SENTHURAN WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE SOON, PLEASE WELCOME AKWAEKE EMEZI. AKWAEKE EMEZI, WELCOME TO THE DAILY SHOW. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. >> Trevor: I FEEL LIKE I'VE MET YOU BEFORE, SO WEIRD, WE HAVE THIS ENERGY BETWEEN US, THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I SHOULDN'T JUST WELCOME YOU TO "THE DAILY SHOW," I SHOULD ALSO SAY CONGRATULATIONS ON BEINGñr T JUST ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC WRITERS BUT ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED PROLISK WRITERS, YOU HAVE WRITTEN FOUR BOOKS IN HOW MANY YEARS NOW. >> SEVEN BOOKS IN FOUR YEARS ACTUALLY. >> Trevor: ALL RIGHT, I WAS COUNTING FOUR. BECAUSE I HOW MANY IN THE PANDEMIC ALONE. >> IN THE PANDEMIC ABOUT FOUR. >> Trevor: IN THE PANDEMIC IT WAS FOUR, I REMEMBER GOING, I LOOKED AT EVERYONE WHO WORKED IN THE PANDEMIC AND HOW MUCH WORK THEY DID. AND FOUR BOOKS JUST IN THE PANDEMIC. RIGHT EVERYONE ELSE IS MAKING BREAD AND ARE YOU LIKE I WILL MAKE A BEST SELLING BOOK. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW YOU SWITCHED SO SEAMILESSLY BETWEEN GENRES BECAUSE YOU ARE CELEBRATE? ONE, PEOPLE LOVE YOUR ETRY, PEOPLE HAVE FAULTEN IN LOVE WITH YOUR MEMOIR AND NOW YOU HAVE SWITCHED INTO THE WORLD OF NOVELS WHICH EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED BY. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS. TRASH. >> ROMANCE NOVELS SPECIFICALLY. >> PEOPLE ARE LIKE ROMANCE ISçó TRASH AND YOU HAVE WRITTEN IT, MAYBE IT IS NOT TRASH. MAYBE IT-- I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW YOU SWITCHED SO SAFEILESSLY. >> I THINK IT IS BECAUSE I AM A READER OF EVERY GENRE SO I STARTED READING ROMANCE NOVELS WHEN I WAS A KID IN NIGERIA AND WE WOULD SMUGGLE THEM TO SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY WERE BANNED FOR BEING VULGAR AND INAPPROPRIATE. AND THEY WERE LIKE THE HARLEQUIN, ROMANCES. >> Trevor: YOU WERE A FAN OF THOSE. >> YES. I MEAN I WAS 13. >> Trevor: OKAY BUT STILL. >> TO BE FAIR. >> Trevor: ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, STILL. >> AND I REALLY GOT INTO THEM AS A KID, I THINK THERE IS SOMETHING IN THERE ABOUT BEING YOUNG AND EXPLORING YOUR OWN SEXUALITY. AND THEN I CAME TO THE STATES WHEN I WAS 16 FOR COLLEGE. AND I DISCOVERED PARANORMAL ROMANCE AND I WAS LIKE OH MY GOODNESS. SHAPE SHIFTING. >> Trevor:S THAT IS HILARIOUS. >> AND THEN I TOOK A BREAK BUT I CAME BACK AROUND IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND I FOUND LIKE THE ROMANCE THAT WAS BEING WRITTEN NOW WAS SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I GREW UP ON. AND IT HAD LIKE SO MUCH REPRESENTATION IN IT. AND IT HAD SO MUCH HOPE IN IT. YOU KNOW YOU COULD READ THESE LOVE STORIES ABOUT PEOPLE THAT SOCIETY CONSIDERS DEF YANT-- DEVIANTS WHETHER IT BECAUSE ARE YOU BLACK, QUEER, NEURODIE GERNLG ENT OR IN A WHEELCHAIR AND THEY GET HAPPILY EVERAFTERS, AND I WAS LIKE THERE SAY LITTLE MAGIC OF HOPE IN THAT. >> Trevor: I THINK THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT YOUR WORK IS IT HAS SHIFTED THE IDEAS OF WHAT IS QUOTE UNQUOTE THE NORM AND JUST TOLD STORIES THROUGH MULTIPLE DIFFERENT LENSES. I WILL START WITH YOUR MEMOIR. THE STYLE THAT YOU WROTE IT IN IS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE IT IS A SERIES OF LETTERS STO PEOPLE AND IT TAKES US THROUGH A JOURNEY OF YOUR LIFE. