Sintara Golden quotes from American Fiction (2023)

I think it's "****" for me.

Yeah, me too.

Yeah, I agree.

Sintara Golden

I disagree, I'm sorry.
Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: I think it would be a mistake to award this book anything.

Well, it's 2 versus 3 so... "****"'s the winner.

"****" is the winner. You know, it's not just that it's so affecting, I just think it's essential to listen to Black voices right now.

Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You're not fed up with it? Black people in poverty, black people rapping, black people are slaves, black people murdered by police, whole soaring narratives about black folks in dire circumstances who still manage to maintain their dignity before they die.I mean, I'm not saying these things aren't real, but we're also more than this. It's like so many writers like you can't envision us without some white boot on our necks.

Sintara Golden

Do you get angry at Bret Easton Ellis or Charles Bukowski for writing about the downtrodden? Or is your ire reserved strictly for black women?
Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: Nobody reads Bukowski thinking his is the definitive white experience, but people... white people read your book and confine us to it. They think we're all like that.

Sintara Golden

I don't need to write about my life. I write about what interests people.
Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison: You write what interests white publishers fiending black trauma porn.