Interview with Afaa Weaver and David Anderson's Class at the University of Louisville

(Note: The first half of this chat has been edited.)

(10:08) [afaa] Hello
(10:08) [David] Hi!
(10:09) [David] I was wondering if you could discuss why family heritage is so important to you and your work.
(10:10) [afaa] Family was my way into the culture and out of it...transcendence..
(10:11) [becca] how do you mean ; it was your way out?
(10:12) [Samantha] several of the pieces seem to speak to your father, has he read the book, has it brought you closer?
(10:12) [afaa] In order to write about myself - confessionalism -I had to both enter and break the bonds of cultural taboo...
(10:13) [afaa] My father is proud of my work, and we have the usual generational challenges compounded by race and class....
(10:13) [becca] ok, thanks
(10:14) [Erin] What experience was the poem "Inside the Blues Whale" based on?
(10:14) [Ruth Ann] How has the rest of your family responded to the poetry?
(10:15) [afaa] Well Erin, let me tell you....I was being seen in an emergency room for -shall is say - an episode of the nerves...:-) in 1979...
(10:15) [afaa] My family mostly likes my work, I think...lol
(10:16) [Sarah] What was your influence for the poem, "Going to Church with C.W. and who is C.W.?
(10:16) [becca] what was the trigger that led you to publishing your work? What made you decide to have your poems viewed by the public versus only yourself and chosen others?
(10:17) [afaa] I told my good friend in the factory- Donald-that I thought publishing was egotistical. He told me if I thought that, I was truly crazy...
(10:17) [Betsey Garrison] Try to give Afaa enough time, so that he doesn’t have to answer more than one question at a time.
(10:18) [afaa] On C.W. and church—I was staying in New Hampshire with an elderly and wealthy woman, one of the descendants of the original Pilgrims...and we developed a difficult friendship....she is 100 now...
(10:18) [afaa] Her father was the first accounting professor at Harvard...
(10:18) [alicia] Does the galaxie in "The Black and White Galaxie" represent the state of race relations? If so, to what extent?
(10:19) [afaa] We stayed on the family estate near Dartmouth...
(10:20) [afaa] State of race relations? It’s more like the state of having a nice car for men like me...which I don’t have...seriously, the poem speaks to the way black men feel hunted....if I can use that word.
(10:20) [afaa] Cars are sanctuaries...
(10:22) [Samantha] cars seem to be a recurrent theme in your works, can you talk about some of the range of symbolism
(10:23) [afaa] Some of it is large and cultural like Lowell’s fish fins gliding by, and others refer to gender issues...cars as companions full of unconditional love...so that may be the spectrum--political to personal?...
(10:24) [Samantha] my thoughts are: vehicles to better/surer place, many dif. parts working together for common cause, masculine/mechanical, bonds b/t men
(10:25) [Mike] Returning to the topic of family for just a second ... do you feel as if writing, particularly publishing, has brought you and your family close (closer than before anyway)?
(10:25) [becca] are there any poems that have been published that have been completely misinterpreted? if so, do you regret publishing it?
(10:25) [afaa] Yes...as in cars being safer transport for black folk in times of lynching....therefore, the larger ones like Cadillacs...
(10:26) [afaa] A whole book was misinterpreted some years ago...Timber & Prayer. It got a horrible review that was just way off as far as I was concerned...
(10:26) [afaa] I don’t regret publishing Timber & Prayer...not at all...
(10:27) [becca] that’s good to know...thanks
(10:27) [Erin] Which do you think has had the most effect on how you perceive the world; class or race?
(10:28) [afaa] Sure..
(10:29) [afaa] Erin...on any given day I feel multiple shifts in perception. Class and race are sometimes indistinguishable. They have thick points of confluence...
(10:29) [Jamesd] So how do you feel about the current state of Race Relations in America? Specifically talking about recent uprising’s such as the "Cinncinati Rebellions"
(10:30) * Karen Faulkner is happy :)
(10:30) [Jamesd] Notice I said "Rebellions" and not riots!
(10:31) [afaa] James...it is America’s history...racial violence is encoded in our past...like ghosts...as some psychologists say, the dead live in our consciousness...
(10:32) [afaa] But there is hope...in love....Karen, I’m glad you’e happy....:-)
(10:32) [Samantha] Multitudes seems a collection of your personal journey of self-excavation and understanding( both culturally and personally)...any commentary on this...
(10:33) [afaa] Well Samantha, you said it best...lol But to append, I am now thinking more of embellishment than excavation. I am working on a poem on Dunkin Donuts...and trying to beat my son at Scrabble...
(10:35) [becca] you should try krispie creme donuts, they are the best
(10:35) [David] So is Dunkin Donuts a move up from tuna fish?
(10:35) [Betsey Garrison] Just to let you know...it’s about five minutes until 10:50, when the chat is scheduled to end.
(10:35) [David] Thanks, Betsey
(10:35) [Mike] Yes, we have approximately 10:44 here.
(10:36) [afaa] Ok Betsey...yes, donuts are better than tuna fish!
(10:36) [Samantha] thanks for talking with us, I wish we had longer...
(10:36) [Stacy] thank you for the time you have spent with us. it was very informative. :o)
(10:37) * becca nods...
(10:37) * Loran does not agree with you!
(10:37) * Samantha is happy :)
(10:37) [Mike] Yes, we enjoyed it very much.
(10:37) [David] The humor in your poetry seems centered around food--especially fast food
(10:37) * Mike is happy :)
(10:37) [afaa] Becca, krispie kreme’s are deadly delicious...my pleasure talking with you...:-)
(10:38) * Erin is happy :)
(10:38) [afaa] I actually do cook at home, too...
(10:38) [Mike] Bye Afaa -- nice meeting you electronically.
(10:38) [becca] this was my first chat, ever! i am not one who uses the internet often. thank you... it\’s strange....
(10:38) [afaa] I\’m glad you are happy...:-) bye everyone...
(10:39) [David] Please take care, Afaa and Betsey, and thank you for taking time out to speak with the class.
(10:39) [Ryan] bye, have a nice day
(10:39) [afaa] Take care, David.
(10:40) [afaa] Ciao...:-)
(10:40) [Betsey Garrison] Thanks everyone. I think everthing went well...I’m sorry we ran out of time. I\’ll be sending a transcript of the chat to everyone who has registered. Thanks!
(10:41) [Betsey Garrison] Afaa, I’ll be seeing you this weekend...I’m really looking forward to it.
(10:42) [Betsey Garrison] Anyone who hasn’t registered...please do so before you leave...Thanks