Hi friends,
This week on Reckon True Stories, Deesha Philyaw and Kiese Laymon are joined by MacArthur Genius and National Book Award Winner Dr. Imani Perry to discuss genre, personal stories and the ethical commitment to those we write about, the utilization of craft to bring the reader close to the experience and the body, the body as political, Black women and silence, mobility, music, and mothering.
Listen in your favorite podcast app, and be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss an episode:
As always, you can get the full show notes and reading list over at Reckon.
Deesha Philyaw: “I’d love for you to talk about what you think we as writers in general, and Black writers in particular, owe our audiences, or the public. What do we owe of ourselves?”
Imani Perry: “Only the work. It’s the only thing we owe. I mean, we can choose to give more. I think we strategically often give more because we live in a market economy. … But, you know, we’re not celebrities. We’re writers, right? I think there’s so many people — and I think this is generally the case for Black folks, I think it’s especially the case for Black folks in the public arena — who are interested in consuming us with absolute disregard. It’s eating us up. And I do think that in order to do the work, a certain kind of self protection is required.”
Share with your friends, and tell us what you think.
We are so grateful for all the love that you’ve shared during this first season of Reckon True Stories. Thanks for listening.
And we’d also love to hear from you — what would you like to hear more of in future episodes? Just reply to this email and drop us a note to say hi.
-Dawnie, Deesha, and Mark
Author photo by Sameer Khan