Robin Farmer – Malcolm and Me
Like corn syrup, adult hypocrisy is in everything.
– Robin Farmer, James River Writing Show panelist.
Topic: Family Matters – Telling Your Story Your Way
One of life’s defining moments for author Robin Farmer ultimately led to her debut novel, Malcolm and Me. As an eleven-year-old Catholic school student, Robin challenged her teacher when she answered the nun\’s question about why Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States owned slaves. “Because he was a hypocrite” sprang from precocious young Robin’s mouth. Sister responded with racist insults and physical abuse as Robin countered and tried to defend herself.
Coinciding with the Jefferson episode was Robin Farmer’s discovery of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, a modern classic that details his life as an African American leader of human rights during the 1950s and 1960s. Coming of age in the 1970s, Robin embraced the book of this historical figure and received it as an eye-opening resource for a profound and alternative meaning of the Black experience.
Thirteen-year-old Roberta Forest, the protagonist in Malcolm and Me, gives a fictional version of Robin Farmer’s incident with her teacher to an audience of book lovers, in particular, those who appreciate “emotional truth” in storytelling. As Roberta grapples with racism in school, she’s also trying to understand the evolutionary life of Malcolm X. At home, mother-daughter conflicts and her parents\’ serious marital problems add more emotional depth that ranges from sadness to humor.
In a 2020 guest post on the website of author and publishing industry expert Jane Friedman, Robin Farmer shares her valuable insight in an article titled, “Emotional Truth and Storytelling: Why It Works and How.”
Excerpts:
Emotional truth is elusive and difficult to capture. No standard definition exists. Here’s my crack at it: Emotional truth allows readers to feel a certain way about the experiences of people who may lead different lives from them. It’s the lens that allows us to see ourselves in a story that results in a heartfelt connection to a fictional narrative. Emotional truth transcends facts.
What I value most is that emotional truth engenders empathy.
In the current climate of Black Lives Matter, Own Voices, and Alternative Facts, Malcolm and Me had an unplanned yet timely 2020 release. Readers have commented on how these themes, in Roberta’s voice, resonate in our ongoing challenging times, along with hypocrisy, empathy, and forgiveness. However, readers have also appreciated Malcolm and Me as a quintessential adolescent story with Roberta as the spearhead for thoughts on religion, colorism, teen rebellion, and smile-inducing 1970s nostalgia.
Robin Farmer also says in the guest post:
Emotional truth is an indistinct quality that works when the characters stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.
Roberta Forest is a character that readers of all ages remember.
At eight years old, Robin Farmer told her mother she would write for a living. At 15 years old, she was on her way. Robin won first place in a national essay contest run by Right On!, an immensely popular teen magazine featuring African American entertainers.
A graduate of Marquette University with a degree in journalism, Robin Farmer’s skills and interests landed her freelance writing on the pages of The Washington Post, TheRoot.com, Richmond Magazine, and other notable publications. Robin also worked many years as a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and at the Hartford Courant. Her other interests include screenwriting, poetry, movies, and traveling.
Robin Farmer is a national award-winning journalist and 2019 She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing (STEP) winner. Book Baby (Robin\’s pet name for Malcolm and Me) is her prize.
Robin, Who Knew that on January 22, 2017, \”alternative facts\” would attempt to change the definition of the word \”fact.\” What a perfect postcard to represent your novel, Malcom and Me. Thank you for sending it for my collection! 🙂
~Anita~
Protest Postcards. Copyright 2017 by St. Martin\’s Press
August Wilson stamp info
Robin’s postcard message says: \”Sometimes my characters visit me in the wee hours. Roberta recently stopped by to give me this postcard! She said it captures a lesson she learned at a young age and she hopes everyone, regardless of age, will embrace it too!\”