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO DO IT IN THAT WAY. WHY DIDN'T YOU CHOOSE TO ADDRESS THE BOOK TO THE READER AND RATHER LET US IN ON A WORLD WHERE WE ALMOST BECOME VOITURES OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP. >> THE SECRET IS I HATE WRITING A SERIES BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE SO SERIOUS ABOUT THEM. AND YOU HAVE TO DO RESEARCH AND THINGS LIKE THAT. AND I JUST WANTED TO WRITE A BOOK THAT FELT LIKE THE CONVERSATIONS I HAVE WITH MY FRIENDS. I THINK THESE ARE THE SPACES IN WHICH YOU'RE REALLY HONEST BECAUSE IT IS IND MAT. BECAUSE YOU ARE SPEAKING WITHOUT A FILTER, NOT WORRIED ABOUT HOW SOME RANDOM READER IS GOING TO TAKE IT AND IT STREPPED DOWN THAT ART I FAS, THAT WALL, A DIFFERENT KIND OF VULNERABILITY AND ALSO IN WRITING IN LETTERS THERE IS A CITATIONAL PRACTICE FOR ME. I THINK IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY. ALL THE IDEAS I HAVE, THE STORIES I TELL, I TELL THEM WITH MY FRIENDS W OTHER PEOPLE SO TO WRITE THE LETTERS IT WAS A WAY OF SHOWING THE WORLD, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE I THINK WITH, EVEN IF IT IS NOT PEOPLE I KNOW PERSONALLY, PEOPLE WHO I ENGAGE WITH THEIR WORK, THESE ARE THE PEOPLE I'M THINKING WITH, I'M BUILDING WORLDS WITH AND I WANTED THEM TO BE RECOGNIZED AS WELL. >> IT IS A BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY AND TO SWITCH FROM ONE BOOK TO THE OTHER. YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY. HAS GOTTEN EVERYBODY BUZZING AND MICHAEL B JORDAN IS GOING TO BE MAKING THE FILM VERSION, THE FILM ADAPTATION, YOU WILL BE AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ON IT, IT IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL STORY, BEFORE WE GET INTO THAT, I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHY YOU CHOSE NOT TO WRITE THEñr SCREENPLAY BECAUSE E YOU A WRITER. WHY NOT DO THAT PART OF IT AS WELL. >> I HAVE SO MANY BOOKS TO WRITE RIGHT NOW. >> OKAY. YOU KNOW WHAT, YES, YES, I GET IT. I GET IT. >> BUT ALSO I THINK FOR BLACK PEOPLE WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD LIKE IN FILM AND TV, IT IS A DIFFERENT STYLE OF WRITING. I WAS EXECUTIVEÑi PRODUCER IN DEVELOPMENT FOR MY FIRST BOOK, AND WE WEREÑ DEVELOPMENT FOR THREE YEARS AND Içó WAS LIKE OH, THIS IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WRITING BOOKS BECAUSE IN BOOKS YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP YOU. YOUR EDITOR CAN SAY I WANT TO YOU-- YOU CAN BE LIKE NO, AND NOTHING HAPPENS BUT IN TV YOU KIND OF HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GIVING YOU. >> THEY DON'T PLAY THAT GAME. >> IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK. I WANTED TO HAND IT OVER TO PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY DO WORK IN THAT FIELD AND KIND OF KNOW HOW TO COLLABORATE A LITTLE BIT. >> I THEY ARE LIKE THE CONDUIT BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THE TV, OKAY, I GET THAT. THE STORY IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PAINFUL LOOK AT NOT JUST LOVE CUZ YOU KNOW I HEARD IT WAS GOING TO BE A ROMANCE NOVEL I THOUGHT THIS IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING STVMENT MORE THAN A ROMANCE NOVEL IN THE WAY WE THINK OF IT IT IS A STORY ABOUT GRIEF REALLY. WE FOLLOW THE STORY OF FAY IN THE BOOK WHO SAY WOMAN WHO LOST HER PARTNER AND SHE IS IN THIS WORLD WHERE IT IS GRIEF WHAT IS THE POINT OF LIFE ALMOST WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THE BOOK. AND THEN WE SEE HER FALL IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE. I WON'T SPOILÑi ALLñr OF IT. BUT THAT PERSON IS TIED TO HER THROUGH GRIEF. I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW HOW THAT BECAME A THEME FOR ROMANCE NOVEL. YOU WOULDN'T THINK THAT DEATH AND GRIEF WOULD BE SOMETHING YOU WOULD WANT TO PUT IN A BOOK ABOUT LOVE. >> IT SNUCK IN. I NSHALLY I WAS GOING TO BE LIKE BOOK, MESSY, HOT GIRL SUMMER AND THEN I MET THE