Ayize Jama-Everett

Ayize Jama-Everett is an American science fiction and speculative fiction writer. He is the author of the trilogy The Liminal People (self-published, 2009; Small Beer Press, 2012), The Liminal War (Small Beer Press, 2015) and The Entropy of Bones (Small Beer Press, 2015).[1][2][3]

Ayize Jama-Everett
Born1974 (age 48–49)
Harlem, New York, U.S.
EducationM.Div, Starr King School for the Ministry, Graduate Theological Union

M.A., Clinical Psychology, New College of California

MFA, University of California, Riverside
OccupationWriter

In his review of The Entropy of Bones, the writer Charles Yu describes Jama-Everett's work as "resist[ing] easy categorization. [The protagonist's] mixed racial background offers a potentially nuanced look from a perspective that seems underserved." He goes on to say: "If the book veers among different approaches — now a philosophical kung fu master story, now a seduction into a rarefied subculture, now an esoteric universe made from liner notes and the journal entries of a brilliantly imaginative teenager — there’s nevertheless a vitality to the voice and a weirdness that, while not always controlled or intentional, is highly appealing for just that reason."[4] Jama-Everett himself sees his writing as a way to heal people who have long been ignored in mainstream popular culture. He asserts: “There’s a big wound in not being seen, in having your reality not being represented in any way.”[5]

In 2021, Jama-Everett, collaborating with writer/illustrator John Jennings, published Box of Bones, an ethno-gothic horror comic. "A genre narrative rooted in collective trauma, with rotating artists. [...] This spirited project is part of the trend of ethno-gothic fiction in the comics market, and offers a landscape ripe to contemplate such spooky and strange fruit."[6]

Biography

Born in Harlem, New York, Jama-Everett is now based in Oakland, California. He has also lived in New Hampshire and Morocco, and traveled extensively across north Africa, Asia and Mexico. He holds master's degrees in clinical psychology and divinity, and has been a teacher at high school and college levels. He is currently a practicing therapist.[1][2][5]

According to Jama-Everett, he was named 'Ayize' by his mother, a word that means 'let it come', in an African root language.[7]

Jama-Everett also interviews artists and writers. Some interviews include:

  • John Jennings in The Believer Magazine[8]
  • Victor LaValle in The Los Angeles Review of Books[9]
  • Jody Armour in Racebaitr[10]

References
  1. "Ayize Jama-Everett". City Lights Bookstore. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  2. "Ayize Jama-Everett". LA Review of Books lareviewofbooks.org. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  3. "Ayize Jama-Everett". Small Beer Press. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  4. Yu, Charles (October 16, 2015). "Science Fiction & Fantasy". The New York Times. The New York Times www.nytimes.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  5. Berry, Mike (January 14, 2016). "Berkeley author Ayize Jama-Everett: 'It's a great time to be a person of color in comics'". Berkeleyside berkeleyside.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  6. "Science Fiction & Fantasy". Publishers Weekly. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  7. Powell, J.B. (February 19, 2013). "The Rumpus Interview With Ayize Jama-Everett". The Rumpus therumpus.net. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  8. Jama-Everett, Ayize (January 29, 2020). "The Process: John Jennings, Parable of the Sower Page 123". The Believer believermag.com. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  9. Jama-Everett, Ayize (November 22, 2018). "The Craft Is All the Same: A Conversation with Victor LaValle". Los Angeles Review of Books lareviewofbooks.org. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  10. Jama-Everett, Ayize (September 3, 2020). "Interview with Jody Armour on Nigga Theory". Racebaitr racebaitr.com. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
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