Q. Is POLITE SOCIETY autobiographical?
Yes, in many ways it is. I did everything Darren does in “The Guide,” but there was no guide; I had to make one up. The character of Grant, the ambassador to Senegal in “The Edge of the Sky” is based on a carpenter I knew in North Carolina. Most of the ambassador’s dialogue is verbatim carpenter dialogue. After a while, I believe my own stories. It’s hard for me to remember that the guide, Jaraffe, never existed. But if I called the book an autobiography, people would say I was lying. My mentor, Max Steele, told me to lie until I got to the truth.
Q. What does the title, POLITE SOCIETY, mean?
Polite Society is a term often used in the South to mean “nice people,” as in “Nice people don’t blow their car horns while cruising around the mall on Saturday night.” If you say it with your jaw locked and let your eyes glaze over, it refers to the upper crust. Like the South, Senegalese society is founded on a code of good manners. The Senegalese strive for teranga, which means loosely, “hospitality.” On the streets of Dakar, a thousand insults wouldn’t stay a pick-pocket, but the admonition, “You’re being rude,” might stop him.
Q. POLITE SOCIETY begins with “The Edge of the Sky,” a story in which Darren, the book’s main character, does not appear. How did you decide to structure the book this way?
Although they are interrelated, I wanted each of the stories in POLITE SOCIETY to stand alone. “The Edge of the Sky,” in context of the greater structure of the book, functions as a prophesy of what is to come. It introduces the elements of magic and mystery, which are necessary to understand how things work in Africa and which will affect Darren when she arrives in Senegal. The ambassador’s world is what is seen as polite society – so that makes it an appropriate entrance to the book, which is not just the story of Darren, but a portrait of multiple levels of society.
Q. Darren’s struggle feels like a quest of sorts. Was this your intention?
In my reading I’ve found too few heroes with whom I could identify. I wanted to create a character who is as open to experience as any man.
Q. What made you decide to join the Peace Corps?
When I realized that I wasn’t going to study anything useful in college, I kept a Peace Corps application around, like a parachute. I had a miserable time trying to find employment in the United States; after a couple of months of wearing pantyhose, I called my father and said, “These people are buying my life for five dollars an hour.” He said, “Now you know.” So I pulled the ripcord. Also, I wanted people to miss me.
Q. What do the Senegalese teach Darren?
Darren is a student of teranga. How to say hello and goodbye. How to keep a family together. How to treat old people. How to avoid suicide. How to cure stress. How to dress if you’re fat. How to party all night on soda pop. How to recycle more effectively. How to economize. How to get over racism. What to do with your pride. How to live without guns. How to work magic. How to trust God. How to hope. How to forgive; the Senegalese have an entire holiday for forgiveness. They go around to people’s houses, knock on the door, and say, “Baal ma at. Forgive me.” Whoever answers the door replies, “But I already forgave you.”
Q. POLITE SOCIETY is a haunting portrayal of Senegal, and some of the scenes are violent, making it seem like a dangerous place to visit or live, especially for women. Is this true?
If I were planning to visit a foreign country, I’d read a book about it that wasn’t a novel. Maybe my mind is a dangerous place to visit. It’s true that while I stayed in Senegal, I saw and experienced some terrifying things; I saw a boy being run down and beaten by a mob that grew larger with every street he crossed. At the same time, I saw a society were suicide is almost nonexistent. When I asked my students why Senegalese don’t kill themselves, they explained that you can’t just kill yourself when people need you.
Q. Did you write POLITE SOCIETY while you were living in Senegal?
No, I was writing maudlin letters and weird stories about co-wives who cut off each others noses to spite their polygamous husbands… Then I visited a marabout who gave me a gris-gris, an African talisman, for writing a book. He said that I would write a book about Senegal, and that people would like it very much. I wore the gris-gris for a year before I wrote POLITE SOCIETY.
Q. POLITE SOCIETY was Seymour Lawrence’s last acquisition for Houghton Mifflin. What was it like to work with him?
Seymour Lawrence called me. He had read two of my stories in The New Yorker and wanted to buy a book. So I
told him I was writing a book, and he sent me a check. Actually, the first time Sam called, I couldn’t say a word. He kept saying, “Hello? Hello?” Finally I said, “I don’t know what to say to you,” so he hung up and wrote me a fabulous letter.
