Five Summer Reads to Nurture the Writer Within

By Kimberly Garrett Brown

While most people are booking vacations and picking out swimsuits for the summer, I’m busy planning my summer reading list. 

It started back when I was in high school. I begin to notice that most of the protagonists or narrators in the books I read often made references to classics. Since I wanted to be a writer, I figured I had to read more classics to write well. In addition, I sensed that as a young Black woman, I needed to read Black writers like Richard Wright. So, the summer before my sophomore year, I assigned myself, Native Son. 

I was in no way prepared for what I read and had no idea how I would ever incorporate Bigger Thomas’s story into my writing. And yet, I knew reading that book played a significant part in my journey as a writer. Consequently, I continued to assign myself a classic every summer. 

But one summer, while sitting on the beach trying to read Lady Chatterley’s Lover, I realized classics weren’t the only genre that feeds the inner writer. So, I came up with a list of five summer must-reads. 

First and foremost on the list is always a classic. While the definition of a classic tends to lean toward books listed in the Western Canon, the lack of women and people of color makes it too limited. There needs to be a diversity of experiences to truly learn from history and think more broadly about ourselves and the world.

A classic doesn’t have to be a hundred years old. It just needs to have stood the test of time. I look for authors who have masterful prose and tremendous insight into human nature and/or the specific moment in history. This year there’s been a renewed interest in the Harlem Renaissance.

Three novels set during the period have been published, and my debut novel, Cora’s Kitchen published by Inanna Publications, will be out in late fall. Consequently, Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay is on my list. Set during the Jazz Age, it traces a rowdy troupe of players through Paris as it explores the heritage of slavery and black modernism.  

The second is something whimsical. Our lives are inundated with so many stressors. Sometimes it’s hard to see the good in people and feel hopeful about the world. Reading something fun can help you take it down a notion or two. A relaxed brain is more creative and easier to work with. My whimsical selection, also set in Paris, is Maggie Finds Her Muse by Dee Ernst. It’s a romantic comedy about a blocked writer who goes to Paris to finish her manuscript. 

The third is a craft book that speaks explicitly to the writer within. The focus could be on a particular component of writing, like dialogue or character development. It could also be about creativity, process, or even a seasoned writer’s memoir about the writing life. I plan to finally read Stephen King’s On Writing.

Fourth is a book on a current social issue. Sound bites and tweets only skim the surface. To really understand, we have to go deeper. That doesn’t necessarily mean reading a non-fiction book. There are plenty of novels that put a human face on divisive and complicated social issues.

They help us to see the humanity of people we don’t know or understand. It also gives us an insider’s view of the problem and its effects. I usually focus on social issues related to discrimination and marginalization of women and people of color. But this year, I’ve decided to change it up and read about the environment. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson is on my list. It explores the perils of environmental degradation on a small town’s way of life.

Fifth is a book of poetry. Poets have a way of seeing the world that is so insightful. A single line can capture the essence of life with such beauty. No wonder one stanza from a poem can inspire an entire novel. It did for me. I often read poetry at the beginning of my writing time. I plan to read Seeing the Body: Poems by Rachel Eliza Griffiths. It is about how mourning takes up residence in the body after a life-altering loss.  

Just like vacation plans, I sometimes deviate from the program. And there are times when I’m still working through the list well into the fall. But the process always leaves my inner writer feeling nourished and ready to jump back into whatever project I’ve been working on. Likewise, developing and reading through your own summer reading list will breathe new life into your writing and leave you refreshed for the fall.

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Kimberly Garrett Brown is the publisher and executive editor of Minerva Rising Press, an independent women’s literary press. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and a M.S. in Written Communication.  Her publications include Anthology Askew, Linden Avenue Literary Journal, Black Lives Have Always Mattered Anthology, The Feminine Collective, and the Chicago Tribune. Her novel, CORA’S KITCHEN, a finalist in the 2018 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, is coming out in October 2021. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida.

Kimberly’s website link: https://kimberlygarrettbrown.com/

Kimberly’s instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/kimwrites/

Kimberly’s Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/kimgarrettbrown

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips