At the desk of…Kelis Rowe
A conversation between BookGive volunteer Colleen Maleski and Finding Jupiter author Kelis Rowe.
As this column is called “at the desk of,” let’s first ground in place. Where do you typically write?
In the early days, in 2017, I worked in the quiet room at my local library. There were 10 – 12 desks and absolute silence, all you could hear was the clock ticking. That’s where I wrote the bulk of the first draft of Finding Jupiter.
These days, I write in the corner of my bedroom at a secretary desk. It is a magical space for me. I have a framed photo of Toni Morrison watching over me along with sacred items including photos of my family, crystals, and lavender. Lavender was the first thing I put on my writing desk; I knew that lavender would be woven into the story.
The desk is right next to a huge window that overlooks the backyard, which is green with three garden beds full of edible plants (or maybe just weeds), and I periodically get a visit from a fat calico neighborhood cat.
Would Toni Morrison be a part of your dream writing team?
She would be a part of my sister circle to give and share energy with. In my acknowledgements, I promise Toni Morrison to “always make everybody Black,” to keep focused on Black storytelling. She did that courageously and unapologetically and that is what I want to do for teenagers.
Others in that circle would be Octavia Butler. I have a tattoo inspired by her Parables series on my arm—an acorn sprouting from the wrong end with the words “adapt and grow.” I promise her in my acknowledgements “to always look to the stars.” And Jhumpa Lahiri. I want to be as eloquent and as deep a thinker as she is – both her and Zadie Smith.
Many writers start as voracious readers. Who or what sparked your love of books?
I was a lifelong reader. Most of my childhood, I lived right down the street from the library. It was the 80s, and I was 9 years old, and in the summer, my mom would let me walk by myself to the library and stay all day until they closed. It was a peaceful environment (my house was much too loud), so I went to the library to escape. I enjoyed being around books, getting a look into all of these different worlds and lives. I liked the voyeurism part of reading. And I’d read Webster dictionary, the ones with the pictures alongside the entries. I’m big into words and word origins. I love the encyclopedia!
Becoming a person who reads for pleasure didn’t happen until 7th or 8th grade. Of course, I had always read books for school, advanced English reading lists, but reading The Great Gatsby was the first time I felt real emotions for a character in a book. I was so angry at Daisy, and I felt so bad for Jay Gatsby. I was devastated, but also thought, “Wow, what a ride!” All Jay Gatsby wanted was love; he just wanted Daisy to love him back. It should be as simple as that. I return to that theme time and time again. That’s when I became a person who reads for pleasure.
When did you first have the idea to write Finding Jupiter? What inspired you to start writing?
When I graduated from college, I moved to Austin and kept a blog for ten years to keep family and friends abreast of my life there. People would say “I love your voice. When are you going to write a book?” I thought maybe I could be like David Sedaris and write humor – that’s what everyone was responding to in my blog – but I took it as flattery and moved on.
In 2015, a friend of mine, who is also a writer and a mom, said “Let’s make vision boards! Where do we want to be 5 or 10 years from now?” I was a stay-at-home mom, had a husband who was an engineer, had a gorgeous hilarious kid, so life was good, but I asked myself, “What do I want?”
The answer: To use my voice for something.
I didn’t know for what at the time, but I wrote on my vision board that I wanted to write a book, and I knew I wanted the book to be impactful for Black American culture.
I started writing two years later. When The Hunger Games came out, I had read a lot of dystopian fantasy, and then I stumbled into the coming-of-age genre. I was 40 years old when I read Calling My Name by Liara Tamani for the first time. The story was me. It was as if I was reading about my 12-year-old self. I was 40 years old and experiencing all of these emotions because I saw myself in a book, and I thought, “What a gift it would be to give these big emotions to a teenager.” Back in the 90s, the Young Adult space wasn’t as big as it is now. As a teenager, it would have been great to have had access to that kind of book. I knew that whatever I wrote, it was going to be for Black teens.
Gatsby makes an appearance on page 1 of Finding Jupiter, so it seems to have had continued significance or influence on your passion for books. Why was Gatsby included?
Finding Jupiter has all the stuff that teen Kel loved included in the book!
I knew I wanted original poetry in the book, so there’s a performance piece — spoken word, on their date night. Ultimately, I decided on found poetry. I instantly turned to Their Eyes Were Watching God, which I discovered as an older teen, about scary love and risk-taking and profound loss, and The Great Gatsby encompassed all those things as well. The first found poem in the book is about a girl in the graveyard pining for the love of her father.
Books have the power to show young people reflections of themselves and to expose young people to characters with identities that are different than their own. What do you hope young readers take away from Finding Jupiter as they get to know Ray and Orion?
