Kwame McPherson – ‘I am a lover of history, especially the forgotten bits’

My first entry was in 2009. I then just kept writing and entering as and when, but there was no initial plan to do just the Commonwealth Short Story Prize since I do enter other competitions. 

What stories had you submitted in the previous years, and what were they broadly about? 

Interesting question. My previous stories were general in their context, but I changed the theme to focus on the African diaspora, exploring the rich stories across the Americas and Europe and depicting the experiences of individuals within that context.

You’re the first Jamaican writer to win the prize. How did you arrive at the short story genre? 

In primary school we were encouraged to write poetry, essays and compositions. But I started out as a poet (on the back of writing an initial personalised poem for a work colleague), winning awards for poetry and then decided to shift into longer prose. It started out as an experiment, since my brother, who was an award-winning writer in high school when I wasn’t even writing, inspired me to try the genre. 

What aspects of Jamaican writing and literature have influenced your work? 

Wow, too many to mention. In modern times, Colin Channer, Marlon James, Mervyn Morris, Lorna Goodison, Louise Bennett-Coverley. Previously, Roger Mais, Claude McKay. Outside of those Jamaican writers there are others like Lee Child, James Patterson, and Stephen King. 

What is the shape of the contemporary literary landscape there? 

Vibrant, and my winning the award demonstrates this vibrancy, it’s just a matter of those within the island to show those outside of the island, on how good our writing actually is. Jamaica is a creative place, as shown in our ability to create so many genres of music, and as such we excel in so many spheres from academics to sports, and now to short story writing!

Your story, Ocoee, named after the Florida town and site of a brutal racial attack in 1920, is an interplay of the personal and the political, and tackles systemic racism in America. How did you arrive at the story and what prompted you to write it in the first person?

I am a lover of history, especially those bits that have been forgotten, glossed over or never told. And that’s the thing about the African diaspora; there are hundreds of stories. Ocoee is one of those stories. I think that writing in first person gives more of an impact into how the protagonist is thinking and feeling. It enables the reader to be immersed into the character. I love how, by writing this way, makes the story evolve and the reader invested in it.

The protagonist travels to Ocoee that is at once eerily familiar and oddly strange. Did you want to create a continuum between the past and the present? 

Definitely. I wanted there to be a connection with what he may have forgotten and bring it into his present. The entire idea of his story playing out the way it did is also a metaphor for how African diasporans have lost their way and disconnected from their roots. By reconnecting, they can find a path towards the future.

For the narrator, the town of Ocoee is depicted as a place of refuge and solace. Do you think the setting symbolises the African Americans’ search for sanctuary, the longing for a sense of belonging, and the preservation of cultural identity in the face of systemic assault? 

Exactly, and this can also apply to people from the Caribbean with African heritage. African Americans and African Caribbeans share similar but different stories. Yet, the objective or goal is the same: to feel a sense of belonging and to have an awareness of self-identity within a western context.

There is a strong sense of nostalgia and cultural heritage woven into the narrative. Did you want to explore the themes of ancestral connections and cultural memory? 

I did. It is important for those messages to be known since it is made apparent to the reader the cultural context within the story and its similarity in today’s world. For example, the use of food is very important to Africans, and by relating to this symbol it can immediately be ‘seen’ by the reader and for those familiar, a commonality recognised in very different diasporan environments.

There is a surreal touch to the narrator’s description of his encounter with two police officers and their subsequent disappearance. Did you have to work on this element/texture? 

I had to. I needed to show the protagonist’s fear within that experience and highlight the protagonist being “rescued” by his ancestors. Having the cops disappear is an empowering symbolism to show how the ancestors protect their own. 

How does Ocoee reflect your own experiences, perspectives, or interests as an author? 

I lived in the West for years, in different countries, and even though I resided in both Europe and North America, the systemic racism and discrimination were no different in these various countries. The way I was perceived in one country was the same in another. It was frustrating, but I came to understand and recognize this reality and learned how to combat it. Ocoee draws upon a few of my own experiences.

What do you find fascinating about the short story genre? 

I love the ability to tell a story that takes the reader on a ride. Having their emotions shift from one state to the next, or to provoke thought they didn’t have before. It is the most fascinating way of telling experiences and journeys, and I simply love that. 

What are you currently working on? 

I am still writing short stories and entering competitions as I always did, but I am also working on a few longer pieces in other genres (like romance, sci-fi, action-thriller, western and so on), all set in Jamaica or where the protagonist is Jamaican. Ideally, I will write a series that features a protagonist on his journey. I would love Ocoee to be a movie and will be looking how that will materialise. I also have to promote My Date With Depression, my latest book about my experience with depression and will be seeking to engage more men who face depression and so on, enabling them to heal via workshops.

Shireen Quadri is the editor of The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers.

