Storytelling a way of life for Georgia writer

Ansa shares tricks of trade with aspiring journalists, fans

By Shawna S. Kelsch
Diversity Institute Fellow

07.29.02

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Tina McElroy Ansa. Photo by Shiloh Crawford III

On a bar stool in her daddy’s Georgia juke joint in the 1950s, Tina McElroy Ansa often sat in her Catholic school girl’s uniform and eavesdropped on the conversations of strangers, marveling at the interesting lives each led.

“To me, the whole world was made of stories back then,” she said.

On a recent visit to Nashville, Ansa again perched on a stool for conversation. This time, though, she was doing the talking.

Ansa, an acclaimed novelist, story teller, freelance journalist and, now, fledgling filmmaker, addressed the inaugural class of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University, a journalism training program for minorities. She also was featured at an evening session, where she discussed what inspires her work, read passages from her fourth and latest novel — You Know Better — and signed books for invited guests.

Plucking stories from her personal, career and spiritual experiences, Ansa reviewed the highlights of her writing over the past 30 years and talked about the transition from journalist to novelist.

She said the only constant has been her belief that stories are all around her.

“You have to keep your antennae up,” she said. “When you have your antennae up, you see stories everywhere.”

Story telling surrounded her as a young girl, and the traditions she learned at the feet of her elders inspire her novels today. It is work she believes is guided by the Holy Spirit.

In the Acknowledgments section of You Know Better, Ansa wrote, “It’s taken me a while, but I finally get it. Holy Spirit writes all my books, gives me all the words, themes, ideas, images. I thank Spirit for this novel.”

She worked on her latest effort over six years, the longest stretch between any of her stories, which began with the release of Baby of the Family in 1989.

The break allowed Ansa and her husband, Joneé, to produce her first novel into their first feature film. The movie, whose cast includes Vanessa L. Williams, Pam Grier, Alfre Woodard and Todd Bridges, is scheduled for release sometime in 2003.

“Making this movie is the hardest thing I have ever done,” she said. “It has eaten up my life.”

But not the passion that Ansa brings to telling her stories.

She writes her stories to keep the voice of her people alive. While reading passages aloud from her latest work, Ansa’s words, and the voice that fuels them, captivated and hushed the 60 or so people in the room.

She is brash, unapologetic and brutally honest in describing the women who live in the pages of You Know Better, and the audience leaned forward to hear every last word, relishing the experience. This story is about family, heartache, loss, gain and love, subjects common to all of Ansa’s novels.

Her voice is finding ears that will listen.

Two of her books — The Hand I Fan With and Baby of the Family — won the Georgia Author’s Series Award, making her the only author to ever to be twice honored.

In 1989, The New York Times named Baby of the Family to its notable book list, and the Georgia Center chose it as one of the top 25 books every Georgian should read.

“I can remember back to the 1970s, even the ‘80s, when you could count on one hand the number of black authors that had hit novels,” she said.

Times have changed, and Ansa feels fortunate to be among growing chorus of voices writing about the black experience.

“One hundred years ago, blacks weren’t even allowed to read,” she said; “how ironic now that I make my living by using words.”

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Articles, photos by 2002 Diversity Institute Fellows
Collection page for articles written by 2002 Diversity Institute Fellows.  07.23.02