I was introduced to Jocelyn Nicole Johnson and her incredible debut book, My Monticello, by the founder of the Bushwick Book Club, musician, and fellow Hermette, Susan Hwang.
I interviewed the author in anticipation of her upcoming show at the Bushwick Book Club, the most exciting crucible for the reimagining of new musicals.
The book is like a plumb line to the heart of America. It spreads the form of fiction out, softening it like clay, and with the touch of an artist, a lover, she creates indelible, wholly original characters and stories.
It’s literature as the opposite of escapism; it’s literature as a kind of Jaunt bus to the history that’s all around us, buried, hidden, and kept behind glass.
I love the book, and the audiobook, and I hope you will too.
Buy them or get them from your local library! Available in the UK, Australia and NZ as well. 🦀🦀
PRESS RELEASE: Bushwick Book Club presents a Live Show of New Original Songs and Art Celebrating the Critically Acclaimed Debut of Author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson: MY MONTICELLO - THIS TUESDAY OCTOBER 25th at Bowery Poetry Club, NYC 7 PM
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s critically lauded debut story collection and novella, My Monticello, was published by Henry Holt, and the movie based on the book, is in development with Chernin Entertainment for Netflix, with a script by Bryan Parker.
Bushwick Book Club presents a musical response to the book Tuesday, October 25 at Bowery Poetry Club – 308 Bowery, New York, NY 10012, at 7pm (6:30pm doors). Tickets ($10) can be purchased HERE (eventbrite).
Bushwick Book Club draws inspiration from the written word to generate new art in all forms of media. This evening, the audience will witness how Jocelyn Nicole Johnson’s stories of outrunning white supremacy, multilayered identity, and the search for basic humanity in the face of environmental and political upheaval will challenge and inspire the creativity of New York's most audacious and multifaceted literary songwriters and artists.
The live show will feature performances of new original songs and collaborations from BBC founder Susan Hwang, spiritchild, Charles Duke, Beth Bliss, XIKANI (Chris Bardales), Lianne Smith, Anni Rossi, Charlie Nieland and Teresa Toro, as well as performance/culinary/conceptual art from chef Sung Uni Lee and Risa Mickenberg and a dance performance by Stephanie Larriere. Author Jocelyn Nicole Johnson will give a reading before the performances. The evening is hosted by BBC founder Susan Hwang and author and editor Jaimee Garbacik (Gender and Sexuality For Beginners; Ghosts of Seattle Past, ed.).
Founded in Brooklyn in 2009, the Bushwick Book Club is a literature-inspired performance series and podcast that invites local songwriters and artists to plumb the depths of a chosen literary gem for inspiration and then to create new work in their medium – a song, visual art, dance, film, or snack! All songs are then performed at a live show. The Bushwick Book Club now has several branches all over the world, including Seattle, Portland, Oakland, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, Greenville, NC, London and Malmö, Sweden. The Bushwick Book Club podcast is available on iTunes, SoundCloud and Amazon Music.
“This fiction collection is an astonishing display of craftsmanship and heart-tugging narratives. Johnson is a brilliant storyteller who gracefully reflects a clear mirror on a troubled America."
--ALA Booklist, starred review
Featured in Time and Esquire, a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the LA Times Book Prize, and now in development with Netflix
My Monticello (Henry Holt, October 2021; paperback release Oct 2022) is a formidable book that bears witness to this country’s conflicted legacies and announces the arrival of a wildly original new voice in American fiction.
The world is a tilted and unsafe place in Johnson's stories—whether in the form of racism's violence or the environmental unraveling of the life we thought we could have. In “Control Negro” a university professor devotes himself to the study of racism and the development of ACMs (average American Caucasian males) by clinically—and secretly—observing his own son from birth to test his hypothesis on race in America. A young mixed-race woman adopts a new language and name to escape the landscapes of rural Virginia and her family; a single mother who seeks salvation through “Buying a House Ahead of the Apocalypse.”
