Queen Spades asked Beem Weeks:

How much of your grandparents' roots in the South was reflected in your novel Jazz Baby?

Beem Weeks I think there is quite a bit of their roots in the outline, though the story itself has no connection to my grandparents. However, the whole notion of what the south was like in those days, be it race relations, poverty, or simple everyday life, is directly connected to my grandparents' roots. Many of their stories influenced the background scenery. My grandmother spoke of girls she knew being married off at 12 or 13 years of age. Many of those marriages had little to do with love; they had more to do with a father being freed of that extra mouth to feed. My grandmother herself was married at 15. That directly played into Jazz Baby, with Aunt Frannie deciding to marry-off Emily Ann to Jobie--though that had nothing to do with an extra mouth to feed. Frannie saw it as an opportunity to force Emily to grow up and take responsibility for herself. Great question, Queenie! Thanks for asking,

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