J.E. Knowles, Interviewed
Posted by Editor Alexandra Wolfe | Filed under Interviews
It would have been nice to say I had to go all the way to Africa to interview J. E. Knowles, and talk to her about about her first publication, Arusha. Which, by the way, is set in Africa. Sadly, however, the question & answer interview was conducted via email.
KBV: First of all, Jacqui, would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m inclined to start with geography, because place is so important to me. I spent the first seventeen years of my life in rural East Tennessee, and then moved to Hyde Park, on the South Side of Chicago (now known as the Obamas’ neighborhood). I later immigrated to Canada, spent nine years there, picked up a spare passport, and am now relocating to England to live with my girlfriend, Trish.
To quote something I once read by Wanda Winfield: “I’m a lesbian, a Christian, and a human being.” Not in that order though.
KBV: What, or maybe I should ask, who was it that got you into writing to begin with?
When I was about four years old and onwards, I used to walk around telling stories out loud to no one. It was an element of my play. At some point, I realized that I was never going to be a pirate, or any of the other adventurous characters I heard (and later, read) stories about. Becoming a writer seemed like a consolation prize; if I couldn’t live all those adventures, at least I could write about them. In addition to my parents, who have always encouraged me, the earliest source of those inspiring stories were books from my aunt, Janet, and records from my great-aunt, Dorothy de Wit, who was a published author herself.
I had definitely decided to be a writer by the time I was nine, when, at the suggestion of one of my dad’s colleagues, who had introduced me to the fiction of Madeleine L’Engle, I entered a poetry competition (and won $25). Also at nine, I learned what a novel was, and decided I wanted to write those. I’ve never wanted to be anything else.
KBV: Who would you say were your influences early on?
Chaim Potok’s novel, MY NAME IS ASHER LEV, changed my life. On the outside, his main character was completely different from me, but I, too, was raised in a deeply religious tradition and yet always knew I was somehow different. E. Lynn Harris (JUST AS I AM), an African-American gay man, also drew me in to the heads of characters that are very different. That’s what I dream of doing for my readers. And I met Jill McCorkle (TENDING TO VIRGINIA) when I was fourteen and have aspired to her literary style and comic voice ever since.
KBV: What is it that motivates you to write, issues, or the need to tell a good story?
If an author tells a good story, I’m happy to read it regardless of genre, and I don’t see the point of writing for writing’s sake, that doesn’t tell a story. But having something to say is what compels me to tell a particular story. Theme is at the heart of my work.
KBV: I understand ARUSHA is your first published novel. Could you tell us a little bit about its background and characters, and how it came into being?
Thank you for noting that, first “published” novel. I do indeed have more than one unpublished! I’d wanted to write about the family in ARUSHA for twenty years, but couldn’t figure out what their story was. I was assuming that the daughter, Dana, would be the protagonist, because I was a teenager myself, but I only started writing after I realized that the actual hero was the mother, Edith. ARUSHA is about Edith and Joe, her husband, who love each other, but whose true selves are at odds with their marriage. I’d read other stories about marriages that fell apart when one spouse came out, so I asked, what if they knew from the very beginning? What would make them do that?
KBV: I’m really curious to know what made you decide on the title, ARUSHA? Is it a real place in Africa?
Yes, Arusha is a town in Tanzania, near Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. In recent years it’s where people have been tried and convicted for massacres in the neighboring country of Rwanda. At the time my characters travel to Arusha, in 1993, it was the site of peace talks aimed at preventing Rwandan genocide. As subsequent events show, those talks failed.
I chose the title because the climax of my novel is set in Arusha, but Arusha also represents a symbolic place in the life of my main character. Throughout the book, Edith dreams about going to Africa, but she is simultaneously on an inner journey to find her own truth.
KBV: Following on from ARUSHA, what else have you in store for us, for the future?
I am now working on a novel about a U.S. senator, a maverick conservative woman named Raybelle. The working title is THE TREES IN THE FIELD, and one of the minor characters from ARUSHA is a major character in it. An excerpt appears in the Goldie-nominated TOE TO TOE: STANDING TALL AND PROUD (Bedazzled Ink, 2008).