CHARACTER. AND SHE WAS LIKE I HAVE DEPTH THAT YOU CAN ONLY DREAM OF IT AND WHEN I STARTED WRITING IT, IT FELT, IT FELT FITTING BECAUSE I THINK THERE IS SO MUCH GRIEF IN THE WORLD WE'RE LIVING IN NOW THERE IS SO MUCH OF IT. AND SO MANY PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS QUESTION OF HOW DO I KEEP LIVING THROUGHOUT THIS. IN SOME WAYS IT FEELS SACRILEGIOUS T FEELS WRONG IT FEELS LIKE SURVIVORS GUILT, LIKE THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE SUFFERING AND YOU ARE HERE HAVING A HOT GIRL SUMMER AND HOW DO YOU BALANCE ALL OF THAT. SO IN THE BOOK I WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT THIS WOMAN WHO IS EXPLORING THAT AND FIGURING IT OUT BECAUSE AT SOME POINT WE DOó HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO LIVE AND SO SHE IS LIKE CHASING LIFE, CHASING JOY, AND SHE'S CHASING HAPPINESS AND MAKING A LOTñr OF MESSY CHOICES ALONG THE WAY BUT I THINK THAT IS PART AND PARCEL OF IT. WITH GRIEF THE WORLD DOESN'T STOP AND THAT IS SOMETHING I WROTE ABOUT IN MY MEMOIR. IT SEEMED WRONG THE WAY THAT ONE WORLD CAN STOP WHEN YOU LOSE SOMEONE AND THE REST FLTD WORLDS KEEPS GOING. LIKE IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOUR WORLD JUST STOPS. AND AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BLEND BACK INTO IT. >> HOW YOU GET BACK INTO THE HIGHWAY OF LIFE JUST MOVING ALONG. THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE BOOK IS ALSO AN ARTIST. I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS INSPIRED A LITTLE BIT BY YOUR WORLD BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ARE, AN ARTIST ALMOST DOESN'T DESCRIBE IT BECAUSE YOU LIKE EVERYTHING, VIDEO ARD AND PICTURES, IT IS EVERYTHING. BUT THE STYLE MUCH ART IS VERY PARTICULAR BECAUSE SHE WORKS WITH, I HAVE SEEN SOME OF THE IMAGES, IT IS BLOOD. YOU KNOW, WHICH FEELS VERY MORBID. IR WANTED TO KNOW HOW YOU GOT INTO ART THAT INVOLVES LIKE POR TRAIRTDS OF PEOPLE WHERE THERE IS A LOT OF BLOOD IN THE IMAGE BUT NOT SAD SHOW, WHAT IS THE MESSAGE YOU ARE TRYING TO CONVEY AND WHAT CONNECTED YOU TO THAT ART PERFORM. >> FOR ME IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING SPIRITUAL. ONE OF THE THINGS I TRIED TO DO AND THE WAY I WROTE THE MEMOIR IS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE SPIRIT FIRST IN A WORLD THAT IS ALWAYS ASKING TO YOU TRANSLATE IT INTO SOMETHING THAT IS MORE LEGIBLE, TO YOU KNOW, THE MAINSTREAM OR TO THE LAYPERSON, AND I FIND THAT WITH BLOOD IN IS SOMETHING SO VISCERAL ABOUT IT. WHERE YOU CAN, YOU CAN'T MASK IT. YOU LOOK AT IT AND IT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE. >> WRITES. >> IT IS JARRING IN THAT SENSE. AND IT IS SUCH A BIG PART OF-- ESPECIALLY FOR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN TRADITIONS T IS SUCH A BIG PART OF RIT-- RITUALS, SO WITH MY WORK I'M CREATING THESE SELF-PORTRAITED, RECREATING RITUALS, TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO CONNECT BACK TO THESE WAYS OF BEING BEFORE WE WERE COLONIZED AND OUR CULTURES WERE STRIPPED. >> Trevor: RIGHT T REALLY IS AN INTERESTING JOURNEY IT IS FUN TO SEE YOU PLAYING WITH THAT IN THE BOOK, THE JOURNEY SHE IS ON, BUILDING INTO THE CARIBBEAN. I WILL TELL YOU, YOU WILL HAVE TO READ T I SEE YOU TELL US MORE, I WILL NOT TELL YOU MORE, THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME ON THE SHOW, CONGRATULATIONS ON YETS ANOTHER CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BOOK AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN ON THE SHOW. >> THANK YOU. >> Trevor: THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH IS AVAILABLE NOW AND DEAR SENTHURAN WILL BE AVAILABLE ON PAPERWORK ON JUNE 7th.
