Matt’s answer to “In light of the #ownvoices movement, I'd love to hear from you as a white author writing Lovecraft …” > Likes and Comments

I finished Lovecraft Country earlier this year and had this exact question. Glad to read this.

Same here!

As an amateur American African genealogist and historian, I admit, I have a problem with white authors telling Black stories. I feel, it is virtually impossible for a white American to fully appreciate the nuances of being a Black person in America when you have lived your life as part of the ruling class. I started reading Lovecraft Country because of the subject matter. But O do not know if I can continue. It seems part of a centuries long tradition of white writers in a form of "blackface."

I haven't finished reading the novel yet, but I love it. I was absolutely appalled by the Jim Crow social norms that you have pointed out and reading the novel led me to do quite a bit of research on the topic myself. I'd say that as a white man, you've done the history of systemic racism in the US quite a good amount of justice.

Underground Airlines was another book tackling racism in the US and written by a white male. But while his book also presented an alternate reality of the US, I found your spotlight on insane racial injustices more jarring.

If we say that authors can only write from personal experience and identity, the world would lose out on a lot of art that makes us think. Writing from other's points of view increases our understanding and empathy for our fellow travelers on this rock.

Thanks for writing such a fantastic novel!