Two novels from Charmaine Wilkerson explore cultural inheritance in Black families

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: Exploring Cultural Inheritance in Charmaine Wilkerson's Novels

Release Date: February 14, 2025

NPR's "Book of the Day" delves into the intricate narratives of Charmaine Wilkerson, a talented novelist who masterfully intertwines cultural heritage and personal identity through her storytelling. In this episode, host Andrew Limbong and interviewer Juana Summers explore two of Wilkerson's compelling novels, "Black Cake" and "Good Dirt," highlighting how objects and family histories shape the lives of her characters.

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"Black Cake": Unearthing Family Secrets Through Culinary Traditions

Overview: "Black Cake," Wilkerson's debut novel released in 2022, centers around Eleanor Bennett, a widow and mother who leaves behind a mysterious recording for her two children, Byron and Benny. This revelation forces them to confront hidden truths about their family, identity, and the complexities of their mother's past.

Key Themes and Discussions:

• Cultural and Personal Identity: Wilkerson uses black cake, a traditional Caribbean dessert, as a metaphor for the blending of cultures and the evolution of family identity. In the podcast, she explains:

  "[Black cake] speaks to the agriculture and tradition of the Caribbean islands while it's really been, you know, taken from the English tradition. And that's part of the untold story of the black cake."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [02:06]

• Family Secrets and Reconciliation: The novel explores how hidden truths and unspoken histories can strain familial relationships. Eleanor's recording upends Byron and Benny's understanding of their parents and themselves, leading to a deeper exploration of their identities.

  "Even if the stories she told about herself originally in raising her children were not quite true, even if they've learned things about where she's been, one thing hasn't changed. She is their mother."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [06:27]

• Impact of Secrets on Relationships: Wilkerson discusses how secrets can create misunderstandings and distance between family members. She reflects on her personal experiences with family stories and the gaps in understanding between generations.

  "Our lives are built on stories. Our identities, our family histories are shaped by the stories that we are told from one generation to another. And they're also shaped by the stories that are not told."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [08:22]

Conclusion: "Black Cake" serves as a poignant exploration of how personal and cultural histories influence one's sense of self. Wilkerson's ability to weave rich, emotional narratives invites readers to reflect on their own family stories and the legacies they inherit.

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"Good Dirt": The Legacy of an Ancestor's Jar and the Power of Inheritance

Overview: In "Good Dirt," Wilkerson shifts focus to a multi-generational family saga centered around an old stoneware jar, affectionately named Old Mo. The jar symbolizes the enduring impact of ancestry and the tangible and intangible inheritances that shape familial bonds.

Key Themes and Discussions:

• Symbolism of Objects: The stoneware jar in "Good Dirt" is more than a mere household item; it represents the family's history and the legacy of enslaved ancestors who crafted such objects. Wilkerson emphasizes the significance of the jar in connecting past and present generations.

  "The central role that this jar plays in Ebbie's family and her story made me think a lot about the impact of things that we inherit and the way that they impact our identities and our families and how we see ourselves."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [14:29]

• Cultural Heritage and Craftsmanship: Wilkerson delves into the history of pottery making, particularly the mass production of stoneware by enslaved individuals in the American South. This meticulous research enriches the narrative, grounding the family's story in historical context.

  "So much of that story came from a learning process for me. I learned about the mass production of stoneware by enslaved people... the title of the book, Good Dirt, is a reference in part to the idea of having good dirt that allows you to make very special clay."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [13:14]

• Personal Tragedy and Identity Formation: The protagonist, Ebby Freeman, grapples with personal tragedy and seeks to redefine her identity amidst family expectations and historical burdens. Her journey to France symbolizes a quest for self-discovery and healing.

  "The challenge for Ebbie is to find a way to rewrite or reconfigure her relationship with an episode that was so traumatic in her life that it has dominated it continues to dominate her adult life."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [16:20]

• Intergenerational Storytelling: "Good Dirt" explores how stories passed down through generations, both told and untold, shape the family's collective identity. The stoneware jar becomes a vessel for these narratives, linking past hardships with present resilience.

  "It's really about the emotion and the culture and the stories that have helped to shape the family."
  — Charmaine Wilkerson [14:51]

Conclusion: "Good Dirt" exemplifies Wilkerson's talent for creating rich, layered narratives that explore the complexities of heritage and personal growth. Through the symbolic use of objects and deep historical research, she paints a vivid picture of how inheritance—both tangible and intangible—molds individual and collective identities.

