The first time I flew to Lynchburg, Virginia to teach at Randolph College’s low-residency MFA, I could tell as I approached baggage claim that several of the people standing around waiting for their luggage were writers from the program (you know, in that way you can tell who on your flight to Kansas City is definitely headed to AWP: lit mag tote bags, snippets of conversation, a general bedraggledness). As I saw people greet each other and fall into easy chitchat, I had a jolt of that unpleasant “new kid at school” feeling: everyone else already knew each other, and I was going to be the awkward newcomer who didn’t know what to say to anyone. (No, I’ve learned, that feeling doesn’t go away—even when you’re the new faculty member rather than the new student.)
Then I spotted one person I recognized: Maurice Ruffin, who I’d met the previous summer at Sewanee. We’d had a pleasant lunch conversation, but a year had passed since then and I didn’t know if he’d remember me. Still, I waved a tentative hello. Maurice responded with a big warm smile, and started introducing me to everyone standing nearby. I exhaled and my social nerves started to dissipate.
It became clear over the next few days that this is Maurice’s default mode: sunny, welcoming, putting everyone at ease and seeming to have a genuinely good time doing so. He provides walk-on music from a boombox not only for his own reading, but for the Randolph graduation ceremony. It also became clear that everyone at Randolph is lovely and it’s a very easy community to slide right into, making friends in the pancake line and at the nightly readings, and I’d never really had anything to worry about. But still, I’m glad Maurice was the one to invite me in—and I’m so glad to have this First Love Interview with him to share with you all, ahead of the release of his new novel The American Daughters (which comes out next week!).
But first: Friday is the last day to register for two of my upcoming online classes:
The one-day Essay Revision Intensive (this Saturday, hosted by Write or Die)
And the four-week Braided Essay Seminar—the first assignment goes out this Saturday and the first meeting is on 3/2!
First Love Interview: Maurice Carlos Ruffin
conversations with writer friends about writing and friendship
Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of the forthcoming historical novel, The American Daughters, which will be published in 2024 by One World Random House. He is the recipient of the 2023 Louisiana Writer Award and the Black Rock Senegal Residency. He also wrote The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You, which was published by One World Random House in August 2021. It was the 2023 One Book One New Orleans selection. The book was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and longlisted for the Story Prize. The book was also selected to represent Louisiana at the 2023 National Book Festival. His first book, We Cast a Shadow, was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize. It was longlisted for the 2021 DUBLIN Literary Award, the Center for Fiction Prize, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize. The novel was also a New York Times Editor’s Choice. A New Orleans native, Ruffin is a professor of Creative Writing at Louisiana State University, and the 2022 Grand Marshal of the Mardi Gras Krewe of House Floats.
Check out his Substack,
Tell me about an important friendship from your book, and its significance to the overall story.
In my new one, The American Daughters, the main character, Ady, and her mother, Sanite, are besties. They really respect each other, and Sanite passes a lot of knowledge and courage along to her daughter. But the primary friendship in the book is between Ady and a free businesswoman named Lenore. Each gives the other something important and this enriches both of their lives.
What’s your favorite book you received as a gift from a friend and why, and who gave it to you?
One of my old writing group friends, Dana Glass, gave me a book. We were both in grad school at the time, I believe. The novel is called The Sacred Book of the Werewolf by Victor Pelevin. It’s got kind of a va-va-voom cover and the set up is so weird. This Chinese girl in Russia is actually a 1,000-year-old sex worker and a werefox. That’s probably a no-sell for a lot of people, and I was skeptical at first, but I’m a maximalist at heart; and the novel was a masterclass in how to create a voice in literature. I was just starting on what would become my first novel, We Cast a Shadow, so I’m eternally grateful to Dana for opening this door for me. The novel also taught me a lot about sly ways to critique society.
What’s your favorite literary friendship from history and why?
There are so many choices, but today I’m going with Mary Shelley and her husband. Mary wrote arguably the most successful book by a single author of all time and arguably the first sci-fi book and a book that has been adapted into every possible medium hundreds of times. Percy, her guy, was this big-time celebrity and kind of a babe and occasionally completely broke and sometimes kind of a loser. But it’s clear they loved and supported each other. Of course, Mary lost him early. There’s something about a relationship that is productive, but also tragic that gets me. Same thing with the love triangle of Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, and Leonard, the husband. My second book, The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories, is really all about friendships, many of them tragic.
How do writer friends impact your experience of being a writer?
I learn from my writer friends. Not just about writing, but how to be a better more graceful person. Whenever I’ve been at a standstill, they’ve pulled me out of the funk. I love hearing them read their work and I love reading their drafts and watching them succeed. Especially my New Orleans delegation. They’re on fire right now!
Brag about your friends! Tell me about some recent/upcoming work from a writer friend that you’re excited about.
Karima Price put out an acclaimed poetry collection called I’m Always So Serious.
Kayla Min Andrews got her mother’s book The Fetishist published. Kayla’s mother was Katherine Min, and it’s been incredible to watch people embrace this posthumous publication.
January Gill O’Neil has a poetry book called Glitter Road that I just read. It’s sultry and lush and gorgeous.
Annell Lopez won the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize for her short story collection I’ll Give You a Reason. I read it and know that readers are going to go wild for it.
And I just received Carolyn Hembree’s poem collection (For Today). I’m excited to dig in because she’s always a fierce queen among poets and absolutely original.
Brag about yourself! What’s something you’re working on/recently finished that you want people to know about?
I’m most excited about The American Daughters. The novel is a tribute to my women ancestors, and I’ve never felt as good about anything I’ve written as this. It’s black lady spies fighting the Confederates plus a love story and all about friendship. There are like seven women at the center of the book, and they’re inspirational to watch.
I was driven to look up that werewolf book Ruffin mentioned! i ended up finding this unknown-to-me totally wild-sounding Russian who's written a ton of stuff.