Showing appreciation for African-Caribbean writers; a writer’s reflection

BY WAZARI JOHNSON

Louis L’Amour was noted for the words “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

I found that I had to apply the principle contained in these words to maintain my journey as a writer.

By experience, I know that being a writer is not easy. This creative process requires you to manifest ideas out of thin air with the hope that these ideas will have a positive impact on the reader. But there is something called writers block, and that is just one of many frustrations that a writer might be dealing with at the time when they have a writing assignment that they have to resolve. Believe me, being a writer is not easy pickings.

There is a statement that I have always resented; I think you have probably heard it before “If you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book.” Black people unfortunately often verbalize this stereotypical trope. It presents the idea that black people are not keen on literacy, that we have no appreciation for the literary arts, and that we do not have an appreciation for the production of literary content. That is why, though I appreciate writers in general, I have a great appreciation for people of African decent that choose to become writers and also become great at it.

One writer that I recently met and admire what she is doing as a writer is Tiffany Thomas, who is currently based in Canada.

I asked Tiffany what her motivation was in becoming a writer and this is what she said “I was always a good storyteller from an early age. I got serious about my writing after the birth of my son. I wanted to influence the content that he reads, and I knew that the best way to do that was to create it.” I would say that this is indeed a great source of motivation.

Some of the figures that influenced her decision to become a writer are: Crystal Swain-Bates, Matthew A. Cherry and Saccheen Laing.

Her areas of focus at the moment are children’s books. “I chose children’s books because I wanted to create books that empower and uplift little boys and girls of color. I wanted them to see themselves represented in all aspects of life.” She added “I do intend to dabble into adult genres in the future. I would love to write a romance novel someday.”

Reflecting on how her journey has been so far she shared “It has been smooth, this is something that I am very passionate about, and so I enjoy every step of the journey, even the setbacks.” And her expectations for the future are as follows “I expect to have my books in bookstores across the world and just to grow and evolve as a writer.”

She says her advice to others who want to become writers would be “Just do it.” And when asked if there was anything in her journey she would like to change she just replied, “No, I learned from my setbacks and they made me grow as a writer.”

Tiffany has two projects out at the moment “Tiny Voices Big Prayer” and “Dear Black Child, You Are Royalty.” This is what she had to say about each book:

Tiny Voices Big Prayer
“As a child, my storybooks about the bible all had the images of God depicted as a white man, and when mention was made of the devil, he was always black. We were taught that white is purity but black is vile and evil. I wanted to change this narrative and so I wrote the book “Tiny Voices, Big Prayer.” In this book, all the characters are black, including the image of God. I wanted our children to see a God that looks like us.”

Dear Black Child, You Are Royalty
“As a little girl, I noticed that all my history books in school spoke of my ancestors as slaves brought to the islands to work on plantations. I yearned to know what they were before they were taken into captivity, and so I embarked upon the journey to discover the rich history that was hidden from us.

When I began to research some of Africa’s wealthiest and most powerful monarchs, I found that I had to dig a little deeper because this information was not easily accessible. Over the years of researching my history I found more and more articles and books coming forward which highlighted African Royalties and how they impacted the lives of their people in a tremendous way.

I then desired to simplify this information and combine it with beautiful illustrations as a means of captivating young minds. I thought it was very important for black children to see their ancestors “As more than just slaves.” This book was created with the aim to uplift and empower black children across the world.”

I wish more people who are considering becoming writers will make the big step as Tiffany Thomas did.