Prior to having enrolled in this English class I had never heard of Tayari Jones, and I probably never would have either. Being a white, male, college student my chances of coming across any of her work on my own is slim to none. That being said, I’m glad I’ve been exposed to some of her work and can now say I’ve read some of it too.
This was also the first author reading I had ever been to. I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into it. Prior to having arrived at the library I had prepared myself for I assumed was going to be some stuck up author lecturing us about how we all suck at writing and need to buy their book so we can learn from them. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The chapters that Tayari Jones read were good, but they were not my favorite part. She is no doubt an extremely talented writer, who has strong skills in developing dialogue, but the stories were hard for me to relate to. I have no idea what it’s like to grow up in a city, have a father who neglected me, or to go through the struggles of being a young girl. But the one part of the reading that did strike a chord with me is how she read the stories. This was the first I had ever heard an author read a story the way they meant for it to be read. The way she got inside the characters was amazing. You could feel her passion for the little girls, the sympathy towards the mother, and presence of the stern, cold tone in the father’s voice. Not to sound cheesy or anything, but she really did bring the characters to life.
Looking back on it I’m really glad that attending this event was mandatory because otherwise I never would have been exposed to anything like it. I liked how personal Tayari Jones was with the audience and how she made everyone feel welcome. Who know, if all the author readings turn out to be like this, I may even start going to them own.
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