People tend to be awestruck and overwhelmed especially with individuals who you get to know only through media releases, thereby, rendering these denizens as larger-than-life. Such was the impression created by 2004 Pulitzer Prize Awardee for Fiction Edward P. Jones who breezed into town for a quick visit recently as part of his Philippine roadshow sponsored by the US Department of State, the American Embassy in Manila, National Bookstore, and the National Book Development Board of the Philippines.
Jones, born and raised in Washington, D.C., finished a degree in English and was educated both at the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia. His second book, The Known World
His other books are Lost in the City
published in 2006, is also a collection of short stories that deals with African Americans, mostly living in Washington, D.C. In 2007, it was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award.
His visit to Dumaguete was arranged by the American Embassy where Jones met with students of Creative Writing in Silliman University and held a round-table tete-a-tete with the faculty and students of the English Department, among others, at the Rose Lamb Sobrepeña Writers Village in the bucolic mountains of Valencia, Negros Oriental where the 50-year-old Edilberto and Edith Tiempo National Summer Writers Workshop is being held.
This writer was given the privilege of a one-on-one interview with Jones at the American Studies Resource Center of Silliman University. Excerpts of the interview follow:
Orient Express: Can you tell us what this “roadshow” is? What other places are you going to visit?
Edward P. Jones: I’m not very comfortable with the term, “roadshow;” it sounds like I’m part of a circus (smiles). The organizers should stop using that word. It is only Dumaguete that is part of this tour that is located outside Manila. I have been to De La Salle University and plan to visit some museums. I have met with some Filipino writers, but it’s all up to my sponsors and hosts to arrange my itinerary. I just follow what they have prepared for me.
OE: Where do you derive inspiration for your stories? Do you base them on experience?
EPJ: Everything in my works is completely out of my imagination. Nothing is factual in my stories, they are all fiction. They are all in my mind. I don’t have anyone in mind if you ask me about inspiration.
OE: So, you write your stories by solely relying on your imagination? Nothing comes from real-life situations?
EPJ: Yes, Ma’am! (smiles, flailing his hands) Solely out of imagination. Why do people find it hard to understand that it is possible for writers to produce something out of their imagination? I was never a slave, but I wrote The Known World where one of the characters is a black slave owner who wants to be the best master than any white man ever could. And, that’s all in my imagination, it is not a real story and nothing is based on real characters and events.
OE: Do you ever experience writer’s block?
EPJ: Well, no, not really. The plot and the way the story goes and how it will end are all in my mind. I have no problem with writer’s block.
OE: It’s all smooth sailing for you, then.
EPJ: Most of the time. But, it all depends on you. If I don’t feel like writing at the moment, I don’t. I adjust what I do according to what I want. If I don’t write, I cannot change the world, anyway. So, it’s all according to what I want to do. I just move with the tide.
OE: How did you start out as a writer?
EPJ: My college teacher liked what I wrote for something assigned for us in class. Other than my college teacher, I just went ahead and started writing. I cannot give credit to anyone whether it is in the form of an inspiration or introducing me to a publisher or anything like that. I did everything on my own.
OE: Do you have an agent?
EPJ: Yes, that’s the way writing and publishing is being done in the US. My agent looks for a publisher for my works. But, there is no pressure. If I have no work, my agent does not prod me to produce something.
OE: I learned that you don’t own a car. This is a necessity in the United States.
EPJ: What is it for? That’s right, I don’t see the need of owning or having a car. I am a no-frills person. I rent an apartment, but I am not bothered about having some things here and there. I lead a simple, but functional life.
OE: Is this a result of your childhood? I understand that you grew up poor.
EPJ: That’s right.
OE: Tell us about your childhood.
EPJ: Well, I grew up poor. My mother could not read or write, and I was the first in my family to attend college.
OE: Are your parents still alive? Any siblings?
EPJ: My mother is dead. My father is still alive, but I don’t know where he is now. He left us when I was very young and I do not wish to know where he is nor am I interested to know. I have a brother and a sister.
OE: Are you married?
EPJ: No.
OE: Is there anything that you may want to share to our young Filipinos who wish to embark on a writing career?
EPJ: Well, all that you need to do is write, write, write. If you wish to go into fiction, then do so. If you wish to go into creative non-fiction (like feature writing), then you can pursue that. It depends on where your interest lies, then develop it. You cannot combine both because these are different fields.
OE: Thank you for this exclusive interview, Mr. Jones. We wish you well in your future endeavors and we hope you enjoy your stay in Dumaguete and the Philippines.