I want to give young readers an experience they connect to. I hope a larger group of readers see themselves living big adventures, taking risks, and falling in love. Since I started writing the book in 2017, I have seen a ton of Black love stories coming out for teenagers. (Bravo to publishing!) Finding Jupiter is a universal love story, told through the lens of Black Memphis teenagers, that anyone can connect with even if it has nothing to do with your everyday life. Dirty Dancing, for example, is my favorite movie and it made an impression on me. I connected to the 16-year-old girl, but how much of a gift would it have been if Baby was a Black girl! I want teens to read Finding Jupiter and be able to connect to it like I did to Dirty Dancing.
I also hope teen readers, and adult readers too, walk away knowing they can start doing inner work, that they can start healing from childhood wounds as teenagers. I want them to know they can take the risk, they can look inside, and they can trust other people to take this journey with them. They don’t have to wait until they’re thirty and go to therapy. They can experience big love early.
What is the response you’ve received so far from teen readers?
Teen readers love seeing a Black girl who is self-possessed, free, and strong but also vulnerable. They love seeing a handsome jock who is not chasing girls down or trying to be macho, who doesn’t hide that he’s sensitive. Life imitates art which imitates life, and these characters don’t stick to the traditional script. Teen readers love Orion.
They also love reading something that isn’t about Black trauma or surviving violence or persevering, but rather a summer love story where they can see Black kids just grappling with family drama and falling in love and figuring out who they are going to be when they head back to school. There can be more diversity in the types of Black teen stories that are told in Contemporary YA. I’m thrilled to be adding to the balance of representations of soft life for Black teens.
What will you write next?
My second novel will be another Memphis teen romance and will happen in the same universe, the same summer, with maybe a cameo from a crossover character or two. I explored some ideas for a middle-grade book next, but my editor said I created magic with Finding Jupiter and readers are going to want to hear more from me in the YA space. And truthfully, it is a topic I am happy to elevate.
I fell in love as a teenager, at 18. We celebrate adult proposals and weddings and anniversaries and being married 50 years, but we don’t often celebrate where those long, beautiful relationships started. And when we do celebrate young love, it is rarely two Black kids or people of color we picture. I’m in a relationship of almost 30 years. We dated for five years and have been married for 21. It started out so young. That spark at the beginning is so sweet. It can be powerful and long-lasting, and even if it is just for the summer, it can be big and earth-shifting. That is what I love about teen love stories. That is what I love about Dirty Dancing. I just want to celebrate that big falling-in-love moment.
BookGive has partnered with The Little Free Library’s Read in Color initiative to install 10 new libraries across the Denver community and to ensure that those libraries – and the hundreds already existing across the city – are celebrating and sharing books by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other diverse authors and books that feature narratives and characters with diverse identities. What books would you recommend to readers?
I can’t recommend Calling My Name by Liara Tamani enough! It follows a girl named Taja and is written in vignettes which create snapshots of her becoming. It is so artsy for teenagers!
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon is [chef’s kiss gesture.] Dimple is one of those characters who is so smart and strong. She knows what she wants, and it doesn’t matter what is expected of her from society. The origins of our love stories are also so similar. I also fell in love with a geek in college, and my husband is from the Caribbean, which is influenced by Indian culture, so the story is so familiar to me.
What I love about Dimple, Taja, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, and Ray (the character I created) is that these are girls who could be written as boys. They have the characteristics we allow boys to be in our society. Girls are out here being all of those things, but they are often not celebrated or praised for it. I’m drawn to characters like that.
You can also see my recommendations for “5 must-read YA romances that everyone will love” here.
(Author’s note: For additional Read in Color book recommendations, check out the Diverse Book Advisory Group’s reading lists.)
What have you been reading recently?
Luster by Raven Leilani. Someone posted a stack of copies on Instagram and they were so passionate about giving them to everyone for Christmas – and the cover was so gorgeous – that I instantly bought two and gave one to my best friend. It defied everything I have experienced as a reader to date.
Also, Seven Days in June by Tia Williams which I am drawn to for its dark flashbacks to teen love.
BookGive supporters are of course book lovers, but also a community that believes reading builds community and connection and that literacy is foundational. What’s your vision for the future of books?
I believe we are on the path to the potential impact that more diverse books will have on our culture and society. Yes, representation in books benefits those who see themselves in the narrative, but it has an even bigger benefit for those who are reading the stories and experiences of others. We all should read widely. It makes empathy stronger, and that influences how we engage with each other. Telling diverse stories in children’s books will encourage more kids to read. Kids will grow up reading about people who are different from them and will develop their own perspectives and more deeply understand the stories of those who are not always accepted or celebrated in society at large. It gives me hope that the future will be kinder.
Pick up your copy of Finding Jupiter from BookBar and follow Kelis on social media, @theekelisrowe on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
If you would like to join BookGive in creating a kinder, more empathetic future through diverse books, donate funds to support our mission. Your support is what makes our mission possible!
This blog contributed by BookGive volunteer, Colleen Maleski.
