I've had some of the best conversations in India: Paul Beatty

Author Paul Beatty at the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet organised by Tatas

In the last few months, life has changed dramatically for American author Paul Beatty. From being turned down nearly 18 times by publishers for a book that he was confident would 'challenge' existing ideas and notions about race, to winning the Man Booker for the very same that the world will now remember as 'The Sellout', Beatty seems to have had the last laugh. For Beatty, who became the first American to receive the £50,000 Man Booker prize, the award only validated that The Sellout deserved not to be ignored.

The author, who was in India for a good part of January hopping between cultural festivals, spoke to mid-day during the last leg of the Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet, which ended last week. Excerpts from the interview:

It's been quite a long trip for you here in India (with Jaipur Literary Festival and now, the Kolkata Literary Meet). What's been the best takeaway from your experience here?
That's a good question and a rather hard one. I have had all these great conversations here. And one of the things I have been saying for a long time here is that some of the best questions I have got about the book [The Sellout] have been from the Indian press. I didn't have to start from square one [with the book] and that's really nice. The other thing that's been completely refreshing is that all the young people I meet at these festivals are so enthusiastic about literature. I don't get that in the States in the level that I get here, and that's been fantastic.

In an interview, you've mentioned how you dislike the whole act/process of writing. Does it mean that you prefer the process of storytelling instead?
I think they go hand in hand. I don't make a great distinction between writing and storytelling.

From what we've read of you, you seem to be the one who likes to write at your own pace. Would you describe yourself as instinctive or impulsive?
I am neither of those, really. I am definitely not instinctive; it would have been easier if I were. And, I am not that impulsive either. I am a thinker. I like pondering and meditating. It takes a long time [for me to write]. There's a lot of practise to it. It's not like you press a button and it all comes out. It's not a reflex.

You've admitted once to not having read a single Man Booker winning title. Did you ever see The Sellout getting there?
I have read some of the shortlisted books, but none of the winning titles. I have read thousands and thousands of books, but I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction and that's probably why I haven't read them, and it's that simple. Even when I was writing The Sellout, I was hoping to write a book that would be hard for people to ignore. And, I am absolutely happy that it hasn't. I felt that I had written a really good and challenging book. But, I didn't have the Man Booker in mind. In fact, I didn't think about it even for a second.

How close is your fiction to your own reality?
Not close at all. I think my memory is a big part of the way I write. It's my memory that allows me to create that narrative and what I imagine. God forbid if my life were like my fiction, it would be tough.

Any Indian authors, whose works you follow and why?
There is this Indian-American writer that no one really knows: her name is Jade Sharma. She wrote a good novel called Problems, and I am a big fan. Now, that I was in India, I have been asking people to send me their works. I am hoping to read more. There is Kiran Desai. She is the one author that I am really looking forward to read.

How have things changed for you ever since you won the Booker?
(Laughs). Just that I get asked that question too often. That's the only change.