A Native Son Sees Europe Anew

By Corey Edward Olds, March 20, 2008

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Reprints

In his new book, Black Man in Europe, Oakland author and publisher Nathan Jones probes the meaning of visiting Europe as an African American.

Ever considered ditching school or work and taking off on a European adventure? Spending time abroad has long been attractive students, travelers and artists, but for African Americans, Europe has also represented a chance to experience life without the United States' pervasive institutional racism. In a new book titled Black Man in Europe, 38-year-old Oakland, California, author Nathan Jones explores what living abroad offers young travelers.

Part novel, part memoir, part travelogue, this book chronicles the adventures of a young African American aspiring writer throughout Western Europe. Examining Europe's cafés, nightclubs, hostels, and trains, Jones frankly narrates his impressions and experiences as a black man on the Continent a half-century after the second wave of black expatriates such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Chester Himes. Without romanticizing the European political and social milieu, Jones implicitly poses the question of whether life for a black man is actually better across the Atlantic.

Black Man in Europe is published by Mr. Jones' own enterprise: SajeTanira Publishing Group. SajeTanira releases works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry and believes in fostering unknown and undiscovered talent.

Aside from being a publisher, Mr. Jones is also an educator who, for the past eight years, has taught English, Critical Writing and Reading, and Social Studies to urban youth of color participating in Upward Bound at Holy Names University.

I recently spoke with Jones at his home office in Oakland's Dimond Neighborhood. Over a pot of organic ginger tea, Jones, decked out in a charcoal turtleneck and slacks, shared homespun and entrepreneurial insights about the publishing and writing worlds.

Wiretap: How can youth interested in living or traveling abroad make the most of their experience?

Nathan Jones: I would tell the youth to live like there is no tomorrow. They should take advantage of every aspect of a trip to Europe. While there, say what you want to say, do what you want to do, live as lavishly as possible. Young people on such a vacation should live without constraints or fear. Make lifetime friends and create positive networks, meaning establish a viable place to which you can return, if you ever decide to leave America. Never burn any bridges while overseas. Create an extended family. And most important of all, young people should become a sponge of language transference. In other words, learn the relevant [host country's] language or languages.

How does a young person make the transition from student to author?

NJ: I can't really say if there is a specific process for becoming an author. I believe one must write, and be willing to put one's voice out in the public. This means, whatever avenue is available to get one's voice heard, pursue it and take full advantage of it. Of course, when one writes and gets published by a known or unknown magazine, or when one self-publishes, the transition from student to author begins. The process, I suppose, isn't that hard. It's the promotion and work following the publication that is hard.

"Sometimes, a nod or a look conveys more than words."

What social commentary or message can be found in Black Man in Europe?

NJ: One of the social commentaries in this book is that people of African descent are experiencing the same situation globally. There's an almost universal oppression endured by people of African descent. We are all colonized. For the most part, we communicate with each other in the colonizer's tongue. When you really think about it, such communication is a farce because it really doesn't resonate with us. Sometimes, a nod or a look conveys more than words. I would also add that blacks in Europe must still maneuver through certain racial, political, and economic hierarchies.

Was there one catalytic experience or incident that solidified your desire to write Black Man in Europe?

NJ: The Honor and Respect March of 1998 was the spark for me. During that celebration of the 150th anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the French colonies, I witnessed thousands of Africans celebrating the demise of slavery, yet ironically speaking to one another in colonized tongues. It was a strange dilemma: after all of these years, blacks from Africa and the Caribbean were living on the cusp of two different worlds, fighting for acceptance and freedom in two worlds. The event showed me that people of African descent are still not liberated.

Do you have any anecdotes, stories, or experiences from your stay in Europe that would enlighten young people?

NJ: When one travels abroad, you meet all kinds of people from all over the world. You might meet famous or politically important people without even knowing it. Travel, in general, allows one to see history through the eyes of other people. Travel puts the history books into a different context. The mind experiences more than any book -- fiction or nonfiction -- can convey.

"I want to make a living by writing, and without apologizing for what I say or what I do artistically."

What are your hopes for your latest book and SajeTanira Publishing Group?

NJ: I hope to continue to publish as many books as possible and to sell millions of copies worldwide. Someday, I wish to expand from a local business to a national and international business. Furthermore, in the words of Chester Himes (pictured below, right), I want to keep the vision of "speaking the unspeakable and printing the unprintable" alive. Ultimately, I want to make a living by writing, and without apologizing for what I say or what I do artistically.

What advice do you have for young people interested in creative writing and self-publishing?

NJ: The first thing is to speak your truth. Never be afraid to write what you feel or what you think. Also, if you want to get your words out, create your own outlet, create a book, create your own press. If that doesn't work, come knock [on] SajeTanira's door, so to speak. Get your voice out -- expression doesn't always necessarily have to be through the medium of rap or other music. Don't wait for anyone to approach you. Just write and share your work however and wherever you can. Seek advice from people who are already writing and publishing. Always focus on making your dreams a reality.

For more on Nathan Jones visit SajeTanira Publishing.

Corey Olds is a graduate of Oberlin College and of Stanford University. Since 1995, he has written articles for SOMA magazine. Presently, Corey works as a grant writer and as the founder of a supplemental education service called The Latin Academy.