Page 1 / 2 - Home

AE: The word “talk” takes on multiple meanings in the book. First, it is the title of the novel, second it is the title of the play, and finally, as a verb it is a central action to the book.
KK: We use much more than words when we talk: we speak with our body language, our silences, the little nonverbal gestures that everyone understands. We also use words to conceal what we mean; we use words as weapons; we use words as shelters and shields. All of this went into my idea of what constitutes "talk."

AE: Speaking of “talk,” there is something of a turning point at the center of the novel. At the top of page 69, Kit asks “Is this The Talk?,” in reference to the potential coming out talk he may be having with his parents.
KK: Any kind of serious discussion--especially with authority figures--involves a balance of power, a sense of who gets to say what to whom, and what response can be made (or even attempted). When love is added to the equation, when the discussion is between parent and child, a whole different power structure comes into being. We want our parents' approval so atavistically because we feel at some deep level that without it, without the protection that approval represents, we will die. We won't--and we don't--but it can feel that way, as if our whole self is at stake. So speaking to a parent about something as deep as coming out--even a parent we love and trust, as Kit loves and trusts his folks (and they him)--can be a walk through a minefield, for both sides, with only words as stepping-stones.

AE: At the bottom of page 69, there is more “talk”: “‘It’s no surprise to me,’
he (Kit’s father) says to me, as if he’s saying two things at once, the lines behind the lines.”
KK: Again, the talk they're having--and not-having, and having non-verbally--is dependant on more than just words. And with a dad and a son, there's the whole definition-of-masculinity subtext bubbling underneath as well.

AE: You raise a very powerful question at the top of p. 113, where, following
a homophobic encounter, Kit asks “What kind of world has people like Blake in
it, people who hate me?”
KK: All I can do is ask the question along with Kit: What kind of world harbors this hatred? Is that the kind of world we want?

AE: There is a wonderful resolution at the end of the novel, particularly at the bottom of page 132, where Kit says, “I wanted to lose myself in a play, didn’t I? become someone else? And then I turned into me, for real.”
KK: I could have imagined no sweeter success for Kit than for him to become exactly who he always was inside. And I believe art--- art that we make, art that we read or watch or perform, art deep enough to immerse ourselves, lose ourselves, in--- can be a great and joyful catalyst for change: in ourselves, and in our world.

AE: Have you started work on your next novel?
KK: I have; I've finished it! It's another YA novel, called Are You Experienced?, and will be published by FSG in the fall of 2006.

Get Talk

Page 1 / 2 - Home