Talking Back

When I first started up this site two months ago, I was hoping to start a dialogue about African American literature, conducted primarily by African American writers, readers and educators. This, to some extent, has already started happening. The interesting thing though is that most of this debate is not happening here, at niggeratimanor.com, but on the various sites and discussion boards that linked to the articles on African American literature I did in November and December.

Some of the responses to these essays are interesting, like this one from Monica Jackson, which deals with issues of writing and taste. I don't agree with much of it, but it's smart and on point. Some responses, including one exceptionally enlightend Okayplayer board discussion, were fruitful as well. I am particularly interested in people's objections to my ideas: some I find informative, some particularly uninformed, some amusing in their absurdity.

Since my schedule didn't allow me time to join into these discussions, let me now respond to some of the sentiments that were common among my critics:

THEM: Saying that you have to read books to write them is elitist.
ME: Yes, it is. Similarly, I feel strongly that only doctors who've studied medicine should practice it, only pilots who've had flight training should fly planes, and only cooks who've eaten food should be cooking. And I only buy albums from musicians who've heard a lot of music before they made their own. But I'm just snobby that way.

THEM: Not everyone needs an MFA.
ME: No, they really don't. The vast majority of great writers didn't have them. But for many like me, it can be of great assistance. It's just one route though, one I related because it was helpful to me. If you want to know how to gain some of the benefits of an MFA without going to one, check here. But let's repeat this together to avoid confusion: no one is saying you have to have an MFA to be a good writer (in fact, I've never heard anyone say that, ever). But you do have to read books. Sorry.

THEM: Not everyone can afford to get an MFA.
ME: True, and neither could I. That is why I paid for the entire thing using the guaranteed federal loans available to all U.S. Citizens, loans I'm still paying back. Please send donations to Mat Johnson's Sallie Mae Student Loan Fund. Phones are standing by.

THEM: Why does he just talk about Black literature, why doesn't he talk about white lit too?
ME: Why must every discussion we have be referenced to this other ethnic group? This is a discussion about African American literature, which is surely worth discussing exclusively from time to time. There are many similarities between what goes on in all of literature, and if you want to discuss those issues there are many sites out there to frequent. African American literature has its own peculiarities, its own context and history, and that is what this discussion is about.

THEM: I'm a commercial writer whose trying to pay my bills, this ain't got nothing to do with me.
ME: From a business standpoint, your market is now being flooded with books you have to compete with. The only way you can make your books stand out is by improving the quality of your work. But more importantly, why would you choose to be inept at your chosen profession?

THEM: He just hates contemporary fiction.
ME: I grew up on Stephen King, Anne Rice, Peter Straub, V.C. Andrews, Roger Zelazny, and Clive Barker. Today, I enjoy writers like Thomas Harris, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, and China Mieville. Walter Mosley crosses all kinds of genres, and I've been enjoying him for years. I love the wave of smart comic book writing from Garth Ennis, Brian K. Vaughn, Reginald Hudlin, and Warren Ellis. Good writing is good writing. I just don't like unimaginative, cliché-ridden writing.

THEM: That's stupid, a lot of published writers started as self-published writers.
ME: Yes, I know. In fact, in black commercial fiction that's nearly become the norm. But the issue here is not what words are on the bottom of a book's spine, but rather what words are inside that book. There are some contemporary writers who started by self-publishing yet have continued to push their craft. A good example of this is Brian Egeston, a writer who has always cared more about developing his talent than cashing in. I've read him over the years and have been inspired by his continued growth as an artist. Read a sample of his most recent novel to see what a self-taught, self-published author can accomplish, and if you like it please support him by buying a copy.

THEM: He says he's an excellent writer.
ME: Actually, I don't. I'm a capable writer, but I don't think any writer is capable of judging whether he or she is "excellent," or "important" or "great." Beware those that tell you they are. There are writers that I do know I am more advanced than. That is not because I'm particularly special, but instead because their writing is of such poor quality.

THEM: He's just player-hating commercial writers.
ME: Trust me, I'm not hating the players, but I am seriously hating the game. I actually like most of these unskilled authors as people, and to be honest find that I have a lot more in common with them caste-wise than many of the lit fiction crew. But I do wish they would stop looking at sales figures long enough to work on improving their writing and editing. I do wish they would demand quality from themselves, and that others in the industry demanded it from them.

THEM: Yeah, give it to them Street Lit people.
ME: Actually, I wasn't even thinking about them; I was thinking about bad writing in general. I do find it amusing to hear the Chick Lit writers complaining about the Street Lit writers the way everybody used to complain about the Chick Lit writers themselves. I wonder whom the Street Lit people will complain about in five years?

THEM: He's just jealous because he's not filling his pockets.
ME: Oddly enough, I actually do okay financially. I'm far from rich, but for the most part I manage to support myself, my wife and my three great kids off of income from writing and the teaching of writing. I've been very fortunate. I don't believe writers shouldn't be compensated, I just think that writers shouldn't become so obsessed with getting paid that their work suffers as a result.

Thank you for your criticism, I do appreciate it.

Best,

Mat Johnson
www.niggerati.com