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Final Thoughts

Charmaine Wilkerson's novels, "Black Cake" and "Good Dirt," offer profound insights into the ways cultural inheritance and family histories shape personal identities. Through the use of symbolic objects and interwoven narratives, Wilkerson invites readers to contemplate the stories that define them and the legacy they carry forward. NPR's "Book of the Day" masterfully highlights these themes, making Wilkerson's work accessible and engaging for a broad audience.

Notable Quotes:

• Charmaine Wilkerson on "Black Cake":

  "Our lives are built on stories. Our identities, our family histories are shaped by the stories that we are told from one generation to another."
  [08:22]

• Charmaine Wilkerson on "Good Dirt":

  "It's really about the emotion and the culture and the stories that have helped to shape the family."
  [14:51]

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For those seeking to delve into stories that explore deep familial bonds and cultural legacies, Charmaine Wilkerson's novels come highly recommended. Whether through the heartfelt revelations in "Black Cake" or the historical depth of "Good Dirt," Wilkerson's storytelling promises both emotional resonance and intellectual engagement.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. Charmaine Wilkerson is a novelist who likes to anchor her stories in things. She uses the history of objects as a way of communicating something about the history of her characters. She's got a new book out now called Good Dirt. And in it she uses a jar made by enslaved people to tell the story of an affluent black family. But first, we're gonna do some tracing back of our own and hear about Wilkerson's debut novel, Black Cake, back when it came out in 2022. She spoke with NPR's Kelsey Snell about the history of Black Cake and how it reflects her character's constant changing sense of identity. That's up ahead.

[Kelsey Snell]

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[Charmaine Wilkerson]

Eleanor Bennett, a widow and mother, concealed a life of heartache with half truths and lies of omission. But she did not want to take her secrets to the grave. Instead, she left behind a recording for her son, Byron, a famous oceanographer, and her estranged and struggling daughter, Benny.

You children need to know about your family, about where we come from, about how I really met your father. You two need to know about your sister. Byron and Benny look at each other, mouths open. Bnb I know this is a shock. Just bear with me for a moment and let me explain.

In Charmaine Wilkerson's swirling new novel, Black Cake, that explanation upends everything Byron and Benny thought they knew about their mother, their family and themselves. Charmaine Wilkerson joins us now. Thank you. Welcome.

Thank you, Kelsey. It's wonderful to be here.

I want to get this out of the way first. For those who don't know what is black cake.

Black cake is a traditional Caribbean fruitcake and it's essentially an evolved version of the good old fashioned English plum pudding. So it's different. It has fruit that's been soaked in rum, dark brown cane sugar is used. So it speaks to the agriculture and tradition of the Caribbean islands while it's really been, you know, taken from the English tradition. And that's part of the untold story of the black cake. In the novel Black Cake.

You know, it's that evolution and those relationships that I think really are part of, you know, the propeller of this book. You know, Eleanor Bennett's revelations just move the book along, moving us from the islands to the UK to California. So let's start with Byron and Benny and what they thought they knew about their. What did they think they knew before they heard the recording?

Well, they knew that their mother and father had come from a Caribbean island, which is not named in the book. They understood that their parents had both met in the United Kingdom and then moved to the United States. Byron and Benny were born and raised in California. They were once inseparable. At the time that their mother dies, they haven't seen each other for years. There's been a huge rift in their family. But what they both have is a love for their mother and a memory of this rambunctious, athletic woman who was very smart, but she also had these quirks. She loved to surf, she loved MTV music videos. So, you know, she was just this unusual, energetic, charismatic woman. And she loved to bake.

And they're deeply estranged at this point, but they do have that, you know, that shared memory, that shared feeling. But then they learn about betrayal, about trauma and love as Eleanor's voice tells them about her life. What made you want to tell this specific story?

Well, you know, when I write, I tend to just start with a scene. And this story came to me first. There was this idea of these two teenage girls who were different from others, who kind of were running up against the expectations and stereotypes of other people. And I think that feeling that first came to me was the idea of who do you believe yourself to be, what's at your core, and how do you navigate the world around you?

