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鈥淲riters On Writing鈥� Radio Show (Replay)
About the Episode
Dr. Brenda Greene interviews Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, author of听My Monticello: Fiction. Greene and Johnson discuss Johnson鈥檚 motivation for writing the five short stories and novella 鈥淢y Monticello,鈥� a cautionary tale in the tradition of Octavia E. Butler鈥檚听Parable of the Sower. The themes in these stories include, among others, race relations, white supremacy, police brutality, the immigrant experience, and environmental issues. Johnson鈥檚 opening story, 鈥淐ontrol Negro,鈥� recounts a Black professor鈥檚 clinical observation of his son from birth through young adulthood. The novella 鈥淢y Monticello鈥� features a diverse group of Charlottesville neighbors who flee white supremacists and seek refuge in Monticello, the plantation home of Thomas Jefferson. Greene and Johnson discuss those who influenced Johnson鈥檚 work, her writing process, and her view on the state of Black literature. Danielle Evans writes of听My Monticello: 鈥�My Monticello听is a gorgeous, devastating collection of stories spotlighting the ways a life, a country, and a planet can tend toward disaster but still be worth fighting for.鈥�
About the Gue
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson听is the author of the critically acclaimed听My Monticello, a fiction debut that was called 鈥渆lectrifying鈥� by Colson Whitehead and 鈥渁 masterly feat鈥� by听The听New York Times. A fellow of Tin House, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Johnson鈥檚 writing has appeared in听Guernica,听The Guardian,听Kweli Journal, and elsewhere. Her short story 鈥淐ontrol Negro鈥� was anthologized in听The Best American Short Stories 2018, guest edited by Roxane Gay, who described it as, 鈥渙ne hell of a story鈥� and read live by LeVar Burton for PRI鈥檚听Selected Shorts. A veteran public school art teacher, Johnson lives and writes in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Select episodes of 鈥淲riters on Writing鈥澨齝an now be heard on the new CBL YouTube channel.听!
Email听writers@mec.cuny.edu听for more information.