Meeting Charles Johnson

Charles Johnson, winner of the National Book Award for Middle Passage, is one of my favorite writers. In philosophical, yet lyrical prose, he spins tales of 19^th- and 20^th-century America with a voice that captures readers from the very first pages. Although his work is extremely imaginative, it is often grounded solidly in American history—specifically the history of African Americans—and instructs even as it delights. A Buddhist theme is often a subtle undercurrent, but his novels and short stories never become didactic.

I first met Chuck in 1995 when he returned to Southern Illinois University, where I happened to be a Ph.D. student in English, to receive an honorary degree as a distinguished alumnus. (Chuck has a B.S. in Journalism and an M.A. in Philosophy from SIU.) Although I was aware of his name when the Alumni Association announced the award, I hadn’t read any of his work, so I headed to the library to check out his fiction. What I read—especially Oxherding Tale and Middle Passage—knocked me out. I bought a copy of the latter and then stood in line to meet him when he came to campus a few weeks later. I later bought copies of the rest of his novels and read and reread them.

At that point, I was more fan than scholar, but in 2002, after finishing my third book, I realized that Chuck had never been interviewed at length, and I decided I was the man for the job. I first queried Chuck (after all, if he wasn’t interested, there wasn’t any point to the project), and after he gave his enthusiastic approval, I found a home for the proposed book of interviews at the University of Washington Press, which was delighted to accept it since Chuck had been a professor at UW for nearly thirty years.

Chuck and I then had two years of email correspondence as I formally interviewed him and informally got to know him. I also found dozens of other interviews with him—mainly from literary journals—and secured reprint rights for them. In November 2004, UW Press published the book, Passing the Three Gates, and hosted a publication party for Chuck and myself in Seattle. That would be the first time I would meet him in person, and I have to confess that I was extremely nervous. After all, how often does one meet a certified genius? One with a Ph.D. in philosophy and a shelf full of literary prizes? But I found him to be just as warm and generous in person as he had been in his emails.

Over the years, in addition to keeping up by email, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet with Chuck a few times at various conferences. In 2005, in fact, he came to my home institution, Dickinson State University, to give a reading and meet with students. The photo below is from that evening.

If you haven’t yet read the works of Charles Johnson, then you really need to head to your local library or log into your amazon.com account and get started, for I promise that you will find his fiction to be extraordinary, and, maybe, he just might change your life as he changed mine.