 Jonathan
Galassi: Jamaica, this is your
first novel in a decade. How has your writing changed in the intervening
period and what have you been thinking about in terms of writing?
Jamaica Kincaid: "This is your first novel in a decade."
There are so many strange things in that brief statement. The word
"decade" is one of them; the word "novel" is another. Do
you know who I am, who I really am? Well, I don't know that, either.
The first real novel I read was Jane Eyre. I was about ten years of
age or so. Before that I read mostly poetry: Milton, Shakespeare, Wordsworth,
and the Bible, King James version, and the Concise Oxford Dictionary; also
Nancy Drew mysteries and everything written by Enid Blyton. Enid Blyton was
the first person I pretended to be when I was a child. After that, I wanted
to be Charlotte Brontë. It's possible my writing has gone from Enid to
Charlotte. I would be so pleased if someone would say that about it. As for
thinking about my writing: I do wish I could go beyond 200 pages, I do wish I
would write one of those books with so many pages that no one ever finishes
the reading of them, but alas, I seem unable to do this. Of course, there are
many reasons not to finish reading a book, apart from the length of it.
Jonathan Galassi: I recall your saying once that you composed
your sentences in your head, memorized them, and then wrote them down. Is
that still the case?
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