Book Talk: Alumna receives 2023 Whiting Award

Marcia Douglas, PhD ’97, professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder, won a 2023 Whiting Award in fiction. The honor is to “empower recipients to fulfill the promise of exceptional literary work to come.” She is one of 10 writers this year to win this award.

Binghamton Magazine: You were born in the United Kingdom and grew up in Jamaica. How did you wind up at Binghamton?

Marcia Douglas: After completing an MFA at The Ohio State University, I was drawn to the English PhD at Binghamton and its option to explore a creative-writing emphasis alongside an area of literary concentration — in my case, literature of the African Diaspora. Carole Boyce Davies was on faculty at that time, and this presented a unique opportunity for me to pursue work as a creative writer while also studying with a Caribbean and Africana Studies scholar.

BM: How was the Binghamton PhD program influential?

MD: Binghamton was influential because of the amazing faculty mentors I encountered as well as the important peer relationships I formed. Each mentor contributed to my development as a writer and thinker. I think in particular of the poets Milton Kessler and Ruth Stone; of the fiction writer Barry Targan; and of the writer-scholars Isidore Okpewho, Sidonie Smith and Carole Boyce Davies. Carole continues to be a source of inspiration to me. I’ve learned a lot from her about what it means to support and mentor others. At Binghamton, I also formed memorable peer relationships. Over the years, I have remained in contact with a number of these peers, a cohort of immigrants and people of color who gave support to each other. I refer to us as the “Binghamton Diaspora.”

BM: You have a lengthy publication list. Is there a particular book that means most to you?

MD: The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: a Novel in Bass Riddim — being the most recent — feels particularly close to my creative vision. I see each book as building on the other, veering toward a certain edge. In The Marvellous Equations, I take narrative risks my earlier writer-self would probably not have taken. This work comes a little closer to the sort of book I aim to write. Set in an area of Kingston (Half Way Tree) where I went to high school and came of age, I am connected to the landscape and soundscape of the novel in personal ways. It is notable that Half Way Tree is rife with history. For nearly 300 years, a cotton tree dating back to the 17th century stood there — a crossroads for travelers and market people, slave and free. The novel is conscious of the ways in which the site has been witness to a long history of empire, colonialism and commerce. Today, it is a busy square where Kingston life unfolds in all of its chaos and riddim. Writing this was a way for me to return to that place and process its significance.

BM: How did it feel to win the award from the Whiting Foundation?

MD: I received a couple of phone calls from the same unrecognized number and assumed it was spam. After much ado, including an obscure email, the Whiting Foundation caught up with me and I responded. The nomination process is shrouded in much secrecy, so I had no idea I was being considered and it was a surprise to learn I was an awardee. I was charged with keeping it secret until the announcement two months later, but I’m sure I smiled a little brighter in class that day.

BM: Much of your writing involves Jamaican culture and experiences. What are you hoping readers will come away with?

MD: I hope readers come away with appreciation for the complexity of Jamaican space — both the chaos and riddim of which I speak. Jamaica is a place where a history of suffering, violence and oppression resides alongside a proclivity for beauty, innovation and greatness. I also hope readers catch sight of the importance of telling our stories; of the invitation to care for our cultural legacies; and, most importantly, of the call to honor and nurture our youth. They are our future.