In December, ItsQwere launched an audio series with jam.ai called The Snaq where moderator Tony T. discusses “all things Black, queer, and fabulous” in just two-minutes. Literally a snack.
For this week’s episode, we chatted with Atlanta-based author Casey Hamilton about MENAFTER10, his debut novel exploring the lives of three gay men who use the same geosocial networking app for “urban men seeking urban men”.
The 34-year-old HBCU-grad Zoomed into our recording of “snack with a Q”, and the following transcript is the outtake from our ki where get into the novel, of course. Also literary icon E. Lynn Harris, life after coming out, Hamilton’s beloved web series Judys, and dating in Hotlanta.
Casey Hamilton reading his debut novel, MENAFTER10.
ItsQwere: Why was it important for you to write MENAFTER10?
Casey Hamilton: This is the book I could not leave Earth without writing. I have been wanting to write a book since E. Lynn Harris passed, which happened when I was in college. That inspired me because he was the only author I knew of at the time that was getting Black gay men to read. And they were going to the bookstore to get his book on the day of launch. I still haven't found an author who gathers that kind of excitement.
IQ: What do you want the readers to take away from your book?
CH: In this time when everyone's on their phones and always online, I hope it makes people stop to ask themselves if they're using the app or is the app using them. Social media is a very powerful thing, and being able to say whatever, send whatever, has certain consequences that people don't always take into consideration.
“E. Lynn Harris was the only author I knew of getting Black gay men to read; they were going to the bookstore to get his book on the day of launch.”
IQ: It took you about three years to write this. What was that turning point from wanting to write to diving into the doing?
CH: I had been in Atlanta for quite some time, and I was burnt out from work, from social and romantic experiences. On top of that, one of my closest friends passed unexpectedly. My depression was getting worse and I just didn't feel like I had anywhere else to go, so I moved to LA. I'd been doing [the 2013 comedy web series] Judys, a few people know about me, and it's a decent little amateur web series. I thought, “Maybe I can turn it into something”, and as soon as I got to LA I pitched something. It was under consideration, I was really excited about it, then at the 11th hour they passed on it and that sent me on a downward spiral. It was like the last blow and my depression just got the best. Judys ended abruptly and the project never got to see the light of day. So I felt like a book, which is something I'd always wanted to write, was something that I had control over. It was just me and my words. It was a very cathartic way for me to deal with everything I was going through.
IQ: I want to talk more about Judys because you put a lot of work into that. There’s even an episode called “#MENAFTER10”.
An image from Judys, a comedy web series by Hamilton about friends navigating Black gay Atlanta.
CH: I had the concept for Judys since college in Louisiana, where I'm originally from. Once I graduated, I was going to pursue screenwriting in Atlanta, this mecca for Black gay men. And the whole Black Hollywood thing was really starting to happen. So I came [to Atlanta] with the intention of trying to pitch Judys to a network, but I never really got around to writing the script because I spent my first couple of years hanging out with the wrong people. Before I knew it, I was about to be 25 and decided to make something happen. I didn't have any kind of production budget. Most of the people [cast and crew] were my friends. I didn't really have any intention of directing it, I just wanted to be a writer, but I couldn't sit on it any longer. So I made it happen and I'm very proud of it.
IQ: It gives a little bit Noah’s Ark. Were you influenced at all by that show?
CH: I definitely remember watching Noah's Ark. I just wanted to do my take on that and go a little bit deeper and not really glamorize the Black gay experience so much because I found it to be really hard.
IQ: What has been so challenging about being a Black gay man?
CH: Well, I live in Atlanta. It's a hotbed of activity, but it's very hard to find a true lasting connection. Whether you're in Atlanta or not, it's tough to actually connect and keep connections going.
IQ: Why do you think it's so hard?
CH: I wrote the book to explore that. I can't say that I have a solid answer. I don't think technology helps us as much as they may be designed to do. It makes it easier to meet, it also makes it easier to discard. And it's not a natural way of finding connections. It's not organic.
Of Mama Black Widow by Iceberg Slim, Hamilton says, “I don't think I would be the writer that I am if I hadn’t read [this].”
IQ: Which writers and books are inspiring you?
CH: The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. I keep that book on me at all times. There's different chapters that I’ve revisited at different parts of my life. I just think it's a perfect novel. I love, love, love Gloria Naylor. Mama Black Widow by Iceberg Slim also. In terms of language and just being bold and audacious, I don't think I would be the writer that I am if I hadn’t read his work.
IQ: What's next for you?
CH It’s Focused February, so I'm really trying to crack down on getting this next book started. I've been tinkering around with it, but I'm really trying to get into the deep, deep writing. I'm a novelist now, so I'm pursuing that. I haven't given up on screenwriting. I can still see myself writing other platforms.
IQ: You’ve published a novel into the canon of Black queer literature. How does that feel?
“I didn’t have a reference when I was a young gay that realistically depicted how hard it was after coming out ... existing and navigating among other Black gay men. That would have helped me.”
CH: I didn't have much of a reference when I was a young gay trying to find my way, one that realistically depicted how hard it was after coming out, just existing as a Black gay man and trying to navigate your way among other Black gay men. That would have helped me because I grew up very sheltered. A lot of the storytelling at the time was just [saying that] the hardest part is coming out, and after that it’s rainbows and sunshine. I had to learn the hard way. MENAFTER10 is a book that has potential to help someone like me and how I was. I'm really hard on myself, but it's my proudest accomplishment thus far.
Keep up with Casey Hamilton: Instagram / Twitter
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