Yes, in many ways it is. I did everything Darren does in “The Guide,” but there was no guide; I had to make one up. The character of Grant, the ambassador to Senegal in “The Edge of the Sky” is based on a carpenter I knew in North Carolina. Most of the ambassador’s dialogue is verbatim carpenter dialogue. After a while, I believe my own stories. It’s hard for me to remember that the guide, Jaraffe, never existed. But if I called the book an autobiography, people would say I was lying. My mentor, Max Steele, told me to lie until I got to the truth.
Q. What does the title, POLITE SOCIETY, mean?
Polite Society is a term often used in the South to mean “nice people,” as in “Nice people don’t blow their car horns while cruising around the mall on Saturday night.” If you say it with your jaw locked and let your eyes glaze over, it refers to the upper crust. Like the South, Senegalese society is founded on a code of good manners. The Senegalese strive for teranga, which means loosely, “hospitality.” On the streets of Dakar, a thousand insults wouldn’t stay a pick-pocket, but the admonition, “You’re being rude,” might stop him.
Q. POLITE SOCIETY begins with “The Edge of the Sky,” a story in which Darren, the book’s main character, does not appear. How did you decide to structure the book this way?
Although they are interrelated, I wanted each of the stories in POLITE SOCIETY to stand alone. “The Edge of the Sky,” in context of the greater structure of the book, functions as a prophesy of what is to come. It introduces the elements of magic and mystery, which are necessary to understand how things work in Africa and which will affect Darren when she arrives in Senegal. The ambassador’s world is what is seen as polite society – so that makes it an appropriate entrance to the book, which is not just the story of Darren, but a portrait of multiple levels of society.
Q. Darren’s struggle feels like a quest of sorts. Was this your intention?
In my reading I’ve found too few heroes with whom I could identify. I wanted to create a character who is as open to experience as any man.
Q. What made you decide to join the Peace Corps?
When I realized that I wasn’t going to study anything useful in college, I kept a Peace Corps application around, like a parachute. I had a miserable time trying to find employment in the United States; after a couple of months of wearing pantyhose, I called my father and said, “These people are buying my life for five dollars an hour.” He said, “Now you know.” So I pulled the ripcord. Also, I wanted people to miss me.
Q. What do the Senegalese teach Darren?
Darren is a student of teranga. How to say hello and goodbye. How to keep a family together. How to treat old people. How to avoid suicide. How to cure stress. How to dress if you’re fat. How to party all night on soda pop. How to recycle more effectively. How to economize. How to get over racism. What to do with your pride. How to live without guns. How to work magic. How to trust God. How to hope. How to forgive; the Senegalese have an entire holiday for forgiveness. They go around to people’s houses, knock on the door, and say, “Baal ma at. Forgive me.” Whoever answers the door replies, “But I already forgave you.”
Q. POLITE SOCIETY is a haunting portrayal of Senegal, and some of the scenes are violent, making it seem like a dangerous place to visit or live, especially for women. Is this true?
If I were planning to visit a foreign country, I’d read a book about it that wasn’t a novel. Maybe my mind is a dangerous place to visit. It’s true that while I stayed in Senegal, I saw and experienced some terrifying things; I saw a boy being run down and beaten by a mob that grew larger with every street he crossed. At the same time, I saw a society were suicide is almost nonexistent. When I asked my students why Senegalese don’t kill themselves, they explained that you can’t just kill yourself when people need you.
Q. Did you write POLITE SOCIETY while you were living in Senegal?
No, I was writing maudlin letters and weird stories about co-wives who cut off each others noses to spite their polygamous husbands… Then I visited a marabout who gave me a gris-gris, an African talisman, for writing a book. He said that I would write a book about Senegal, and that people would like it very much. I wore the gris-gris for a year before I wrote POLITE SOCIETY.
Q. POLITE SOCIETY was Seymour Lawrence’s last acquisition for Houghton Mifflin. What was it like to work with him?
Seymour Lawrence called me. He had read two of my stories in The New Yorker and wanted to buy a book. So I
told him I was writing a book, and he sent me a check. Actually, the first time Sam called, I couldn’t say a word. He kept saying, “Hello? Hello?” Finally I said, “I don’t know what to say to you,” so he hung up and wrote me a fabulous letter.
