Author of A Particular Kind of Black Man, Tope Folarin, believes creative writing is more than just having an active imagination: ‘One must learn and become fluent in the craft of writing before giving one’s imagination free rein.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
Reading was profoundly important to me as a child because, to be frank, I didn’t really have anything else. My father did not allow my siblings and me to watch much television, and the radio was off limits. Also, on the weekends my father would often drop us off at the library before going to work, and he’d pick us up after he was done. So I spent a great deal of time around books. The books that had the greatest impact on me as a child were The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, the Earthsea Cycle series by Ursula K. Leguin, The Wrinkle In Time Quintet by Madeline L’Engle, and the Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card. These books transformed my relationship with the written word, altered the way I thought about the world and my place in it, and—looking back—inspired me to embark on my own journey as a writer.
What about those books inspired you to become a writer?
A...