Marriage after overhearing a couple fighting about the woman's infidelity while the man was in prison. The contributors' winning mix of practical guidance and personal reflection makes for an insightful manual. Aspiring authors would do well to check this out. (July)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A one-of-a-kind anthology featuring guidance and perspectives from acclaimed Black writers. "Born out of absolute generosity and hope for the future of Black writing," this collection of 31 essays and interviews, edited by Pulitzer Prize--winning poet Brown, features a who's-who roster of Black fiction and nonfiction writers, poets, and essayists. Though the book is for "anyone who is a student of the craft," its primary purpose is to inform and encourage emerging Black writers in particular. The text includes original essays from Daniel Omotosho Black, who examines the rhythm of Black vernacular; Jacqueline Woodson, who shows how to discern what characters want and how they're going to get it; and Tiphanie Yanique, who contributes a piece called "Fiction Forms: How to Make Fun and Profundity Possible in Fiction." The book also includes previously published works such as a 1979 interview with Ernest J. Gaines and Callaloo editor Charles Rowell. Some of the essays come with writing exercises, such as Crystal Wilkinson's "Asking Questions and Excavating Memory: Creating Complex Fictional Characters," while others focus on revision and how to read to become a better writer. Rita Dove begins her piece by noting, "I do not like how-to-write manuals." Still, she decided to pen an essay to help writers "avert disaster" and to "extol the passion that drives the writing." Brown's collection is conversational, anecdotal, and collaborative in tone throughout. Divided into eight sections with titles such as "Who Your People?" "Where You At?" and "What It Look Like?" this isn't your average craft book. It's something exponentially better, more engrossing, and more easily applicable for writers in undergraduate and graduate writing programs as well as those in no program at all. A must-read treasure trove of practical wisdom for Black writers, writing teachers, and anyone interested in the craft. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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