By: Amalie M. Keefe and Lily Scott
[Dean Atta at Cramlington Learning Village]
Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be the only black flamingo?
The British author and poet Dean Atta uses his book The Black Flamingo to portray how it feels to be the odd one out. He explained the inspiration behind his work during a fantastic talk on Tuesday 17th May, at our school. He explained that the writing process was much more complex than you might expect, given the fact that he has dyslexia and he wrote it in short sittings with many breaks to keep himself focused.
Dean’s award winning book The Black Flamingo is a creative and inspiring story about a mixed-race LGBTQ+ teenager named Michael living in London. It is written in verse and details Michael’s life journey, finding his personality through drag performance as the black flamingo. Dean Atta said that he sees himself in Michael and he too has discovered part of his identity by performing drag. He stated, even though the character was different, it was definitely a personal story, whereas Only on the Weekends, Dean’s new book published in May, was complete fiction. He said that he finds writing cathartic and he wished The Black Flamingo had been published when he was a teen. He thinks coming out as gay would have been a lot easier if he’d read this book when he was at school.
An extract from Dean’s book The Black Flamingo
The black flamingo is on the news again.
I pick the dining chair facing the TV
Grandad asks ‘Why does it matter if he’s black?’
Adding ‘the other flamingos don't care’
and I am certain what he's saying is I love you.
Dean said that the characters in both the books were influenced by friends, family and even musicians such as Eryka Badu who inspired the mother in his latest book. Mackintosh, a character in Only on the Weekends, has Nigerian heritage inspired by one of Dean’s friends. Dean also said that it is inspiring for a writer to listen to other people, for example, how different people talk and sound.
Dean wrote his books in verse, and we asked him how they compared to writing in prose. He said that verse is much more expressive, you don’t have to be as literal and the words can be more magical and unusual. People often assume writing in verse is difficult as it has to rhyme, but when we asked Dean what his opinion of verse poetry was, he stated that it isn’t just about rhyming, there are so many forms that you can explore and it is accessible to all. ‘Poetry gives you an opportunity to bridge between reality and fiction.’
Currently, a lot of books available in the curriculum are written by white men and do not reflect the diversity in our school. We asked Dean Atta what books he would like to see available for students to read, and he recommended books written by authors like Patrice Laurence, Alex Wheatle, Maisie Chan and all Carnegie shortlist books, including Tsunami Girl and Cane Warriors. We can’t wait to get started on some of these recommendations.
Dean Atta began writing poetry at just 15 years old, and grew up acting from a young age. He revealed that he was inspired to start writing poetry through music, rappers, and books, including Rose that Grew from Concrete, which is a collection of poetry combined to create a story. He said he was also inspired by The Poet X, a moving story about a young girl discovering slam poetry. Dean explained that this was a relatable story for him discovering poetry as a young adult.
We quizzed him about all things books! The Glaswegian based author explained that if he could be any character from any book, he would be Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, because he would enjoy being there with all of the unusual things going on. Also, we asked Dean Atta about what advice he would give to any young people or students who want to become writers. He explains that you should read a diverse selection of books, including genres outside of your typical interests, as well as broaden your vocabulary and speak to people with different experiences. As well as this, the author advised to keep a diary, or a journal about your dreams. This can help develop sympathy and empathy; crucial skills for a writer if they want to create three dimensional characters.
Finally, we asked Dean if he ever imagined himself as an author when he was younger. He said that he had originally thought he would be something along the lines of a movie star or performer, but he now realises that by being an author, you can achieve anything.
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