Author Q&A: Morowa Yejide - Time of the Locust

[Michael]

For our August 2014 book group book we are reading Time of the Locust by Morowa Yejide. Ms. Yejide is currently a member of our group, and I am excited to say she has agreed to answer some of our questions as part of our book discussion! If you haven't read the book yet, I would definitely recommend adding it to your to-read list. Here is a compelling review from the Washington Post posted on Morowa Yejide's website:

Time of the Locust "deftly brings together the fantastic and the realistic, and it touches on a variety of issues, from politics, race and murder to disability, domestic tragedy and myth. Though just 242 pages long, it sweeps from Depression-era Louisiana, to New York in the ’60s, to Washington in the mid-’90s....the story is strong and original, and even the minor characters come alive...I was that mother once: terrified inside a weary body, unable to explain my missing husband or my feral son. The car, the mystery, the rift — I know them, they’re real. But Yejidé spins them with gold and possibility in this dark and fantastical tale."

If you are interested in joining our discussion, it's not too late, the topic is here. I am posting the Q&A thread separate from the discussion thread so that both threads will be easier to follow!

Now for the Question and Answer. Morowa Yejide has made time in her busy schedule to answer some questions on Sunday, August 24. Ms. Yejide will have a link to this thread, so post your questions about her book or her writing here and Ms. Yejide will answer them as she is able on this thread. I'd like to ask that you just ask one question per person initially, and if it looks like she will have time for more questions, we can open it up for further questions at that time. I've opened this thread a week in advance so everyone has a chance to see the thread and think of a question if they so desire. So, ask away!

[Wilhelmina]

My question is about the supermax prison in which Horus is incarcerated. How did you do the research for that part of the book? How realistic is it?

[Beverly]

First thank you for writing a compelling thought-provoking story.

My question is about your expectations of the reader. What did you want the reader to take away from reading your story? Since the book is in three parts - what three things did you want me to learn from each of the parts?

[Rebecca]

What inspired you to write Brenda's character? How did you come up with the idea of all her complexities.

[Morowa]

Beverly wrote: "First thank you for writing a compelling thought-provoking story.

My question is about your expectations of the reader. What did you want the reader to take away from reading your story? Since the..."

Thanks for your kind words, Beverly! I think that reading (and writing for that matter) is such a subjective process that authors (especially fiction authors) would be foolish to write with expectations of readers in mind- and I would venture to say that it would be impossible to develop a story with other people (readers) "in your head" while you write. For me, the characters in Time of the Locust are composites of what's seen, believed, thought, and (of course) imagined in the mythology of the story I've created. If I could ask anything of readers (which, again, I don't really believe is possible given the subjectivity of the human mind) I would ask that readers go on an odyssey with the characters and what these characters experience- to try to momentarily clear the lens of their minds if you will- to look at something another way (feel something a different way) and come to a greater understanding of what the characters represent. Whether that's possible or not for readers is difficult for me to say since everyone brings their believes and judgments to the page (that's just human nature). Personally, I love literature that "shifts" with my mind (like a kind of hologram) and at the end means what it means for me. For example, I've read books like Song of Solomon and As I Lay Dying many times and each time I get something different. What I was seeking with Time of the Locust is that great mirror that stories can offer: the reader looks into it (and may or may not be comfortable with what he/she sees). It's the glimpse that makes one stop and think (if only for a moment). That's the thrill of reading (and writing) for me.

[Morowa]

Rebecca wrote: "What inspired you to write Brenda's character? How did you come up with the idea of all her complexities."

Hi Rebecca. Brenda is a composite of all the women I've seen or known or read about who carry many things on their backs- and yet they are trying every day. African American women in particular have many challenges and responsibilities, and all of this is while they are working, mothering, holding families together, dealing with trauma, and basically trying to get from year to year. What I wanted to look at with Brenda, however, is the complexity of women who leave themselves off the list. Self-care is eclipsed by the overwhelming time and energy required for everything else and I believe this is a reality for some women. I wanted to show her levels in an attempt to get away from what we often see in stories with black women and other women like her: which is the assumption that either she can "take it" or she's "used to it"- having done it (whatever it is) so long- or that her self-destruction (ill-health, bitterness, problems) is somehow her "natural" state. Historically, this has followed black women since the earliest "stories" written about them. I find that many people who read Brenda can understand that complexity and endless to-do-list right away, but I wanted to paint a character where we might "feel" what it is like to live her life- not just watch comfortably from a distance, not just label and dismiss (or not see at all). Brenda's character in a vacuum or a standalone bubble is something I also tried to avoid to an extent. Meaning, her complexities (and isolation) are not just driven by what's happened to her personally but also by the people she cares for. You can't tell her story without her child's story. You can't tell her story without her husband's story.

[Morowa]

Wilhelmina wrote: "My question is about the supermax prison in which Horus is incarcerated. How did you do the research for that part of the book? How realistic is it?"

Hello there, Wilhelmina. I'm a researcher at heart and I start each grain of thought when I'm writing with, "Let's see what I can find." This often means an organic, serendipity-laden adventure in looking into a topic. I don't think you can talk about the American tapestry without talking about the prisons- the elephant in the room with what is basically the equivalent of a small country of people locked away. I started with the idea that supermax is a world away from the world and read a multitude of prison reports, court records (the scene in "Burials" with the theatrical attorney talking was inspired by actual court transcripts), documentaries, books like Jack Abbott's In the Belly of the Beast and the writings of Mumia Abu-Jamal. I think that war and prisons are as closely linked as former military personnel and current prison personnel are- so I looked at that. I also looked at how other scholars worldwide view and write about the American penal system, both in contemporary reports and old documents like that of Charles Dickens. But beyond those materials, I looked at prison blogs and letters of those incarcerated and commentary from guards (those that weren't censored, anyway). And from there the question became, "What's not in those books, documentaries, blogs, and letters?" At the end of the day, Time of the Locust is fiction but I think the "realness" in the story is whether or not it is reasonable to think that someone like Horus, in a situation like his, in this particular country, could go through what he is going through. The character of Horus is a kind of way to give voice to the voiceless- to "see" that undiscovered country we know is there but never discuss. Unfortunately, I have found that real life is often much worse than fiction. I didn't have to make up some of this stuff from which I extrapolated on the one hand, and what I did imagine doesn't seem too far off from what can be seen in reality. In short, it's all a rabbit hole and I tried to go as far into it as possible to drive the story.

[William]

We are told that Horus does not in fact set out intending to shoot the man who murdered his father. He brings a gun which he stows in his glove compartment. Obviously something happens when he is in the car with Horus that causes him to retrieve it and kill the man. But you've left this scene out of the book. Why was it important to you to leave this crucial bit of information to the readers imagination? The world is full of folk wanting justified and unjustifiable revenge. Very few actually carry out their plans even in cases as extreme as Horus. I was anxious to know what could have pushed the button to make Horus actually act out his.

[William]

You make references to ancient Egyptology. Your plague of locusts for instance, turns up in Admonitions of Ipuwer hundreds of years before inclusion in the biblical Exodus. There are mentions of obelisks, Egyptian gods and the interior worlds of Sepheri and Horus invoke a feeling of antiquity. I don't think that Brenda is at all sold on Christianity. Is there a conflict? Is there an implication that Brenda might be better off and able to see things clearer if she were to pay more attention to the spirituality of the ancients?

[Morowa]

William wrote: "We are told that Horus does not in fact set out intending to shoot the man who murdered his father. He brings a gun which he stows in his glove compartment. Obviously something happens when he is i..."

Greetings, William. The chapter Heart & Mind sought to address the internal conflict Horus has between what he rationalizes or thinks consciously vs. what he really feels/believes in his heart and wants to act on subconsciously. And I think it's a numbers game when we start talking about how few or how many commit acts on a spectrum of severity, since people act out on others everyday worldwide- and what is justified/considered severe in one place by one group of people is viewed differently by others someplace else. That said, I like to explore behaviors through story, and I think Horus in Heart & Mind represents that dance that people do internally in one way or another everyday-rationalizing what they want to believe vs. what is in front of them to see. The "suddenness" of Horus committing this act is really a culmination of many events over many years, a summation of smaller decisions and smaller rationalizations. I often enjoy stories that let me know something critical right up front, and then unwrap the layers of "how" that something happened- moving beyond the "what" that is already known and get into "why." In the case of Horus killing Sam Teak, this "what" is established early in Chapter 2 (Burials)- we already know what Horus did (as spelled out by the prosecutor). Brenda and Manden circle around the murder like a constellation as well. The "trigger," if you will, is not so much some small detail or event that took place in the car (other than Sam Teak openly admitting that he did in fact kill his father) but the totality (and moment of opportunity) of Horus making a final judgment on the cop and acting on it. Ultimately, I found it more dramatically interesting to explore the events leading to the "act" and the fallout of the act, and let the reader imagine the act itself. Almost like a fade-to-black in visual terms where the mind fills in the rest with the details and facts already given.

[Morowa]

William wrote: "You make references to ancient Egyptology. Your plague of locusts for instance, turns up in Admonitions of Ipuwer hundreds of years before inclusion in the biblical Exodus. There are mentions of o..."

