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| photo: Laura Metzler Photography | |
Sarai Johnson is a writer and writing educator who studied journalism and English at Howard University and later earned a Master's in Literature from American University. She has taught writing at both her alma maters and with several nonprofit writing programs in the D.C. area. She lives in Alexandria, Va., with her husband, daughter, and dog. Grown Women (Harper, July 9, 2024), her first novel, is about four generations of Black women contending with motherhood, daughterhood, and generational trauma.
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
Grown Women follows four generations of a black family. The women--who are messy but likable, flawed but self-reflective--pursue happiness with varied results.
On your nightstand now:
I just started A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum. I was immediately swept up in the opening pages. I also have Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver, American Indian Stories by Zitkála-Šá, and a collection of Zora Neale Hurston's essays. I'm usually more of a novel person, but have become more interested in short stories and essays after becoming a mother, for the sake of being satisfied in one sitting.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I devoured anything about wealthy orphans for some reason. So, I read A Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett repeatedly. If wealthy orphans weren't available, I could be appeased with children who were not appropriately supervised, and I was the right age for the initial release of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar. I've really enjoyed sharing one of my childhood favorites, Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold, with my toddler daughter.
Your top five authors:
I'll read anything Tayari Jones or Kiese Laymon writes. I admire the way they both write about Black American life. I especially admire the way Laymon's prose still manages levity even when writing about weighty topics. Every time I teach something from Heavy, I notice something new. It's masterful. I loved Min Jin Lee's Pachinko, but became deeply engrossed with Casey from Free Food for Millionaires. I think Lee has a talent for characters. Leslie Jamison just has a way with words. And Toni Morrison.
Book you've faked reading:
I've definitely pretended to finish a book. I was assigned Clarissa by Samuel Richardson in my first semester of grad school. It's an 18th-century epistolary novel, considered one of the longest in the English language. I struggled mightily to finish it. Eventually, for the sake of my mental health and my other classes, I turned to Cliffs Notes and classmates for help.
Book you're an evangelist for:
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite because I love talking about it, so I recommend it all the time. It's a funny and dark romp, but also an interesting examination of familial and romantic relationships.
Book you've bought for the cover:
I bought The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai for its opulent, graphic, art-deco cover! I also really enjoyed it.
Book you hid from your parents:
I wish I had the good sense to hide Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov or Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. As a tween, I did successfully hide some teen romance novels with "suggestive" covers like When It Happens by Susane Colasanti or anything depicting what might be interpreted as a couple. I unsuccessfully hid the Georgie Nicolson series by Louise Rennison, namely Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. That led to some awkward conversations.
Book that changed your life:
I've always been a reader, but re-reading Beloved by Toni Morrison as an adult inspired me to go back to school to get a Master's in Literature. I wanted to do more than just read. I wanted to study. I would say nothing, other than having a child, has changed my life more than getting a degree in literature.
Favorite line from a book:
I have two:
Sonia Sanchez said in Black Women Writers at Work (edited by Claudia Tate): "I don't write in spite of my children... I write because of them." I read this book at a time when I was struggling to stay motivated. I left with a new perspective on work and writing.
From Beloved: "Something that is loved is never lost." I think it speaks for itself.
Five books you'll never part with:
Mostly because I've marked them up so much that no one else will be able to read them: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson; Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo; Passing by Nella Larsen; The Awakening by Kate Chopin; and To Be Young, Gifted and Black by Lorraine Hansberry, adapted by Robert Nemiroff.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
Passing by Nella Larsen because my interpretation changes all the time. I wish I remembered my first impressions so that I could compare how my perspective has shifted over time.