Ta-Nehisi Coates in Baltimore: What to remember about his return home

Ta-Nehisi Coates returned to Baltimore Wednesday night and was greeted with applause, a standing ovation and an engaged crowd.

The interview, conducted by WYPR’s Tom Hall as part of the Brown Lecture Series at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, touched on Coates’ childhood in Baltimore, the craft of writing, what it’s like to be a famous author and, yes, Palestine.

Since growing up in Baltimore, Coates has written for magazines (and became particularly known for his bestselling article “The Case for Reparations” in The Atlantic) and published collections of essays, novels and comics.

His appearance was the second stop on his tour for his latest book, “The Message.” The new book was originally supposed to be about writing, Coates said. But during his trip — to Dakar, Senegal; Columbia, South Carolina; and Palestine – Coates “found himself grappling with deeper questions” about the stories people tell and how they shape and distort reality.

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Here are three takeaways from the talk and book.

“The Message” has caused some controversy and criticism over the way Coates writes about Israel and Palestine. In the book, Coates says he thinks of his books as children, each with a unique personality. When asked how he viewed “The Message,” Coates joked, “She looks like she wants to fight!” (Ariel Zambelich/The Baltimore Banner)

Coming home

Coates said he grew up going to Pratt Library. Over the summer, he said, he read 24 books as part of a reading challenge — and a library staffer told his father it was way more than that. any other child participating.

So when he reflects on the time when he first thought he might become a writer one day, “I think back to that moment,” Coates said.

On Wednesday evening, while on his way to the Enoch Pratt, he said he was giving his wife a “meandering narration” about where he grew up as they left his mother’s house.

He talked about closing Liberty Heights and showing his wife “where my Nike hat was ripped off.” He talked about going to his local branch of the library all the time. To answer a question from Hall about where he grew up, Coates said it was in the Enoch Pratt Free Library – and that he “couldn’t imagine” his writing life without it.

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When Hall had to wrap up the interview, the home audience booed – they wanted more time with Coates.

Ta-Nehisi Coates was interviewed by WYPR’s Tom Hall. The two discussed topics including a controversial CBS interview, Israel and Palestine, and what Baltimore still means to the author. (Ariel Zambelich/The Baltimore Banner)

Haunted by Baltimore

In “The Message,” Coates speaks of writing as a thing that haunts. He doesn’t just want to “convince” a reader, he wants them to “think about your words before bed, see them manifest in their dreams (and) tell their partner about them the next morning.”

References to Baltimore and growing up in Baltimore are sprinkled throughout the book. And yes, Coates said, Baltimore still haunts his work today.

“You won’t have another childhood,” he said.

Growing up here has affected the way he processes things, Coates said.

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As an example, he discussed a recent controversial interview on “CBS Mornings,” in which host Tony Dokoupil pressed Coates, asking in part, “What is it about life that particularly offends you?” of a Jewish state, which is a safe place for Jews, and none of the other states?

At one point, Coates said in Baltimore, “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a fight.’ This guy is trying to hurt me. » He said a co-host tried to intervene, but Coates continued the discussion with Dokoupil. You can’t come at me and then try to break him, the author said, to laughter and applause from the crowd.

“But why am I treating him this way? » asked Coates. “Why do I think about it this way?” You see, this is Baltimore.

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, “The Message,” was released October 1 and is the author’s fifth. His other books include the famous “Between the World and Me” and the novel “The Water Dancer”. (Ariel Zambelich/The Baltimore Banner)

Advancing the Conversation on Palestine

The longest section of Coates’ new book concerns his visit to Palestine and the oppression he witnessed.

Coates does not dismiss the Jewish perspective: the essay on Palestine begins with his visit to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center. He reflects on the “catastrophe” of the Holocaust and writes that he always comes away thinking “it was worse than I thought, worse than I could ever imagine.”

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And on Wednesday evening, Coates acknowledged that talking about the ongoing conflict was difficult for many people. He said the “horrors” of October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, cannot be diminished.

But Coates said he would like people to also pay attention to the situation in Palestine on October 6 and the situation in Gaza since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the attack.

To move the conversation forward, Coates said, he shouldn’t be the one talking. He said Palestinians must be handed the microphone and be able to be heard directly.

“It should be a Palestinian sitting here,” Coates said.