Tayari Jones: Craft, Kin, and Cultural Insights

Novelist Tayari Jones, during her first year at Spelman College, enrolled in a creative writing class led by Pearl Cleage. She attributes this experience as a pivotal moment in becoming a writer. Jones gained national recognition with her 2018 novel, An American Marriage, a selection for Oprah's book club.

Her latest novel, Kin, also an Oprah book club pick, is set in 1950s Louisiana and Atlanta. The story centers on two young women who grow up as neighbors, bound by the absence of their mothers, and whose lives diverge. One navigates towards Atlanta's Black elite, while the other embarks on a search for her abandoned mother. Jones stated that Kin was not the modern novel about gentrification she was initially contracted to write; instead, it developed from personal writing aimed at self-entertainment and comfort.

Jones stated that Kin developed from personal writing aimed at self-entertainment and comfort.

Interview Insights

On Female Relationships

Jones expressed that the narrative of women as "frenemies" is disadvantageous. She described her time at Spelman College, a women's institution, as a transformative experience that fostered an appreciation for other women.

Her time at Spelman College fostered a transformative appreciation for other women.

On Grief and Writing

She indicated that her own grief over the sudden death of a friend, Aisha, influenced the depiction of longing experienced by the main characters in Kin.

On "Leaving Atlanta"

Jones discussed her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, which presented the Atlanta child murders from a child's viewpoint. She noted that this perspective differed from adult interpretations, such as those by James Baldwin and Toni Cade Bambara, who viewed the events symbolically in the context of civil rights.

Jones highlighted that children experience events based on feeling, while adults later assign meaning.

On Language and Ebonics

Jones commented on the creation of new words when existing language is inadequate. She observed that while corporate entities creating new words is often accepted, new words created by poor or Black communities are sometimes labeled as "bad English." She emphasized the flexibility and expressive nature of Black English, describing it as bending the English language to suit specific needs.

Black English, Jones noted, bends the English language to suit specific needs, showcasing its flexibility and expressive nature.

On Civil Rights Influences

Jones shared that her upbringing by civil rights activist parents instilled an expectation of engaging in "race work" whatever her chosen profession. She recounted how her parents' activism and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta shaped her understanding of personal responsibility and purpose.

Her upbringing by civil rights activist parents instilled an expectation of engaging in "race work" within her chosen profession.