Episode 185 with Toni Ann Johnson, Renaissance Woman, Master Storyteller in Film and on the Page, and Author of the Award-Winning Light Skin Gone to Waste

Episode 185 Notes and Links to Toni Ann Johnson’s Work

 

*Content Warning-Please be aware of discussion of sexual assault* 

    On Episode 185 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Toni Ann Johnson, and the two discuss, among other things, her early reading and love for the theater and acting, her college and formative reading lists, the ignorance surrounding her film on Ruby Bridges, growing up in an almost all-white town, racism and ignorance, writing objectively when her fiction is heavily-based on her real life, as well as pertinent issues and themes discussed in her award-winning collection, like racism, ignorance, adultery, neglect, sexual assault, and class.

 

   Toni Ann Johnson is a screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. 

She won the 1998 Humanitas Prize and the 1998 Christopher Award for her script Ruby Bridges. In 2004, she won a second Humanitas Prize for her script Crown Heights. She was nominated for a 2015 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author. 

Remedy for a Broken Angel also won a 2015 Beverly Hills Book Award for Multicultural Fiction and a 2015 International Latino Book Award for Most Inspirational Fiction Book.

In 2020 her novella Homegoing won Accents Publishing's inaugural novella contest. She won the 2021 Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction for her linked short story collection Light Skin Gone to Waste.

 

Buy Light Skin Gone to Waste

 

Toni Ann Johnson's Wikipedia Page

 

Toni Ann Johnson’s Website

 

Los Angeles Times Article Regarding Story Collection- “For one award-winning Black L.A. author, light skin was no refuge”

 

Interview from Moria Online- "A Story Can Be Both: An Interview with Toni Ann Johnson"

 

Hawai’i Review of Books-"What Color Is Your Scapegoat?" with Dr. Stephanie Han 

 

At about 2:00, Toni Ann talks about her early literary life, and how her earliest love was acting-plays especially-which led her to read a lot of plays

 

At about 4:15, Toni cites James Baldwin as the first writer whose complete works she read; Pete asks her about his fiction versus his nonfiction

 

At about 5:45, Toni relates her shared airplane flight with James Baldwin

 

At about 7:20, Toni talks about her time at the Lee Strasberg Theater and getting to know the founder and other legendary actors/directors

 

At about 9:15, Toni explains Monroe, New York’s placement in the state

 

At about 11:20, Toni discusses influential writers and writing, including Bessie Head

 

At about 13:00, Toni gives background on her time as a student of Chinua Achebe and Stella Adler

 

At about 16:50, Pete and Toni discuss method acting, with Toni providing interesting commentary on her view of it, as informed by her career in entertainment and her mentors

 

At about 22:40, Toni responds to Pete’s questions about muses; she references using memory as a muse

 

At about 27:20, The two discuss the state of book bans and historical manipulation happening currently, especially with regard to Toni’s 1998 Ruby Bridges and its recent headlines

 

At about 32:50, Toni relates comments she’s heard from teachers and parents over the years about feelings of empathy for Ruby

 

At about 35:20, The cover of the book is shouted out and Toni talks about seeds for the book and the balance between fiction and nonfiction in Light Skin Gone to Waste 

 

At about 38:20, Toni responds to Pete’s questions about any difficulties with objectivity 

 

At about 40:15, Pete lays out the book’s first story, exposition, and main character’s/conflicts, especially with Phillip and Velma’s lives

 

At about 42:40, Pete wonders about Phil’s mindsets 

 

At about 46:40, Pete and Toni juxtapose the naivete of children and ignorance and bias in adulthood, as seen in the fictional stories

 

At about 48:00, Toni replies to Pete’s questions about how she sees her hometown’s biases and how much can be blamed on personal choice vs. “society”

 

At about 52:15, “Lucky” and the story’s throughlines and title and “turning point” events are discussed 

 

At about 55:40, Toni gives background on help in revising “Lucky” from Roxane Gay

 

At about 1:01:50, Noble and ignoble actions by Phillip from the story are discussed, as well as the real experiences these events were based on

 

At about 1:02:20, Pete sets up the collection’s only two-narrator story and he and Toni discuss the housekeeper Gertie and her pivotal action or inaction

 

At about 1:06:45, Toni discusses multiple meanings of “scars” as used in the book and any connections to optimism 

 

At about 1:10:00, Toni connects recent years and Trumpism and how her optimism has been regulated

 

At about 1:11:55, Toni talks about an exciting upcoming project based on/culled from her recent collection, as well as the fascinating background on curating her award-winning collection 

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  Please tune in for Episode 186 with Stephanie Feldman. She is the author of the novels Saturnalia and The Angel of Losses, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, winner of the Crawford Fantasy Award, and finalist for the Mythopoeic Award.

The episode airs on June 6.