The titular novella imagines a future not that far out from today when instead of a march through downtown Charlottesville, a militia of white supremacists attacks a Black neighborhood. A disparate group of mostly Black and Brown neighbors led by Da’Naisha, a young Black descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, find an abandoned community bus and commandeer it to escape death. With the violence all around them, they seek refuge in Monticello, Jefferson’s historic plantation home in a desperate attempt to survive a racial and environmental upheaval within the nation.
Praise for My Monticello:
“Johnson wrestles with questions of racial identity, post-racial society, and the legacies of slavery in her masterly debut collection…The author’s riveting storytelling and skill at rendering complex characters yield rich social commentary on Monticello and Jefferson’s complex ideologies of freedom, justice, and liberty. This incandescent work speaks not just to the moment, but to history.”
―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“In a few taut pages, Johnson uses the setup to explore not just institutional racism, but fatherhood, fatalism, policing, and social engineering. “How does anyone know if they are getting more or less than they deserve?” the narrator asks, a question the story makes both slippery and plain as day…A sharp debut by a writer with wit and confidence.”
―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“A badass debut by any measure―nimble, knowing, and electrifying.”
―Colson Whitehead, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle
“It is a rare breed of writer who can tell any kind of story and do so with exquisite deftness. Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is one such writer. My Monticello is comprised of six stories of astonishing range and each one explores what it means to live in a world that is at once home and not. The crowning glory of this collection is the title story, a novella about a world that has fallen apart and a small band of people who take refuge in Monticello, among the old ghosts of the former plantation, how they become family, and how they try to make a stand for their lives, for the world the way it once was. This collection is absolutely unforgettable and Johnson's prose soars to remarkable heights.”
―Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author of Hunger and Ayiti
“I was enthralled from the opening lines of this book. These chilling, thought-provoking and expertly crafted stories showcase Johnson’s range and ability―they broke my heart as well as my brain. A stunning collection.”
―Charles Yu, National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown
Author Bio: Jocelyn Nicole Johnson is the author of My Monticello, a fiction debut that was called "a masterly feat" by the New York Times and winner of the Weatherford Award for work that reflects Appalachia. Johnson's work was also a finalist for the Kirkus Fiction Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Leonard Award, the LA Times Debut Seidenbaum Prize, as well as long-listed for a Pen/Faulkner Fiction Award and the Story Prize. Johnson has been a fellow at Tin House, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her writing has appeared in Guernica, The Guardian, Kweli Journal, Joyland and elsewhere. Her short story “Control Negro” was anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, guest edited by Roxane Gay and read live by LeVar Burton. A veteran public school art teacher, Johnson lives and writes in Charlottesville, Virginia.
For more information contact:
Susan Hwang, Founder, Bushwick Book Club: susanhwang.hwang@gmail.com
Jaimee Garbacik, Editor/Owner, Footnote Editorial: jaimee@footnoteeditorial.com
Clarissa Long, Publicity Manager, Henry Holt & Co.: clarissa.long@hholt.com
Pictured: Marlon Cherry and Bushwick Book Club founder Susan Hwang
Bushwick Book Club was founded by Susan Hwang in January 2009 on a dare. Songwriter, Susan Hwang, dared Goodbye Blue Monday owner Steve Trimboli to let her have a night of new songs inspired by literature. He said, “Sure.”
They started with Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions and now meet monthly employing the talents of local songwriters, artists and chefs who plumb the depths of a chosen literary gem to create that rare and beautiful thing – a new song (or visual art, dance, film or snack).
These literature-themed live shows have been inspired by everything from Raymond Carver to Charles Darwin to George R.R. Martin to the thesaurus.
Recent books have included When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan, Meatcake Bible by Dame Darcy, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and the spoken word stories of Edgar Oliver.
The Bushwick Book Club now has several branches all over the world, including Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, Greenville, London and Malmö, Sweden. To start one where you are, contact Susan Hwang!
Bushwick Book Club rocks!
