Ernest Gaines: The People’s Voice

From the time Ernest Gaines made his decision to use his passion as his primary hustle, he made a vow of survival not only to himself but also to his fellow brothers and sisters around the world. On this journey Gaines has encountered numerous signs giving him the option to give up. Instead he chose to glorify his many blessings received along the way and to keep pushing forward. One of his many blessings was his teacher, Wallace Stegner, who asked him a question that he’d never forget. “Listen Ernie, suppose a gun was put to your head, and that same question was asked. Who do you write for?” Gaines replied, “Well, in that case, I’ll come up with an answer. The answer would be that, first, I’d write for the young black youth of the South, so that I could help him in some ways to find himself, his directions in life. Let him know something about where he’s coming from, what he came from, and how to try to help him find his way.” Ernest Gaines has continued to fulfill his purpose to be the voice.

Like many phenomenal writers, Gaines’ stories are inspired by his past experiences. Within every work of literature created by Ernest Gaines he has an established connection between himself, his words, and his readers. When reading his literature you can almost hear the voices of the characters he creates. These voices and images are purposely created this way by Gaines because of his intentions to reach out to a certain audience, young black youth of the South. “So those are the kind of things that I wanted to put into my writing, about these people, and the younger people as well, my brothers and friends and the stories I’d heard. Some of them were very horrible stories, but some are wonderful stories, all of that,” said Gaines in an interview with the American Academy Of Achievement.

The 80-year-old African American writer and educator has achieved many great accomplishments in his mission to leave the stories of his ancestors with the sands of time. Like most of our history, it can only be passed down if it is documented we can claim it as truth if it is documented. Gaines has used his literary works to tell the stories of the many individuals who grew up on southern plantations. His first 1964 work of literature, “Catherine Carmier,” served as a stepping stone. Though it was not as successful as his future literary works, he kept his eyes on the prize. “I’m the first person, first male in the history of my family to go beyond high school, and what they wanted me to do was to become a teacher or become a business person or — I don’t know — but not a writer, because no one knew anything about writers or writing. So I was not encouraged by my mother or my stepfather to be a writer, but that’s all I wanted to do from the time I discovered the library and started reading all those books,” said Gaines.

After writing The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, a first person narrative about a woman who was granted a life of 110 years of living through slavery and to see the stirrings of the modern Civil Rights Movement. This phenomenal work of literature was later adapted by a television production and won nine Emmy Awards and put Gaines’ work on the map in the world of infamous writers. Gaines has been rewarded numerous recognitions for his work; The Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Literature, Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award, The Louisiana Writer Award and many more. Gaines was awarded the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship which aided him to complete many more of his major works such as “In My Father’s House,” a work where Gaines assigns himself as the voice for fathers and sons and A Gathering of Old Men, where he is the voice of the black, white, Cajun and Creole communities.

Ernest Gaines is now a tenured professor in Louisiana where he spends his days inspiring the world’s next generation of writers. When asked his advice for aspiring writers Gaines says he replies with this same answer, “I have six words of advice, and I have eight words of advice. The six words of advice are read, read, read, write, write, write, and the eight words of advice is read, read, read, read, write, write, write, write.” I said you have to read in order to be a writer.”

-Sequenza Howes-Williams