Do you define yourself through it? Do you feel pride in being black? Or is that a racist question – I’d find it absurd if anyone asked me whether I have pride in being white… We talk about racism but my daughter gets sick of it and rolls her eyes… It is important black parents are on guard against self-hatred, which gets communicated to children. You have a daughter – how do you arm her against racism? Yes, I would agree, although black culture is also alive and vibrant. You quote a friend of yours who said: “The condition of black life is one of mourning.” Do you agree? Yes – have you seen the recent video in Clinton correctional facility where guards refer to a black prisoner’s “non-compliant” body? He is non-compliant because he is dead. You make “ situation videos ” with your husband, John Lucas, using news stories, to illustrate your poems dynamically… It has taken me a while to train myself to speak out. Blackness in the white imagination has nothing to do with black people.īecause making other people uncomfortable is thought worse than racism. Darren Wilson told the jury that he shot Michael Brown because he looked “like a demon”. When white men are shooting black people, some of it is malice and some an out-of-control image of blackness in their minds. “Because white men can’t/ police their imagination/ black men are dying.” What was in your mind when you wrote that line? I took her willingness to be interviewed as a sign of approval. I interviewed her for the New York Times in August. And, yes, Serena has seen what I wrote about her. Well, do you know what has just happened? Apparently, Serena Williams is athlete of the year and the LA Times has put out a cover to its sports magazine asking the question: does Serena Williams deserves sportsperson of the year more than a horse? As one of my friends protested: this is the same paper that made Citizen one of its books of the year. Has Serena Williams read or responded to the piece in Citizen in which you champion her? I spoke to my friends! About 25 people, black and white.

How many people did you interview in preparation for writing? The book is much more than autobiographical. I find it interesting to look at language itself and think about what language can do

They are going to shut things up and there will be repression. I don’t think black people are in denial. Is there a denial of racism among black people? And for readers – for people of colour – they have said they find it cathartic to have moments that they have kept to themselves openly written about. It is language that pulls moments into their reality. Language reveals something that happens so fast. I find it interesting to look at language itself and think about what language can do. Does the subject sometimes feel a burden to write about?įor me, this will sound odd.

Claudia rankine books