Interview with Nnenna Umelloh – Black and Brown Book Club
Interview with Nnenna Umelloh – Black and Brown Book Club by Magda Oldziejewska
In August we had a really lovely catch up about the life-changing power of books, book clubs and libraries, with Nnenna Umelloh, the founder of the Black and Brown Book Club. It’s an exciting time for them, as the book club is developing fast, with a new poetry workshop up and running, and they have just launched their new Patreon page, so we really enjoyed hearing about all this and more!
Q: Thank you so much for being here and agreeing to do this! I’m really looking to learning more about your story! Could you start by telling me more about your book club, how it started and how it’s going?
A: Yes! So I landed in the UK in September 2019. I was there for work and school. But one of the things I love is reading and literature, I’ve loved it all my life. So I really wanted to join a book club, to find some way to be plugged into the literature community. I love reading, it’s a great stress reliever, I find it exciting, and it’s a good way for me to spend my time and feed my mind.
So I was walking around different bookstores and libraries, and every time I asked them ‘when is your next book club’, they had no idea what I was talking about! I even went to New Beacon Books, which is a black owned bookshop in Finsbury, and they told me they didn’t have one. So, I’m looking around these different libraries and book shops, and no one has a book club! And, it turned out that book clubs are a very American concept – I had no idea. So I decided I might as well start one.
I personally love Black literature. There’s a lot of diversity, rich history and creativity there. I feel like people stereotype Black literature into slave narratives and stories of struggle, when, really, it includes all that and so much more. So I started Black and Brown Book Club to explore Black literature and other minority written literature. And it’s been a lot of fun. I put up the first event on Eventbrite in September and we had our first meeting at the British Library in October, and I’ve been doing it every month since then.
Q: That’s brilliant! And it looks like it’s really developed since. Tell us more about all the latest developments in the book club.
A: Yes! The Black and Brown Book Club has grown a lot, and it makes me excited because people resonate with what I’m trying to do and what I’ve been doing.
So, I love literature, I love Black literature, and that’s what we’ve been reading since we started. But our first work of poetry was Magical Negro by Morgan Parker, and my regular attendees were not there at that book club, which made me wonder what’s going on. So when they came the following month, I asked for feedback from them, and they told me that their experience with poetry, especially growing up in the UK, has not been very positive. They said it was very whitewashed and very difficult to understand, and they just did not have any connection to it. And it left a very bad impression as far as the whole genre of literature is concerned. For me, it was very unfortunate to hear, because I know poetry is so much more than Emiliy Dickinson or Virgnia Woolf. There is a rich vastness in poetry, especially poetry by Black and minority poets. I found it sad that people, especially people of colour, were closed off to the entire genre because of their experiences in the UK educational system.
So I wanted to create the Black and Brown Book Club poetry edition to really rehabilitate and re-educate people of colour about poetry and to explore different voices, and different ways that literature presents itself. I personally love poetry, I am a poet myself – I write and perform poetry – so I know the richness of poetry.
So our first book of poetry was Magical Negros by Morgan Parker – I think that was May or June – and then this month, in a couple of weeks, we’re reading another book of poetry. It’s called Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith, and that’s also a really powerful collection. I make it a point to pick pieces of poetry that really fight against the stereotype that poetry is just for the old, white intellectuals. There’s so much more to it than that.
So I’m excited to start the poetry edition and I’m also excited to start the teen book club.
Q: That’s amazing and so interesting to hear, and a great example of the impact of book clubs, I think. We like to learn and develop as we go at the Library as well. Which leads me to my next question – what do you think is the impact of book clubs more generally?
A: It’s on a number of levels. On one level, it’s a really nice social gathering – an opportunity to interact with other people and talk about something that you really enjoy. What I’ve learned in hosting the book club is that it’s a really safe space, to both relax and have really important conversations and learn about different points of view. I really enjoy the social aspect. I use it as a refuge. It feeds my spirit.
On another level, it’s an opportunity to have people’s voices heard. The literature that we read and discuss talks about different narratives. Whether it’s poetry, fiction or biography, or a play, there are different narratives and themes that are discussed and explored in that literature. It can be very humbling, eye-opening and nurturing to hear and discuss those stories, and feel seen and heard.
For example, over the summer, we read The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu, and reading and discussing it was a therapy session in and of itself. And then we also read Becoming by Michelle Obama, the queen herself. The discussion of that book, and being able to relate to each other through it – that was also like a group therapy session. So the book club is an opportunity to socialise, but it’s also an opportunity to be seen and heard, and to feel a part of something bigger than yourself.
Q: Absolutely, I can relate to that. Our international book club gives me that same feeling. It’s always exciting to learn from all the different perspectives. Now could you tell me a bit about the impact of the recent move online due to the lockdown?
A: Most of the impact of the transition has been positive. Our book club has grown since going online because more people can join. I have members joining from India and the US, when I was still in the UK, now. That’s really exciting.
