It was seen as promoting something that was other than the ideal family. And they couldn't have materials such as my book in schools. Our government had passed a law called Section 28, which meant schools were not allowed to talk about same-sex relationships or families with same-sex parents.
And going into the fact that your character in The Black Flamingo, Michael, is also part Greek Cypriot and Jamaican, and you are also, how autobiographical is The Black Flamingo? Are we going straightforward autobiographical?ĭA: Not straightforwardly autobiographical, because when I was Michael's age, we had a very different climate for LGBT people in the UK. I can represent them all simultaneously.ĪW: I love that. And with my mixed-race identity, like my mom's family's from Cyprus and my dad's family's from Jamaica and I was brought up in London in the UK, I don't feel I have to choose between Cyprus, Jamaica, or the UK. Whether we're talking about Pride or we're talking about Black Lives Matter, I intersect both those ideas and I stand for those things very much, so I want to do both at once and not have to choose one or the other. If I can be that for others, and also you could focus on one part but I think it's interesting to look at the intersectionality of my identity. So when I do those kinds of intros where it's like, "Named as one of the most influential LGBT people," do you own that? Or how do you feel about that? Sometimes people are like, "Ugh, move on to my work."ĭA: I think especially as a Black man, to be an LGBT role model is important because I didn't have many Black LGBT role models when I was a teenager and growing up. It's nice to hear the accolades and the book being summarized so beautifully, so thank you.ĪW: I'm very glad you found that satisfying because it's one of those things I always have difficulty with folks whose identity is so tied to their work and how people perceive them. He is also the author of The Black Flamingo, his debut novel told in verse about a boy who comes to terms with his identity as a mixed-race gay teen, and then truly finds himself as a drag artist.
Note: Text has been edited and may not match audio exactly.Ībby West: Hi, I'm your Audible editor Abby West, and I'm here today with Dean Atta, a writer who in the last few years has been named one of the most influential LGBT people in the UK, as well as one of the UK's finest poets.
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