Award-winning novelist Ercival Everett discusses his approach to writing, his reimagining of 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,' and his ongoing challenge to the literary canon.
Ercival Everett , renowned for his intricate world-building in novels, maintains a surprising humility. Despite his deep research into the settings of his stories, he asserts that his knowledge vanishes as soon as each book is released. 'So I'm no smarter at the end than I was at the beginning,' he states, a touch of bemusement in his voice.
Years ago, to address the incessant queries from his writing students about their publishing potential, Everett took them to a bookstore in Middlebury, Vermont. There, amidst the towering shelves, he declared, 'Look around. Anyone can be published. 'Are you good enough to make a difference?' is the question.'Everett's recent work, a reimagining of Mark Twain's classic 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' from the perspective of the escaped slave Jim, has ignited a significant debate. Told through the voice of James, a more dignified moniker chosen by Jim, the novel explores themes of the 'great American novel,' the intricate relationship between race and the so-called American canon, and how we navigate conversations about America's past with our children. Despite the accolades, including the National Book Award for fiction, Everett remains reticent when asked about the book's impact. He cautions, 'If a reader is coming to me for any kind of message or answer about anything in the world, they're already in deep trouble.'He acknowledges that his retelling of 'Huckleberry Finn' has become a companion piece to Twain's iconic work, a wellspring from which, as Ernest Hemingway famously stated, 'all American literature comes.' Everett recounts receiving numerous letters from English teachers, both past and present, expressing their gratitude for a text that can now be taught with greater context and understanding. While flattered by this reception, Everett doesn't view it as a revelation. 'It's a problematic text,' he admits. Everett, a staunch advocate for deconstructing the literary canon, envisions a world where such rigid classifications are abandoned. At the very least, he hopes that writers, readers, and educators can recognize the inherent biases embedded within canonical texts. 'My joke is, 'The canon is loaded',' he quips. 'Canon formation is necessarily skewed. It's necessarily racist and sexist. As soon as you're saying there are these texts that must be read, someone has to choose. Who chooses?' In his reinterpretation of 'Huckleberry Finn,' James, who serves as little more than a sidekick to Huck in the original, takes center stage. James and other Black characters skillfully code-switch when in the presence of white characters, while on his own, he engages in philosophical debates with figures like Voltaire, challenging his repugnant views on slavery. Everett aims to dismantle the stereotypical portrayal of enslaved individuals as simple-minded and superstitious. 'Enslaved people, it had occurred to me, are always depicted as simple-minded and superstitious, and of course, they weren't,' he explains. 'So I embarked on this.'Everett bestows upon James the gift of language, allowing him to chronicle his journey with a stolen pencil stub, a symbol of the profound human cost associated with silencing voices. 'Whoever controls language, controls everything,' Everett asserts. 'If someone has no voice, they cannot get what they want or what they need.' Everett's own work has consistently challenged categorization, defying easy labels. He has written across genres, from propulsive westerns to a novella reminiscent of a Lifetime movie. 'Any work of art that comes out of this American culture is about race,' he proclaims. 'If there is no race in it, that is a statement about race.' His novel 'Telephone', for instance, tackles the complexities of race and representation within the publishing industry. The story centers on Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison, an experimental novelist whose work struggles to find a readership. Frustrated by the industry's tendency to promote stereotypical portrayals of Black characters, Monk decides to pen a novel depicting an illiterate thug, intending to expose the absurdity of such narratives. To his dismay, the book becomes a commercial success.While Everett acknowledges that his work has garnered attention from Hollywood, he remains skeptical of the fleeting nature of such acclaim. 'I'll write some experimental novel next that no one will understand,' he predicts. 'You would have to be crazy to get into literary fiction to get famous or to get rich.
Ercival Everett The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Literary Fiction Race Canon Representation Publishing Industry
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