Clemson College of Arts and Humanities // Courtesy
Percival Everett speaks passionately about the haunting themes in his novel "James."
Excitement was palpable as readers gathered to hear Percival Everett, author of the novel “James,” speak at Clemson University on Sept. 4.
“James” is a reconceptualization of Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Instead of the original book’s title character, “James” is narrated by the enslaved character Jim, otherwise known as James in this version of the story. The narrative carries readers through the same journey along the Mississippi River via James’ perspective, allowing for further reflection on his escape from slavery and his experiences with racism after escaping to freedom.
To welcome the eager audience, Everett began the event with a retelling of a personal encounter, describing his experience as a Black person in the northwest and emphasizing avoiding writing autobiographical fiction.
“The story I will tell you, for any writers in the room, is an instructive story. I tell it to my graduate students, and it’s about converting experience into art, which I don’t usually encourage people to do. I don’t write autobiographical fiction, but of course, all fiction is somewhat autobiographical,” Everett said.
“This is a story that ruined my life for 12 years because every six months after this occurrence, I would try to turn it into a piece of fiction, and I would fail. I finally published it just so I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore.”
The author described the fascinating sequence of events in which he faced the challenge of watching over an intoxicated cowboy, resulting in a missing pair of dentures and the realization that this story could not be turned into a work of art.
He then transitioned into reading an excerpt from “James,” explaining that he never meant for this novel to be directly connected to Mark Twain.
“The novel (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) has artistic problems, but I loved Twain. I love his language. It’s one of my most profound influences as a writer,” Everett said.
Everett read a fragment from “James” in which the titular character gives survival advice to six enslaved children, including his own daughter.
Considering the enslaved children are being taught to methodically demean themselves by lowering their intelligence around white people, the scene Everett chose to read encapsulated the intended theme of Black inferiority.
After the reading, Everett connected the devastation of slavery to another one of his books, “The Trees.” To prepare a scene in this novel, Everett handwrote the names of the Black people who unwarrantedly suffered at the hands of the police in the 20th century to fully honor the tragedies.
“It was perhaps the most moving bit of research I have ever done in my career,” Everett said.
Everett read the pages of names to the audience, emphasizing that they were not fictional characters, but instead real people who had been victims of violence.
When the reading session wrapped up, a student posed a question regarding what it meant to put hidden meanings in texts since governments often censor sensitive historical topics.
“Reading is the most subversive thing you can do in this or any culture. The second most subversive thing is not being a writer, it is being a part of a book club. Being in a classroom where you not only deal with the meaning of text, but you dissect it with someone,” Everett said.
“There was a reason that fascist regimes were able to ban and burn books, and that’s because they were afraid, which is the same reason why they tried to control and burn history.”
Everett explained that readers are able to find metaphors everywhere, meaning they can be the saving grace to uphold important historical events that governmental powers may try to avoid.
Another student inquired about the most important piece of advice Everett could give to another writer.
Everett answered that everything is teachable, but deconstruction is how you learn. He reinforced that one can craft one’s writing by reading and analyzing different usages of structure.
The next question asked Everett to choose a passage from the book that encapsulated the “Black experience” that he found difficult to write.
After the author jokingly answered the question with “all of it,” he clarified that the most dreadful feeling for any Black person, particularly in America, is seeing a police car’s flashing lights.
Everett observed that while other people may get away with a warning or ticket, Black people are always at risk of bearing the worst from police, considering the certain connotations police forces surround Black people with, ignoring who or where they are.
This fear is interwoven throughout “James,” especially in scenes where James is on the run from the authoritative construct his past consisted of.
Everett ended his thought-provoking reading with a book signing outside the Daniel Hall auditorium, where readers lined the hall for the author’s signature.