Rashid Darden: Lazarus Scribe

Rashid Darden at DC Black Pride, June 2005.

Describe your life as a youngster growing up in Washington, DC.

DC was a great place to grow up. Even though we had a pretty screwed up local government and failing school system, and crack hit us pretty hard, there were still lots of opportunities for kids like me to grow and thrive. I had many wonderful teachers who encouraged me and community members and mentors who made sure I didn’t fall through the cracks. And of course I had an active mom who made sure I read a lot and kept learning every day of the year.

Your bio makes note of the fact that you studied in London and Moscow. How did you get there and what were some of the lessons that you gleaned?

I got to Moscow through a study abroad program through the DC Public Schools, one of the many wonderful programs available to kids in DC. I stayed there for a month with a host family and kept a journal of my experiences. The experiences we had as black kids in Moscow…I mean, think about the hilarity of ten urban youth in Moscow. We had “Negro Watch 1996” where we’d count how many black people we saw in a day. Those darn South Asians always messed up the tally. At any rate, I loved Russia and learning about a completely different culture in general.

London was simply a study abroad program through Georgetown that focused on Shakespeare, both the text and the performance. I technically stayed in Leicester which is about an hour from London. I loved that town and I would live there. My experience there wasn’t as organic as my Russian experience because we stayed in a dorm with other American kids. It felt like “The Real World” instead of the real world. But I still enjoyed studying Shakespeare in his homeland and seeing his plays performed in all three theaters in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Talk about your coming out experience.

Coming out is an ongoing experience – I don’t have just one story. Just because I came out to my mom didn’t mean it was over. Coming out to my friends didn’t mean it was over. I potentially can meet someone new every day that doesn’t know my sexuality. My coming out might be an actual conversation where I tell them, or it might be a simple mention of a masculine pronoun where they might expect a feminine one. All in all, it has been a positive experience.

When did you first start writing?

I’ve been writing all my life. The first time I received any formal training was when the poet Elaine Magarrell visited my fifth grade class and gave us workshops through the Scholars in the Schools program in DC. She was so encouraging of all of us, but I remember one instance really vividly. Every week she would type out the poems we submitted and make a mini-anthology for us to have. One week, she made the class as a whole recite a poem I had written as a call and response. I was so excited and humbled at the same time. When that program ended, I was incredibly sad, but determined to keep writing.

Your first novel, Lazurus, is about a young black male coming to terms with himself. How much of the novel mirrors what you’ve gone through, and how much is the stuff of imagination? If the novel is more autobiographical then what made you decide to write fiction instead of a flat out bio?

I believe that Lazarus speaks to every gay black man who has ever come out or wanted to come out. I wouldn’t say that the novel mirrors my own experiences – I don’t think my own experiences are nearly as exciting as Adrian’s! Lazarus is definitely not autobiographical. There are themes in Lazarus that I felt would be best expressed in fiction. An autobiography of Rashid Darden would not touch on all the things I wanted to discuss through Lazarus.

We spoke a little bit about your marketing campaign for the book. Share a little bit about your strategy in getting your first book out there.

Everything I learned about marketing my novel came from The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter and Guerilla Marketing for Writers, with certain tweaks based on my own personal strengths, interests, and resources.

How has your fraternal community reacted to you and your work?

Lazarus has been purchased by members of the eight largest African American fraternities and sororities. Additionally, members of many fraternities and sororities offer me their moral support.

What do you want readers to get from Lazarus?

First and foremost, I want readers to be aware of the diversity of gay black men. We defy stereotypes. I wanted to provide an alternative to the “Down Low” hysteria. My characters are on journeys to outness. Finally, I want readers to be aware of the problem of hazing in black college fraternities by depicting how one otherwise likable young man gets sucked into situations that alienate him from his friends and loved ones.

Name five writers you respect and why.

Paul Beatty, Nikki Giovanni, Octavia Butler, William Shakespeare, Richard Perry. Paul Beatty is simply one of the greatest satirists who ever lived – his novel The White Boy Shuffle changed my life. Nikki Giovanni’s poetry is plainspoken –beautiful and simple. Octavia Butler has broken down barriers as a black woman who writers speculative fiction. William Shakespeare was a prolific genius. Studying in the same place where he lived and honed his craft was an experience I’ll cherish for life. And Richard Perry’s novel Montgomery’s Children was one of those novels that took me by surprise. It was thought-provoking and supernatural.

Four people you love. Explain.

Maya Buseman-Williams is a friend of mine who died in 2003. She had the beauty, intellect, and compassion of at least four people, probably four dozen.

My mom, who birthed me.

My grandma, who birthed her.

Lenny Kravitz for looking so damn good.

Three places you will always visit.

I don’t get out much. I’d like to get back to Leicester some day before I’m 30, Moscow again before I’m 40, and, oh, let’s just say my old high school.

Two things you want to accomplish before the end of 2005.

I’d like to finish writing my third novel and have a final plan for rolling my second novel out in 2006.

One thing you cannot do without.

My computer!

For more information about Rashid visit his website.

To read an excerpt from Lazarus, follow this link.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 @ 05:40 PM