KBV: How do you like to approach your writing when starting a new project? Do you do outlines and breakdown scenes, or do you just leap straight into writing the narrative?
Many attempted first novels suffer from structural weakness. So I was determined to build a strong plot. I started with the characters and what their main desires and drives were, and from there, I sketched out a fairly detailed outline of what had to happen in the story before I wrote it, scene by scene.
I learned from ARUSHA, though, that once I have such an outline, the story takes off and I learn most of what I have to write just by doing it. I can’t call my process efficient, but it works for me.
KBV: How do you create your characters? Do you start with a basic outline of personality type, or work them up as you go along?
So far, at least, my characters tend to start with a name and a vague, indescribable presence. What I need before I really get going with characters is their driving force, what most strongly motivates each of them. I need that before physical appearance or pretty much any other aspect of character. For example, what I saw as the driving force behind Joe, Edith’s husband, was the desire to do the right thing. He believes the right thing is to marry a woman, raise children, and stay with his family, and so he persists with this long after it has any chance of making him—or them—happy.
KBV: Do you talk to your characters at all, and if so, what do they say to you?
They introduce themselves and then it’s a one-way conversation, them to me. In this respect, I fall more on the Barbara Cartland end of the spectrum—taking dictation—than that of Jane Fletcher, or Nabokov, who said his characters were galley slaves who just did what he told them. It surprised me to learn that I needed to make Edith the hero of ARUSHA, because I couldn’t draw on much of my own life to create her: I’ve never been a mother, married a man, or smoked, for instance. But that’s the story that came to me, so I had to use my imagination.
KBV: What are some of the things you do to improve on your craft? Do you attend conferences? Take workshops? Go on retreats?
The most important thing I ever did for my craft (thanks, P.) was to join the Humber School for Writers when I lived in Toronto. From my mentors there, I learned to self-edit objectively and focus on writing as a professional, whether or not I was being paid for it. It’s not any specific thing I was taught, so much as finally taking myself seriously; instead of just saying I was a writer. Most important, I met several other writers through the program and we’ve been meeting for the past five years. We still work together through e-mail, and I wouldn’t want to send out any work that they hadn’t helped me with. We are women and men, of different ages and orientations, and have all different writing styles. This is a great strength of our group.
KBV: How do you see your work developing in the future?
What I hope I can do, and what I’m trying to do, is become a better and better writer. Not just in terms of the words, but storytelling as well. In my first year of high school, I read THE PRINCE OF TIDES by Pat Conroy and thought, I want to do this. Gorgeous prose, unforgettable characters, and a story that sold millions. Recently, I read his next novel, BEACH MUSIC. I still want to write like Conroy when I grow up.
KBV: If you didn’t write, what do you think you’d be doing right now?
It’s hard for me to imagine not having anywhere for these thoughts to go! If I didn’t write, I suppose I’d have more time to read. Or perhaps I would practice music with enough discipline to get really good at it.
KBV: And finally, what’s your favorite thing about writing? And what, for you, are the worst aspects about it?
Well, I haven’t found the money very reliable. My favorite thing is getting something in my head that I have to write down, and just losing track of everything else while the words pour out. I love the physical aspects of writing, on paper, with a pencil or pen. Writing, not typing.
Thank you so much for these great questions; it’s been a pleasure.
Author Profile:
J. E. Knowles is a native of Upper East Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Chicago. She holds a Diploma in Jewish Studies from Oxford and has published stories, essays, and poems in the USA and Canada.
You can visit her on her Web at: http://jeknowles.com
ARUSHA is her first novel.
Tags: arusha, Interviews, je knowles
Kissed By Venus is a web site for the discussion and promotion of lesbian literature. We publish lesbian fiction, articles, book reviews, and interviews.
October 1st, 2009 at 2:43 am
“I am now working on a novel about a U.S. senator, a maverick conservative woman named Raybelle.”
This makes me a happy camper. Loved the short I read last fall.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:37 am
Excellent interview. Arusha is a well-written, richly layered novel. I look forward to reading more from J.E. Knowles.