You know, secrets evolve from some of that, of the way that people hide parts of their identity becomes very important and is at the root of some of the biggest misunderstandings between Byron and Benny. In particular, you know, there' moment early on when they're taking a break from their mother's recording and they get into this fight and Benny says, and I'm going to the quote from the book here, she says, we had to be perfect to make up for the fact that our family was built on a colossal lie. What's going on in that moment for Byron and for Benny?

Well, Byron and Benny both identify as African Americans. And Benny always thought that she was expected to be, you know, the high achiever, the perfect daughter because they are a black family in America. And she is beginning to find out that Maybe her parents were so insistent on a certain level of achievement and also keeping some things, you know, out of the public eye in terms of your identity and your lifestyle, because they were afraid, you know, they had something to hide, but their children didn't know it. And so she's feeling a lot of anger because she felt held to very high standards. She felt that she was always disappointing her parents. And then she starts to think, maybe this wasn't about me, maybe this was about them.

This story has so many kind of earth shattering revelations and changes to the way, that, you know, Benny and Byron relate to their own identities, to who they are. But near the end, Eleanor says to her children, you know, at some point in the recording, after all of these revelations about her past, you do know who I am. What point is she making about identity there?

What she's trying to say is that even if the stories she told about herself originally in raising her children were not quite true, even if they've learned things about where she's been, one thing hasn't changed. She is their mother. And she's trying to say something about the importance of love and the importance of relationships, that those also form part of your identity. She's trying to say that some part of that never changes. And what she's trying to say is that they have not changed. Her children are still her children.

You know, I walked away from Black Cake thinking about the hidden choices women are forced to make when the world fails them. I've also been thinking about all I don't know about the choices people I love have had to make. How do you think about the secrets that kept your characters from really knowing one another?

Well, I think one of the things that, and certainly this in my family, I think about this sometimes is when I was a little girl, I'd hear stories. Then when I became older, old enough to hear certain things, maybe I heard a slightly different version. And that kind of makes me think, yes, there's so much we don't know about our parents and the people who came before. Often we think, oh, our parents, they don't understand me. They've never been in love, they've never gone through this. They don't know what's happening. But what's really happening is the child is not necessarily understanding the parent. And maybe sometimes we don't know because, well, it's just not something they share. Our lives are built on stories. Our identities, our family histories are shaped by the stories that we are told from one generation to another. And they're also shaped by the stories that are not told.

That's Charmaine Wilkerson. Her new novel is Black Cake. Thanks so much for talking with us.

Thanks so much for having me, Kelsey.

[Juana Summers]

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[Andrew Limbong]

For her newest book, Good Dirt, It's a jar that Wilkerson is using as a prism to examine a family. In this interview with NPR's Juana Summers, Wilkerson talks about how much of the story came from doing research and what she learned about the mass production of stoneware by enslaved people.

[Charmaine Wilkerson]

Here's in the opening pages of a new novel, Good Dirt, a young girl is playing with her older brother. They've decorated an old stoneware jar, adding a baseball cap, a handlebar mustache made out of paper. The jar ends up another character in a family photograph with the girl, the boy, and their parents. The boy, we soon learn, is Baz. His sister is Ebby, and that old jar is a cornerstone of their family's story, which is told over generations. The book is Good Dirt, and author Charmaine Wilkerson joins us now to discuss it. Welcome back to ALL THINGS considered.

Thanks very much, Charmaine.

I just want to start at the beginning, if we can, with the idea that inspired for you the story of Ebby and Baz and of this jar. I want to know, where did you start? What character?

Well, the character that came first was Ebbie. Ebby Freeman is Ebony Freeman, and she really just popped right into my head on the worst day of her life. And that's connected to the thought that sort of inspired this character. It really came from an emotional question in my mind and in my life.

Tell us a bit more about who is she? What is she like?

Ebby is an African American young woman who's grown up under privileged circumstances. She lives in this gorgeous community in Connecticut. She loves being from an old New England family. But Ebbie has decided that she needs to run away from home. At age 29, she goes to France temporarily because she's convinced that the only way to distance herself from Painful memories from her past, a family tragedy, and a very embarrass and public romantic breakup is to get away from everyone she knows and everything she knows.

What is it that made you want to explore this idea of how a personal tragedy can shape a person's identity and really the course of their life?

