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BIO
Bebe Moore Campbell is a bestselling author and a journalist. Her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Ms., Essence, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Working Mother, USA Weekend, and Adweek, among other publications. She is a regular contributor to National Public Radio. Bebe Moore Campbell is the author of BROTHERS AND SISTERS, SINGING IN THE COMEBACK CHOIR, YOUR BLUES AIN'T LIKE MINE, and WHAT YOU OWE ME. Campbell was born and grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education. She taught elementary and middle school for five years. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Ellis Gordon, Jr., her daughter, the actress Maia Campbell, and a son, Ellis Gordon III.
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PAST INTERVIEW
April 14, 1998
Bebe Moore Campbell, author of The New York Times bestseller BROTHERS AND SISTERS, has been acclaimed as one of the most important African-American novelists of this century. With her latest novel, SINGING IN THE COMEBACK CHOIR, Bebe Moore Campbell continues to explore contemporary social, racial and political issues. Ms. Campbell visited THE BOOK REPORT on April 14 to discuss her new novel. Our interviewers were Jennifer Levitsky (BookpgJL) and Niloufar Motamed. BookpgSuzy was our host.
BookpgSuzy: Hello, Jennifer and Ms. Campbell. Good evening!
BookpgJL: Music plays a big role in SINGING. Can you tell us how it influences your life?
BebeMCamp: I am a music lover and growing up as I did in a family of women, there was always a lot of singing going on. Either on the radio, on a record player or the women in the house singing. I grew up in a Baptist Church, was in a youth choir, so I just always had a love of music. Music lifts me up when I am down and I wanted to incorporate that as a theme. I thought about what happens to female singers when they stop singing. I thought that the loss of the voice or the inadvertent loss is a theme that parallels the neighborhood that I grew up in. That was what I was striving to do -- bring out some parallels and to create a metaphor for what had hit the community.
BookpgJL: Another big theme in the novel is about the struggle between where we come from and where we are going. Can you talk a bit about this struggle for black women especially?
BebeMCamp: I think for a lot of people, roots are important. When you live in a society that for so long has shut out one segment of the population from the best that the society has to offer, and then finally the law is on the side of the people who have been oppressed, as was the case with the passage of the civil rights act of 1960. It is difficult with people not to identify the good life with the white life. Therefore, when you come from an African-American community and aspire for more, many people assume that you must leave your birth community. I think that a lot of people who have acheived success have to struggle with the duality and don't give up the good part of the community that has molded us. But I do think that it is a struggle to remember where you came from and see where you are going.
BookpgJL: Has racism affected your career as a writer?
BebeMCamp: I am sure. When I began trying to get published, black writers were not being published like they are now. We were perceived as people who would not make the publishing companies much money. It was thought that black people didn't read or that white people wouldn't read books written by black people. When I was trying to get a book contract in the 80s these myths made me get turned down a lot. Things are better now but they have only been better for a relatively short period of time.
BookpgJL: What problems do black women face today that previous generations didn't?
BebeMCamp: I think they have a lot of career concerns that their mothers and grandmothers didn't have. They have the added pressure of performing in a corporate environment, of matching their aspirations with their abilities and dealing with dwindling pools of "eligible" men. Black women tend to be more educated than black men. The professional women find that they can't find someone who can match degree for degree. The extended family is not as strong as it used to be. Women are often separated by their families because they have chased a job many miles from their homes. In addition, black women are at risk for high blood pressure, AIDS, diabetes, and a host of other ailments. They are at greater risk than other women.
Question: Who are some of your favorite authors?
BebeMCamp: Toni Morrison was a big influence as a young adult. As a child, I read a lot of classics: the Bronte sisters, Twain, Dickens. I continue to read the classics even now. I read a lot of fairy tales as well.
BookpgJL: What do you think fairy tales impart to young women?
BebeMCamp: I think they give a sense of whimsy and imagination. They enhance our ability to imagine. Many times there are morals to them and they give us societal constructs for behavior -- and they're fun. They can be exclusive also. They do focus on the weaknesses of women. But that has a bearing only if you are reading these tales in a void. I had women telling me I was strong and capable. These were just flights of fancy...as was Barbie.
Question: Were you brought up in the church? If so, what influence has that had in your life/career?
BebeMCamp: I grew up in the church so I have gotten my spiritual underpinnings from the church as well as my musical influences. The church plays a huge role in African-American life. I am very much convinced of the power of religious institutions and have hopes that they will become greater places of good for our communities.
BookpgJL: In SINGING IN THE COMEBACK CHOIR, Maxine deals with her husband's past infidelity. How a marriage survive this?
BebeMCamp: She is not surviving very well. But she is looking at this from the vantage point of how her husband has been wonderful in other areas. It is a very curious balancing act for her. It is a very severe one for Maxine because of her abandonment issues from her childhood. She is letting herself be persuaded by him that this will not happen again. She does have incidents of doubt and anger where she finds it difficult to be convinced.
BookpgJL: Maxine is the executive producer of a day-time talk show. How do you feel about these shows?
BebeMCamp: I think that they all serve a purpose -- even the sleaziest. They have got us talking about subjects that were considered taboo like incest and spousal abuse. Part of the big burden with that is shame. One of the good things that the talk show has done is that it has permitted out-in-the-open dialogue. To the extent that these issues are exploited for ratings is when I have a problem with the shows.
BookpgJL: Maxine faces a common problem of caring for an older relative. How can the need for this type of care be dealt with by children who live many miles away?
BebeMCamp: I think it is very difficult, particularly for communities where the children have traditionally taken care of the elderly. In a lot of poorer communities, you really feel that you have to take care of your parents and to not do so is a shameful thing and makes you feel guilty. The fact that you can't produces a lot of anxieties and can take a toll on marriages. Sometimes, you have to step back and realize that they have a lot of options that they don't realize they have. Sometimes the best thing to do is neither the nursing home nor moving the parent to the child's residence.
Question: How long did it take for your first book to get published?
BebeMCamp: I tried five years to get anything in print and after 5 years I had a short story published by Essence. I tried to write for magazines and newspapers for ten years until one of my magazine pieces turned into my first book.
BookpgJL: We're out of time now. Thanks, Bebe, for joining us this evening!
BebeMCamp: Thank you so much for having me.
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