with Tayari Jones

Tayari Jones was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia where she spent most of her childhood with the exception of the one year she and her family spent in Nigeria, West Africa.

Tayari Jones is a graduate of Spelman College, The University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of English at The University if Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she teaches creative writing.

Her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, is a coming of age story set during the city’s infamous child murders of 1979-81. Her newest novel, The Untelling, was published by Warner Books in April 2005. Visit her website at www.TayariJones.com

Urban-Reviews: How did you break into the business and has writing always been your passion?
Tayari Jones: Being a writer is the only ambition which I have ever had. Even as a little kid, I never wanted to be a nurse or a teacher like other girls. I wanted to be a writer. Well, there was a brief moment in third grade when I wanted to be a hair dresser. (Smile!) I got in the business in a way that is more common for white writers than black writers. I went to graduate school for a degree in creative writing. My advisor (the African-American writer Jewell Parker Rhodes,) then helped me to find a publisher. Now that I am teaching at the university level, at the University of Illinois, I hope to help more black writers come through the way that I came through. I think it is very important that we have equal access to education, training and opportunities.

UR: Can you please fill us in on what your current book is all about?
TJ: The Untelling is a novel about a family’s efforts to overcome a terrible tragedy. Most of the novel centers on the youngest daughter, Aria, who believes that the way to overcome the challenges of her childhood is to marry and sort of make a new family. But, as we all know, you can never quite run away from your past. The real question of this novel is What Is Moving On? How do you honor the memory and still be able to move on?

UR:How did you come about the name and topic for The Untelling?
TJ: It takes me about three years to write a book. During that time, so many things change that often the first thing I thought about doesn’t even end up as part of the final product. One thing leads to another while I am writing the novel and I don’t necessarily begin at the beginning.

UR: Are any of the characters in your book based on actual persons or occurences?
TJ: Well, Leaving Atlanta was based on my experiences growing up in Atlanta during the child murders. I wanted to use my first novel to make a record of that moment in my personal history, the history of Atlanta, and the history of our race, and the nation.

UR: Have there been any significant changes in your life now that you have become a novelist?
TJ: The biggest difference is that people in my life take me more seriously now that my books have been published. In my heart, I have considered myself to be a writer since I was about nineteen years old. Most people humored me, but nobody really respected the way that I spend my time. But now, that has changed. It is easier for me to get people to give me my space. What used to be a “hobby” in the eyes of my family and friends is now more of a “calling.” But that is what it was to me all along.

UR: How do you measure the success of your novels?
TJ: I think that good sales matter to me to least of all. After all, there is so much that goes into that which is out of my control. For example, I can’t determine how many copies my publisher chooses to print and you can’t sell a million copies if a million copies don’t exist! (Smile!) What’s important to me is that the book connects with people who read it. I have a web site, http://www.TayariJones.com and I get email almost every day from someone who has read either the Untelling or Leaving Atlanta. I get letters sometimes from brothers and sisters who are incarcerated. It means a lot to me that I have written a book that is accessible to everyone and that the people who read it, say that it touched their lives.

UR: Does it matter to you where people purchase your books? (i.e. B&M, online, Black Expressions)
TJ: Of course, I encourage people to shop at the independent bookstores. I like to keep our money in our communities. But at the same time I know that a lot of people really need the discounts that you can get online or at Black Expressions. I like people to read the book however they can. I encourage people to use the public library even. Of course, I want to sell books, but more than that, I want people to *read* the books.

UR: As an Assistant Professor of English, how do you feel about proper grammar and etiquette in writing novels?
TJ: Well, I am not a grammar Nazi, particularly when it comes to writing dialogue. But I do think that it is important that any writer have a mastery of the language.

UR: Have you integrated your novels into the coursework for your students?
TJ: Nope. I never use my own work. I think that the students will not feel comfortable being honest. After all, I am the one who records the grades. (Ha!)

UR: What meaning do you expect people to get from reading The Untelling?
TJ: I don’t know. Readers always surprise me. Different things resonate with different people.

UR: Do you have any authors or books that are currently your favorites?
TJ: This is such a hard question for me. I read so much and for so many different reasons. It’s hard to for me name just a few. I have an overwhelming respect for Pearl Cleage. She was my first writing teacher and she showed me how to write literature that matters. She taught me how to take what I believe in and what I care about and how to turn it into art.

UR: Are there any projects that you are currently working on?
TJ: I am working on a new novel. It is so new and fragile that I am not comfortable talking about it yet.

UR: What words of advice would you give to people thinking about getting into the business?
TJ: I don’t know. I hate the business angle. There are a million books you can get about how to sell your book, how to market your book, all of that. I am really more interested in telling people how to write the books. Writing and selling are two different things. And for people who want to write I recommend that they write at least four days a week. It’s just like working out. You have to train and get yourself in shape.