I began my professional life in television news, and so from a very young age, from age 21, I would find myself walking into a person's home on the worst day of their life. And I think that you can identify with this, meeting people under terrible circumstances and then going home later and wondering, how will they move forward? How will they do this? Especially when they've become news, when their personal pain is now in the public eye.

This book takes two tracks. There is, of course, the story of Ebbie and her family in the present day. But we also begin to learn the stories of previous generations of the family and the story of that old stoneware jar that we later learned to call Old Mo. And you hint at this in the opening pages of your book, that the jar is a character, that it's really a part of Ebbie and Baz's family. Can you just tell us why it was so important?

So you hit on the opening scene in which there she and her brother Ebbie and Baz are playing around with the jar. They're decorating it, they're dressing it up like a person because they're still children. But it is of great serious importance because it is a jar that has come into their family by way of an enslaved ancestor. And the story of how that jar ends up being made in the American south and finds its way to Massachusetts and remains in that family for generations and becomes so important to the family is that sort of backstory of the Freeman family.

I won't give away much of the plot, but I have to say, one of the things I found most compelling when I was reading this book was how deeply you dove into the history of pottery making, stretching from the American south all the way to West Africa. What made you decide to dive into that so deeply? And how did you approach that part of your writing?

For me, it was a process of discovery. I'm one of those writers who I start from a point of emotion. You know, this character came to me, and I thought, I'm gonna follow her. The very first thing I wrote about Ebbie, there's a scene in which an antique jar falls from a table, and I started to look into the history of what that jar would be. Where would it come from. And really so much of that story came from a learning process for me. I learned about the mass production of stoneware by enslaved people, usually men, primarily in the part of the American south that we now call South Carolina, also Georgia, because they had very. They had special soil that allowed them to make this kind of clay. And the title of the book, Good Dirt, is a reference in part to the idea of having good dirt that allows you to make very special clay. So much of the story was the result of my own exploration. Things that I did not know or might have heard of became the backstory for this young woman, Ebby Freeman.

The central role that this jar plays in Ebbie's family and her story made me think a lot about the impact of things that we inherit and the way that they impact our identities and our families and how we see ourselves. And I just wonder, is there an object like that jar that plays a specific role of significance in your own family?

I come from a very different family from the fictional Ebbie. So, you know, across two or three generations, my elders came from different countries and different cultures. But in my debut novel, Black Cake, I invent a character for whom a very prized inheritance is a recipe. And that is something that I inherited from my own mother. She really did make what some people black cake, which she called rum pudding. The recipe was important, the stories were important, and really what the story Good Dirt Is at the Heart is not a story about a tangible inheritance. Old Moe, the stoneware jar. It's a story about the intangible, because there is no tangible without the intangible. If we're talking about inheritance of culture, it's really about the stories. The family feels great affection for a tangible object, this stoneware jar, but it's really about the emotion and the culture and the stories that have helped to shape the family.

I want to end, if I can. On a personal note, this book is a multi layered, multi generational telling of an American story as you wrote it. What did you learn from it? What did you take away from it yourself?

I would say that in writing this, I continued to deepen my thinking about the power of stories to shape our identities. The story that is handed down from one generation to another, the story that we tell others about ourselves, and in this particular case, the stamp the trauma can leave on one's identity. So what is the challenge facing Ebi Freeman? In a way, the challenge for her is to find a way to rewrite or reconfigure her relationship with an episode that was so traumatic in her life that it has dominated it continues to dominate her adult life. So she's, we hope, going to find a new way to write her story.

Author Charmaine Wilkerson her latest book is Good Dirt. Charmaine, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks so much for having me.

[Andrew Limbong]

That's it for this week on NPR's Book of the Day. If you want more, you can sign up for Our newsletter at npr.org Newsletter Newsletter/books I'm Andrew Limbong. The podcast is produced by Danica Panetta and Chloe Weiner and edited by Megan Sullivan. Our founding editor is Petra Mayer. The show elements for this week were produced and edited by Adriana Gallardo, Lily Kirose, Samantha Balaban, Andrew Craig, Martha Ann Overland, Ryan Bank, Deeper Vaz, Ashley Brown, Elena Burnett, Justine Kennan and Matt Ozig. Yolanda Sanguini is our executive producer. Thanks for listening.

[Juana Summers]

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[Kelsey Snell]

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[Juana Summers]

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