Hello, my name is Dean Atta, and
I am the author of The Black Flamingo.
The Black Flamingo is a novel in
verse telling the story of Michael,
a young black queer boy,
growing up in London, finding himself and
discovering the power of drag.
It's a story very close to my own heart.
I share many things in
common with Michael.
And I wanted to write a really empowering,
positive story for anyone who feels
like they've ever been different, stood
out, and felt like they didn't fit in.
I think it's okay to not fit in.
I think you can celebrate your difference
and make it a strength of yours.
Because The Black Flamingo is a novel
in verse, I thought it'd be really
great to share some of that with you,
so you can hear the poetry of the book.
And yeah, here are some excerpts.
[MUSIC]
Grandad goes back inside,
he draws my attention to the news.
The story,
a black flamingo has landed on the island.
An expert on screen explaining,
it is the opposite of an albino.
Too much melanin, he says.
Camera pans the salt lake full of pink,
but
the eye is drawn to that one
black body in the flamboyance.
The following evening, my beach towel and
shorts dry on the balcony.
Couples on mopeds ride past the house.
Dogs walk humans before dinner.
Grandad coughs violently,
then lights another cigarette.
Grandma calls us in to eat.
The black flamingo is on the news again.
I pick the dining chair facing the tv.
Granddad asks,
why does it matter if he's black?
Adding, the other flamingos don't care,
and I am certain what he's saying is,
I love you.
So that was the first
part of the book I wrote.
That moment between grandfather and
grandson, and seeing the flamingo,
and that feeling of recognition with
the back flamingo that Michael has.
But also the feeling of acceptance he
feels from his grandfather when he says,
the other flamingos don't care.
And to him,
it's referring to the fact that Michael
is part of a white family and he's black.
And it doesn't matter to his grandfather
that they're different colors,
as it doesn't matter that
the flamingos are different.
And that was the beginning of my journey
with writing The Black Flamingo.
That metaphor, is what started it all.
[MUSIC]
