Robert Jones Jr. 鈥�06, 鈥�08 M.F.A., author of The Prophets (G.P. Putnam鈥檚 Sons, 2021). Photo Credit: Alberto Vargas, Rain River Images.
Robert Jones Jr. 鈥�06, 鈥�08 M.F.A., was working on an assignment for one fated fiction tutorial course when Samuel chose him.
He was in the聽master of fine arts in creative writing program聽when the class exercise sent him looking for an object that one of his story characters might possess.
鈥淚 happened upon a pair of shackles in the garbage in the streets of Brooklyn and knew that that was immediately Samuel telling me that he would like me to tell his story,鈥� said Jones.
Nearly 15 years later, his first novel,听The Prophets聽(G.P. Putnam鈥檚 Sons, 2021), tells that story鈥攁 groundbreaking one of love, betrayal, and ancestral inheritance鈥攖o the tune of instant聽New York Times聽bestseller/toast of the literary world/vaunted Toni Morrison comparisons glory.
Jones returned to 可乐视频 in February, virtually, for a conversation that was part of the college鈥檚 Common Reader/The 1619 Project. He read a passage from the widely acclaimed novel鈥攚hich centers around the aforementioned Samuel and his lover, Isiah, set on a plantation in antebellum America鈥攂efore a lively discussion about his research methods, his writing process, his pre-publication fears, and the imprint his alma mater left on him.
The February evening session was a homecoming for which even Zoom couldn鈥檛 contain the visceral pride and enthusiasm of former professors, colleagues (he also worked at the college for several years), and even current students.
鈥淓very line is lyrical, every breath is magical,鈥� gushed Wadzanai Mhute, a student in the M.F.A. in creative writing program who worked on聽聽and introduced Jones at the session. 鈥淲hen you finish it, it will follow you and your thoughts will return to the characters time and time again.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the things we talk about in M.F.A. classes is the subject of inferiority and how to convey a mind,鈥� said聽Ellen Tremper, chair of the聽English Department. 鈥淩obert has done such a magnificent job of conveying, not merely the bodies of enslaved peoples, but their minds, through those techniques we talk about.鈥�
By Jones鈥� own admission, the reading was stacked with 鈥減eople who have shaped my creative thinking, my academic and scholarly life,鈥� he said, crediting, in addition to the English Department, his professors and mentors in聽Africana Studies鈥攚here he minored during his undergraduate years鈥攆or giving him a grounding in the horrors of slavery and for introducing him to the little person who he said now sits on his shoulder when he鈥檚 writing, his 鈥渟piritual godfather,鈥� James Baldwin.
Flanked in his home by pictures of Baldwin and Toni Morrison鈥攈is other belletristic hero鈥擩ones explained the tremendous amount of research involved before he could even commit to the story.
鈥淥ne of the things I encountered when I was writing the book were people who were saying 鈥楤ut there were not Black queer people back then,鈥欌�� said Jones, who started聽, a blog turned social media community that takes on racial and social justice issues. 鈥淭hat caused me to look in the canon to see if I could find any examples of it.鈥�
Not surprisingly, he couldn鈥檛, at least not anything overt, where queer lovers were central characters and what鈥檚 more, in love. And yet he had learned that many pre-colonial African societies had nuanced ideas about love, gender, and gender identity where queerness was not viewed as different or depraved.
鈥淥nce I discovered that, it opened up a tremendous world for me to be able to explore this with much more confidence,鈥� he said.
Still, he worried when the book was published that it would be deemed unbelievable, that people would say, 鈥淭his is me attempting to insert some 鈥榞ay agenda鈥� into history,鈥� he said.
Quite the contrary, the book that was first workshopped in his creative writing courses landed, in the beginning of the year, already having made several prominent must-read lists, including those put out by聽The New York Times,听The Washington Post, Oprah Winfrey and Mariah Carey.
鈥�The Prophets聽calls, across time, on queer warriors, woman kings, root women and boys in love to paint a long queer Black history, a history of rising against, of ever making one鈥檚 way back to freedom,鈥� read聽.
The novel is now being optioned as a film or limited series, the celebrated author is on a whirlwind virtual tour, the book has already been printed in more than a half dozen countries, and Jones said he鈥檚 found his lane, happy to carry the torch for Black queer writers.
鈥淚 wear both of those identities with pride. They鈥檝e opened up for me such unproven ground. It鈥檚 all brand new territory for me to explore,鈥� he said at the Common Reader session, in which he also acknowledged other writers from the M.F.A. program who have seen success.
鈥溈衫质悠� is the place for writers to be born. And to grow and learn and find themselves,鈥� he said.