Hello again, William. Brenda's spirituality in the book seeks to illustrate someone who struggles to define and maintain a kind of personal dialogue with God outside of the social norms of going to church and listening to a sermon. She's made her own "pact" (based on what she's witnessed) that she tries to put in terms that she can personally understand. This is her private way of "coordinating" with God. She hasn't lost her faith, but she's struggling for ways to apply it directly to her circumstance. She wants a real and direct relationship with God- without commiseration or hypocrisy. Brenda represents the woman who doesn't go to church every week but seeks to be more sincere about understanding her believe system. With regards to Egyptology, I find it to be a tremendous wellspring for storytelling since its ancient themes are played out over and over in stories down through the millennia. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. The beauty for me in using Egyptology in fiction is that it allows me a mythological way to create a landscape, language, and lens to add a cultural and historical dimension to a story.

[George]

to me, one of the most interesting aspects of your book which I enjoyed very much by the way, is that it seems almost none of the major characters are capable or willing perhaps to actually communicating with each other, which drives the central act that sets up everything else, the death of Sam Teak and the imprisonment of Horus and endless damage. The only real lines of communication seem to be primarily mystical, between Horus and Sephiri and between Horus and the Mummy. Why is that? What are you trying to say here?

[George]

by the way, thanks for taking the time and interest to do this Q&A. Will you be at the National Book Festival in DC next weekend?

[Michael]

Thank you again for doing this Q&A with the group; it has been most enlightening! I have a question:

Time of the Locust deals with a lot of social issues - the consequences of racism and prejudice, the isolation of those dealing with autism, the epidemic of Black male imprisonment and execution, to name just a few. And yet it is such a character-driven story, it made me wonder how the two aspects interact in your writing process. Do you start with the characters and discover along the way all of the social issues that they inhabit? Or do you also start with something you want to say about society and see where that intersects with the characters?

[Michael]

Today is our official deadline for questions, so make sure you post any remaining questions while Morowa Yejide has our attention!

[Morowa]

George wrote: "to me, one of the most interesting aspects of your book which I enjoyed very much by the way, is that it seems almost none of the major characters are capable or willing perhaps to actually communi..."

Thanks for posting, George, and I really appreciate that you enjoyed the book. You touch on a core element I tried to explore with Time of the Locust, which is the internal dialogue that I think people have with themselves. I've always been fascinated by different ways to communicate and I think there is a kind of internal communication that goes on- one that people don't necessarily share with others openly. Or they modify it to share what they feel comfortable with. I explored the possibility that the spirit world has a language of its own as well (i.e. the dialogue between Horus and the Mummy). In the case of Horus and Sephiri, that spirit realm is all that remains between them. I think at the core I wanted to show that language itself is just one way of "talking" and "listening." But I also think that there is a kind of language of the heart (i.e. between a parent and a child) that transcends all words ("love," if you will, for lack of a word that can actually describe that language).

[Morowa]

George wrote: "by the way, thanks for taking the time and interest to do this Q&A. Will you be at the National Book Festival in DC next weekend?"

Thanks for asking, George. Alas, I have a schedule conflict but my goal was to at least attend some of the events! If you have interest, here are the other upcoming events. http://www.morowayejide.com/appearances
Of course, I'm working on more home base events in the DC metro area later this year.

[Morowa]

Michael wrote: "Thank you again for doing this Q&A with the group; it has been most enlightening! I have a question:

Time of the Locust deals with a lot of social issues - the consequences of rac..."

Michael, I must say that this Goodreads group is one of the most astute group of individuals I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with, and it has been a real delight and honor. Thanks to you all! To answer your question, I start with concepts and images in my stories. From there I develop the "frame" of the characters and the elements that I would like to explore through the characters that can light those concepts. Research is a big part of my process. Not in a stiff way but in a discovery way. The research is an odyssey. I never know what I'll find. The world and everything in it becomes part of my tool chest. From there the story takes on a more organic process. At the same time, the concepts that I originally started with become clearer in my mind. I try to add more layers to the concepts to make them richer and more vivid. It feels a bit like painting to me.

[George]

Morowa wrote: "George wrote: "to me, one of the most interesting aspects of your book which I enjoyed very much by the way, is that it seems almost none of the major characters are capable or willing perhaps to a..."

Thanks very much for the reply, Morowa. I found Sephiri's deliniation of the water and air worlds very interesting as well, particularly with his interaction with the octopus, dolphins, etc. At the very least, it was a very creative approach.

[Rebecca]

I am so happy that you were willing to Q/A. Your responses have been so thorough. I appreciated your book so much. I also remembered now how you illustrated the minds ability to escape. Even though prison can confine, it cannot confine the mind's ability. I can't remember what character was fantasizing but it made me think of this.

[Michael]

Morowa wrote: "Michael, I must say that this Goodreads group is one of the most astute group of individuals I've ever had the pleasure of interacting with, and it has been a real delight and honor. Thanks to you all!"

You're welcome! And I humbly agree with your assessment! But seriously, this is definitely a sharp group of folks and I'm proud to be here. Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this great exchange!