‘I had to think about how naked I wanted to be on the page’

Debut novelist Raven Leilani has already made waves Stateside with her New York Times bestselling book, Luster. She talks to Arielle Tchiprout about carving out space to make art

Luster follows struggling artist Edie as she embarks on a romantic relationship with a married man and moves into his family home. How did you come up with the idea?

I wanted to write a story about what it looks like when a young Black woman tries to seize the right to make art. I wanted to speak to the reality of trying to create meaningful work, and how that journey is strange and not particularly neat. I wrote Luster as a Black woman, for Black women. So many of us move through the world hypervigilant and aware of the ways we’re meant to be contained, so it was important to me to depict a Black woman who defies containment. She wants and cares deeply: she messes up, she hurts, she’s angry, and she’s human.

Are there any parallels between you and Edie? Painting was the first artistic medium I was serious about, so the part of me that loves painting definitely made it into Luster. Also, in trying to write it, I was working in publishing and studying for my masters at New York University. So a major parallel is that I was writing a book about an artist trying to carve out time while trying to meet those big survival questions, and I was doing the same thing myself.

How did you find the process of writing Luster?

It took about a year to write, and it was a real frenzy to complete it. Writing has always been one of the places where I feel most safe; it’s a reliable escape hatch for me. But the hardest part was trying to find space around work to write. It was also emotionally difficult at times, as

I had to write towards my discomfort. In writing an unvarnished account of the Black woman’s consciousness, I had to think about how naked I wanted to be on the page, but ultimately it was really freeing.

What does a typical writing day look like for you?

I always write in the evenings. When I was writing Luster, those were the only hours that were available, but I still do this even though I’m now able to write full-time

(which is an enormous privilege). Something just wakes up when the sun goes down; it’s the most fertile time for me. I’ll start at around 7pm and write for however long I can; I don’t have a strict stopping point. I can’t write without listening to music at the highest possible volume. I like the Prodigy, drum and bass, disco – anything uptempo. I think the violence of it clears my mind!

How would you describe your writing style?

It’s very bodily. I love writing about the body and desire, and focusing on sentence level and language. I love books that are language-focused – my favourite writers include Toni Morrison, Susan Choi and Mary Gaitskill – so I’m always trying to replicate what I love in my own writing.

Have there been any moments of failure in your career? Most of it! I started writing seriously when I was 23, trying to get short stories and poems published in literary journals and magazines. Almost everything got rejected and I remember how much that stung. But it gave me a sharper, more critical eye. The fact I kept going was proof that I loved the craft enough. No rejection was enough to stop me.

Who makes up your support system?

My boyfriend has read everything I’ve written since the beginning, and he’s been an enormous support. I’m really lucky that my family believed in the arts, and in me. I also owe so much to the mentors I had at NYU – Zadie Smith was really important to me as I wrote this book.

What’s next?

I’m not working on my next book just yet, but I’m excited to get back to the page because that’s where I belong. I know writing the next one will be a totally different thing, and I know I’ll feel the pressure from having had a book that has done well. But I do feel really affirmed by the response in a way that is a little scary, but also really encouraging.

‘WRITING HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE WHERE I FEEL SAFE ’