Read to Know Basis: Maura Cheeks
The author of Acts of Forgiveness talks reparations and her new Brooklyn bookstore.
Maura Cheeks is the author of Acts of Forgiveness (Ballantine, Feb 2024), which imagines the country has passed the nation’s first federal reparations bill for Black Americans. It follows four generations of the Revel family as they work to retrace their lineage. Maura won a reporting fellowship with The Atlantic where she produced a feature-length article about the racial wealth gap which would later inspire the idea for the book. Acts of Forgiveness is her first novel.
What are five words to describe your book?
A hopeful reckoning, familial legacy
What is the strangest thing you googled while researching/writing this book?
What a microfilm reader sounds like.
How do you manage your energy when so much of writing involves sitting at a computer?
I have finally learned to accept that sometimes I do my best work when I refuse to sit in front of the computer. If the words aren’t coming I will read or try to do something else that calms my anxiety or sparks inspiration. Running also helps.
Describe your ideal reader?
A person who has yearned to know more about where they come from and also someone looking to better understand what the call for reparations really means and why it’s necessary
What is a piece of writing advice that you’ve received that you think is really bad? What is a piece of writing advice that you think is really good?
I don’t love the advice to join workshops because I don’t think the traditional workshop environment is right for every person or every project.
A good piece of writing advice is to build a writing ritual in the way that works for your life. It might not be possible to write every day, but maybe it’s possible to write every Saturday morning for two hours. Create a consistent way to practice your craft and hold fast to it.
What is a great fact you’ve learned from a book?
The story behind the creation of One Thousand and One Nights which I looked up after reading this line in The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann:
“It was kind of a biweekly Thousand and One Nights spun out at random, and, like Scheherzade’s stories for a curious prince, each lecture was calculated to please its audience and prevent acts of violence.”
I won’t write it out here but Google it if you don’t know it. Wild.
What are you reading right now? And what book are you desperate to read next?
Right now I’m reading The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch. Next I’m reading Read Until You Understand by Farah Jasmine Griffin.
What is one thing in the culture people are very into that you are extremely out on?
Wearing cross-body fanny packs instead of at the hip where they’re meant to be!
What book are you an evangelist for?
A Swim In A Pond In The Rain by George Saunders. I can’t rave about this book enough, especially for writers.
If you could not be a writer what would you do?
Well, I’m actually opening a bookstore, café, and wine bar in Brooklyn and that is what I would do if I wasn’t writing. So I’m feeling very grateful! It’s called Liz’s Book Bar after my grandmother who first helped me fall in love with books.
Who is your literary crush?
I think I would say Paul Beatty. I used to work at Book Club Bar in the East Village and sometimes he would come in and quietly work. He writes excellent books and isn’t on social media.
You’re invited to a literary potluck, what are you bringing? Could be food or drink.
They drink a lot of wine in The Sea, The Sea which is what I’m reading right now, and I love wine, so probably I would bring an easy-on-the-wallet Sancerre.
Connect with Maura: Website | Instagram | Substack
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I am also an evangelist for A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. Incredible book!
Def coming to the book bar!