Episode 340: You Can Keep That To Yourself – Interview with Adam Smyer

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Adam Smyer.

Adam Smyer is an attorney, martial artist, and mediocre bass player. His nonfiction has appeared in the Johannesburg Review of Books, and his debut novel, Knucklehead, was the sole title short-listed for the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Adam lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and cats. You Can Keep That to Yourself is his latest work, and we’ll be discussing it today.

In this episode Adam Smyer and I discuss:

  • The tremendous amount of luck involved between starting and publishing a book.
  • Why eradicating micro-aggressions is important in eliminating major aggressions.
  • The important role humor can play in addressing a very serious topic.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Adam Smyer

Adam Smyer is an attorney, martial artist, and mediocre bass player. His nonfiction has appeared in the Johannesburg Review of Books, and his debut novel, Knucklehead, was the sole title short-listed for the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Smyer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and cats. You Can Keep That to Yourself is his latest work.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

You Can Keep That to Yourself

Greetings, well-intentioned person of pallor.

Your good intentions used to be enough. But in these diverse and divisive times, some people would hold you accountable for your actions. You were not raised for such unfairness. You need help. And help you now have.

Let Daquan—that black coworker you are referring to when you claim to have black friends—help you navigate perilous small talk with African Americans with this handy field guide. This portable bit of emotional labor puts at your fingertips a tabbed and alphabetized list of things not to say to black people. Finally!

How to use: Keep this handbook close. Whenever you are confronted with an African American and you feel compelled to blurt out an observation about her hair or to liken your Tesla lease to slavery, ask for a moment to consult this reference. She’ll wait. If the keen insight you want to share is listed herein, You Can Keep That to Yourself. It truly is that easy!

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 340

(Right-click to download.)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

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