Reader Views is very excited to speak with author J. Everett Prewitt, winner of four first place awards for his debut novel, “Snake Walkers.” Thank you for sharing his thoughts with us today.
Juanita: J. Everett, please tell us the meaning behind the title of your book, “Snake Walkers.”
J. Everett: The title is based on a mythical African tribe that teaches its children from birth to walk through a nest of poisonous snakes without being bitten.
Juanita: Give us a little background on the main character, Anthony Andrews.
J. Everett: Anthony comes from an upper-class family of blacks who are more concerned with maintaining the status quo than seeking justice in the turbulent 1950s and 1960s. Through no fault of his own, he is book smart but naive about life. Due to his new job, Anthony finds himself involved in life-threatening situations where he meets people whom he learns to respect. They have a different point of view on how to deal with racial injustice and life in general, and Anthony’s perspective eventually changes.
Juanita: Is Anthony based on someone you know?
J. Everett: I didn’t have friends like Anthony, but I belonged to an upper-class black social group as a teenager due to my mother’s status as the elementary school principal. I quit after a year. Some of them were the closest I got to someone like Anthony. There are a few Anthony’s in the world today, so it wasn’t too hard to understand his thoughts on issues like civil rights.
Juanita: How does Anthony come to terms with his childhood trauma as he tries to solve the mysterious abandonment of a small town and the disappearance of fourteen white men?
J. Everett: To Anthony’s credit. He faces the demons in front of him. He exercises and runs in the hope that this will somehow alleviate his problem. Although he is a bit shy with guns at first, he continues to face the violence that develops due to his discoveries and eventually becomes a stronger person because of it.
Juanita: “Snake Walkers” is a refreshing new look at the racial conflicts of modern American history. How common was it for ‘whites’ to disappear?
J. Everett: I’m not sure how common it was, but once I wrote the story, I started hearing numerous accounts of blacks in the South fighting back. One person told me that his family had a farm that was attacked by the Klan. His grandfather when telling the story simply said: “They arrived at the property, but they did not leave the property.” I imagine there are quite a few stories like that out there. I hear more and more as I give talks across the country.
Juanita: I imagine you will continue to hear stories like this as your book reaches more and more readers. Who have you seen as your audience and what else do they say about “Snake Walkers”?
J. Everett: My audience is as varied as the characters in the book. I have spoken to all white audiences, black book clubs, librarian groups, and was even the keynote speaker at a real estate setup banquet. So far I have received only positive responses to the book. Some questioned whether there were people like Bobby Joe Byrd, a white man who fought for black rights. I ask them if they remembered John Brown. I have been approached by audience members, both black and white, who say they could relate to something that happened in the book. I hope that eventually I can speak to young adults, especially black youth.
Juanita: Tell us about the research you did for “Snake Walkers.”
J. Everett: I visited the cities I wrote about (except Evesville), talked to various people there and others who were from there, read news articles, and looked up much of my historical information online. A writer from Arkansas was very helpful in recommending books about Arkansas. However, the most helpful person was a white old lady who was in Wynn’s library, researching her ancestry. She told me more about the area than all my other sources combined.
Juanita: How important is the need for a voice regarding this unrecognized aspect of history?
J. Everett: It’s very important. When portraying a minority culture or race, there must be balance. I can find a thousand books on hangings, beatings, castrations, etc., but very few on families who faced physical violence and won. Without balance, both those inside and outside the culture or race tend to view that group as victims and act accordingly.
Juanita: What is/are the underlying theme of “Snake Walkers”?
J. Everett: There are a few. No one is “above the fray” when it comes to fighting injustice. Your strength comes from within. A strong and supportive family is essential when facing insurmountable odds. Persistence and an open mind are necessary to navigate the treacherous labyrinths of life.
Juanita: You graduated from high school, went to Lincoln University, got drafted into the military, during the turbulent 1960s. What was your coming-of-age experience like in these historic times and how has that influenced you? your writing?
J. Everett: Ever since I was young, I felt compelled to fight every injustice I encountered. Although he was prepared, the fight was rarely physical. However, it required a mindset that color does not make a person inferior or superior. During those tumultuous times, this belief was challenged, but subsequently reinforced so many times that it was no longer a question. Therefore, my writing is based on telling stories of like-minded people resulting in triumph and victory. That is the life that I lived during those times and that was the life that my family lived. My father, mother, uncles, aunts, and cousins were great mentors in that regard, repeatedly overcoming barriers and becoming very successful people.
Juanita: What was your inspiration to write “Snake Walkers”?
J. Everett: I remember hearing stories in my youth about retribution, rebellion, and black confrontation in the South from different elders, and those stories stuck with me. One Mr. Johnson put it more succinctly when he observed that “Not everyone won and not everyone lost.” I also videotaped my father, uncle and aunt about their story growing up in Arkansas and often wondered why no one wrote the stories I heard. I decided that I would. There is an African proverb that says: “Until lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
Juanita: “Snake Walkers” is such a dazzling debut novel that it has received many awards and great recognition. Will you be writing another one soon, and if so, can you tell us a bit about it?
J. Everett: My next book will be called Two Wolves. It will be a sequel to Snake Walkers. The setting will be Cleveland, Ohio in 1969 after the Glenville riots. Anthony, the lead in Snake Walkers, is a reporter for a small newspaper, and Raymond Williams (the heir apparent as family patriarch) has just returned from the Vietnam War. There will be a number of subplots, but Raymond’s girlfriend Myra is missing and even though she’s a college graduate, she’ll need all of her street smarts to figure out what happened and deal with the aftermath.
Juanita: Thank you for this enlightening interview J. Everett. Is there any last thought you’d like to share with your readers?
J. Everett: I’ve been a bit overwhelmed by the response to the book. I began writing to fill a void due, in my opinion, to the inadequate representation of strong, solid black families and the positive results some experienced when they stood up to injustice. I guess this has resonated with a lot of people and I’m grateful. I am only sorry that my father, who passed away a few years ago at 95, was not able to share this experience with me.