Congratulations on winning. You made it on your seventh attempt. Please walk us through your previous attempts. 

My first entry was in 2009. I then just kept writing and entering as and when, but there was no initial plan to do just the Commonwealth Short Story Prize since I do enter other competitions. 

What stories had you submitted in the previous years, and what were they broadly about? 

Interesting question. My previous stories were general in their context, but I changed the theme to focus on the African diaspora, exploring the rich stories across the Americas and Europe and depicting the experiences of individuals within that context.

You’re the first Jamaican writer to win the prize. How did you arrive at the short story genre? 

In primary school we were encouraged to write poetry, essays and compositions. But I started out as a poet (on the back of writing an initial personalised poem for a work colleague), winning awards for poetry and then decided to shift into longer prose. It started out as an experiment, since my brother, who was an award-winning writer in high school when I wasn’t even writing, inspired me to try the genre. 

What aspects of Jamaican writing and literature have influenced your work? 

Wow, too many to mention. In modern times, Colin Channer, Marlon James, Mervyn Morris, Lorna Goodison, Louise Bennett-Coverley. Previously, Roger Mais, Claude McKay. Outside of those Jamaican writers there are others like Lee Child, James Patterson, and Stephen King. 

What is the shape of the contemporary literary landscape there? 

Vibrant, and my winning the award demonstrates this vibrancy, it’s just a matter of those within the island to show those outside of the island, on how good our writing actually is. Jamaica is a creative place, as shown in our ability to create so many genres of music, and as such we excel in so many spheres from academics to sports, and now to short story writing!

Your story, Ocoee, named after the Florida town and site of a brutal racial attack in 1920, is an interplay of the personal and the political, and tackles systemic racism in America. How did you arrive at the story and what prompted you to write it in the first person?

I am a lover of history, especially those bits that have been forgotten, glossed over or never told. And that’s the thing about the African diaspora; there are hundreds of stories. Ocoee is one of those stories. I think that writing in first person gives more of an impact into how the protagonist is thinking and feeling. It enables the reader to be immersed into the character. I love how, by writing this way, makes the story evolve and the reader invested in it.

The protagonist travels to Ocoee that is at once eerily familiar and oddly strange. Did you want to create a continuum between the past and the present? 

Definitely. I wanted there to be a connection with what he may have forgotten and bring it into his present. The entire idea of his story playing out the way it did is also a metaphor for how African diasporans have lost their way and disconnected from their roots. By reconnecting, they can find a path towards the future.

For the narrator, the town of Ocoee is depicted as a place of refuge and solace. Do you think the setting symbolises the African Americans’ search for sanctuary, the longing for a sense of belonging, and the preservation of cultural identity in the face of systemic assault? 

Exactly, and this can also apply to people from the Caribbean with African heritage. African Americans and African Caribbeans share similar but different stories. Yet, the objective or goal is the same: to feel a sense of belonging and to have an awareness of self-identity within a western context.

There is a strong sense of nostalgia and cultural heritage woven into the narrative. Did you want to explore the themes of ancestral connections and cultural memory? 

I did. It is important for those messages to be known since it is made apparent to the reader the cultural context within the story and its similarity in today’s world. For example, the use of food is very important to Africans, and by relating to this symbol it can immediately be ‘seen’ by the reader and for those familiar, a commonality recognised in very different diasporan environments.

There is a surreal touch to the narrator’s description of his encounter with two police officers and their subsequent disappearance. Did you have to work on this element/texture? 

I had to. I needed to show the protagonist’s fear within that experience and highlight the protagonist being “rescued” by his ancestors. Having the cops disappear is an empowering symbolism to show how the ancestors protect their own. 

How does Ocoee reflect your own experiences, perspectives, or interests as an author? 

I lived in the West for years, in different countries, and even though I resided in both Europe and North America, the systemic racism and discrimination were no different in these various countries. The way I was perceived in one country was the same in another. It was frustrating, but I came to understand and recognize this reality and learned how to combat it. Ocoee draws upon a few of my own experiences.

What do you find fascinating about the short story genre? 

I love the ability to tell a story that takes the reader on a ride. Having their emotions shift from one state to the next, or to provoke thought they didn’t have before. It is the most fascinating way of telling experiences and journeys, and I simply love that. 

What are you currently working on? 

I am still writing short stories and entering competitions as I always did, but I am also working on a few longer pieces in other genres (like romance, sci-fi, action-thriller, western and so on), all set in Jamaica or where the protagonist is Jamaican. Ideally, I will write a series that features a protagonist on his journey. I would love Ocoee to be a movie and will be looking how that will materialise. I also have to promote My Date With Depression, my latest book about my experience with depression and will be seeking to engage more men who face depression and so on, enabling them to heal via workshops.

Shireen Quadri is the editor of The Punch Magazine Anthology of New Writing: Select Short Stories by Women Writers.