I remember, in January, when we read Becoming, at the British Library, we had 20 people. It was fine, but having larger gatherings in public could be an issue. Like, last month, when we read Why I’m no Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reni Eddo Lodge, we had over 30 people on that Zoom call. It was a challenge keeping track of the conversation and keeping an eye on the chat. I needed an assistant!
It’s a good problem to have. Our book club is growing and that makes me really excited. But at the same time, I want to stay true to the spirit of the book club and why I started it. I want it to be a safe space, where people can come and be themselves, have wonderful conversations, be enlightened and connect with each other. There’s a really unique energy that we’ve created in the Black & Brown Book Club, and I want to keep that energy intact at all times. And so I’ve been very mindful of the type of people that I allow in the book club. Sometimes there are people who don’t respect the boundaries of the book club, and I don’t mind kicking them out. It hasn’t been necessary until last month when we were discussing race and racism, and Black people’s experiences of racism in the UK, and there were more white people than we’ve had in the past. Which is fine, but there was a level of lack of understanding, listening and respect for other people’s experiences. And because of the size of the call, I was not able to monitor everything. But going forward, I’m going to be very diligent in monitoring and making sure that people still feel respected and safe.
That’s the biggest challenge of going online. But I’m definitely looking forward to growing the book club, and maybe even getting an assistant to help me or breaking up the book club – perhaps having an AM and a PM session to make it more manageable. It’s a good challenge to have. It’s been positive – people are still showing up, including my regulars.
Q: That’s great! So what’s the future for the Book Club in this context, in terms on online/offline?
A: Eventually, I would love to go back into a library or a bookshop! So short-term, from now until Dec, I really want to launch the two new book clubs: the teens Black & Brown Book Club and the poetry edition, because I would have loved to have this as a kid and I also love poetry. I also want to build the Patreon community for the Black & Brown Book Club, because I cannot do this by myself. At first, it started as a passion project, but now I need help and support. I’m still working full-time, so there’s only so much time I can dedicate to the club, even though I love it so much.
Next year, after we can meet again in public, I would love to patronise Black & Brown bookshops. In the UK, I patronised New Beacon Books in Finsbury, because they’re a black-owned book shop and they’re really great. Here, in Texas, there are also Black-owned bookshops, and I want to patronise those small, community owned bookshops, because Amazon cannot destroy all of them! In the UK, I found that there were more small, local bookshops, which was really encouraging. In the US, there is a rise of small, community-led bookshops, which I really enjoy, and it would be really nice to host the BBBC in various bookshops across the country, especially in Texas, inviting authors, and helping them facilitate the conversation. That would be fun.
There’s a lot that can be done in the long term. I would love to host workshops on writing poetry and have that be in partnership with a Black bookshop. Before I left for the UK, in the US, I hosted the Black writers’ support group, and I taught Black and minority writers how to write and publish literature. I would love to restart that and have that be a part of this ecosystem as well. I have a lot of plans and aspirations, it’s just a matter of doing them one step at a time and not spreading myself too thin.
Q: Absolutely! I’m sure you will develop all these projects because it sounds like the book club has been doing really well. My last question for you is: could you tell me about a foundational memory of a library or a bookshop that got you where you are?
A: 100%! I have loved reading from a very early age. My friends were books and libraries. When I was in elementary school, you had to be a certain age to check out more than 3 books. And I loved reading and libraries. I knew the names of the librarians and they knew me! But I was always really sad that I couldn’t check out as many books as the older kids. And then came a year when I was finally old enough to check out 5 books, I got a special library card and we also learned the Dewey decimal system to find books. And then there came a new rule that you could check out more than 5 books! My backpack was always full of books. I was so happy.
Then when I went to middle school, I would always spend my breaks in the library. I was friends with the librarians. And I remember, there was this special bookshelf – you had to be in the 8th grade to check out these books. But my friendly librarians let me check out these books. I was in 7th grade then – and I thought I was so cool! So I would read those books and then I’d write reviews and send them to the librarians.
And then I discovered our public library, in the city, and there was a whole teen section there! I would spend all day there.
So my love of books has started in infancy! Those were formative experiences for me. Libraries are magical places. Everybody knows where a library is. They are at the heart of our communities. They are so much more than just books: you can get internet there, job training, advice on resources… They are community centres. We cannot let libraries die!
Q: Absolutely! Couldn’t agree more. Is there anything else that you would like to add before we end?
A: Yes! I’d like to challenge people to read different types of literature. And what I mean by that is: you may love sci-fi, but try poetry, plays, memoir, autobiography, translations or theatre, from different parts of the world. There’s just much out there to explore and it’s a lot of fun. And you are bound to find other who enjoy what you do and connect. Also, join a book club!
Q: Thank you so much for your time! And I hope that we can continue the conversation.