Achy Obejas, a Cuban lesbian living in Chicago, is a true “writer’s writer.” She has published six acclaimed books, reported on arts and culture for The Chicago Tribune and on Latin music for The Washington Post, and won the Pulitzer Prize in journalism. Her novels tend to investigate questions of personal, national, and sexual identity, and have been noted for their gritty, lyrical honesty. Below is an interview with Laura Sheppard-Brick of the National Yiddish Book Center about Obejas’s 2001 novel, Days of Awe, which focuses on the Cuban-American protagonist’s unearthing of her Jewish roots.***
Sheppard-Brick: You are not Jewish, but Days of Awe is largely about Judaism and Jewish identity and has probably been widely read in the Jewish community. Has this in any way changed the way you relate to the Jewish community? Has it changed how you look at your own heritage?
Obejas: When I began Days of Awe, I was pretty comfortable with my relationship to the Jewish community and to Judaism; to a great extent I even took it for granted. My father’s side of the family is descended from anusim [Spanish Jews, forced to convert to Christianity], my family lived for a long time in a neighborhood with a significant Jewish presence, and my brother, who lived in Israel for several years, is married to an Israeli. I can’t begin to count the number of Jewish lovers I’ve had, and how easy it was to slide in and out of each other’s cultures. I know the values I subscribe to — particularly when it comes to social justice and individual responsibility — are more the result of growing up around Jewish friends and having Jewish teachers than anything else. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always celebrated Pesach, and as an adult I’ve made a conscious choice to fast on Yom Kippur. But the more I studied and researched for Days of Awe, the more immersed I became in Jewish history and lore, the more complicated I saw any claim to identity. What I’ve said before is that I don’t have Jewish damage; that is, I wasn’t raised with any of the negative effects. I have Cuban damage, which is probably close enough — I really think there’s cultural affinity, if not outright overlap. If anything, writing this book has only deepened my respect for my Jewish ancestors and my gratitude to the Jewish people I’ve had in my life. The process, while wrenching at times, has been wholly enriching.
Sheppard-Brick: Your first novel as well as many of your short stories speak very directly about issues in gay and lesbian communities, while in Days of Awe Ale’s bisexuality is presented as simply an unimportant fact of her life. Do you think that there are areas of society where homosexuality has become a non-issue? Do you attempt to influence perceptions of the queer community with your writing?
Obejas: I don’t think Ale’s sexuality is unimportant. To the contrary, I think it’s vital, like all our sexualities. Of course, many people live lives under siege because of who they love. This is an injustice. But there are some of us who are not conventionally heterosexual who are lucky enough to live lives in which we don’t have to hold up a placard or struggle every minute. Sometimes that means living in a civil society where different sexualities are protected, other times it may simply mean societal lassitude. Sometimes — like in my case in Cuba — it means carving a niche with different elements, which may include privilege, a certain indifference, or any other set of circumstances. When it comes to sexuality, I've never been especially interested in assimilation but I am interested in normalization. In Days of Awe, I tried to just let everybody be whatever they were going to be, to live and love according to their hearts rather than any particular label. What I hope my writing does is touch readers, no matter who they are.
Sheppard-Brick: Days of Awe draws many parallels between Cubans and Jews. Do you see these as authentic similarities, or just the creations of someone trying to reconcile disparate identities?
Obejas: I honestly believe there is tremendous cultural affinity, if not overlap, between Cubans and Jews. I have a whole list in Days of Awe, kind of tongue-in-cheek, which ends with both groups thinking they’re god’s chosen people. But some things are real: the emphasis on education, the intense importance of family, all the weird tensions and ambivalences around assimilation and what it means, the stubbornness too — although that plays more to stereotypes. We share some of those too: being passionate, and loud, and the whole connection with commerce. Cubans are called the Jews of the Caribbean, and that springs from a prejudice toward both groups. I think what’s most important for me is that we’re both dynamically spiritual people — and by that I don’t mean necessarily mean religious. What I’m talking about is having a sense of the divine in everyday life, not just awe but also a sense of accessibility and intimacy: among Cubans we call that speaking to god as “tú” instead of “usted.”
***
The full interview is available here. Achy Obejas will be reading at the following locations soon:
Friday, July 17 at 12:00 p.m.
Harold Washington Library
400 S. State St.
Chicago, Ill. 60605
312.747.4396
Saturday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m.
Book Cellar
4736 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, Ill. 60625
773.293.2665
--Emmaline Silverman
Photo: Flickr
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