There are many factors that come into play that influence and formulate who we are at our core. At a certain point in our lives we stop, think and ask ourselves…what kind of person do I want to be? The answer can vary from one extreme to the next. Some people go about their lives carrying loads of incessant negative self-talk while others are motivated by relentless self-examination and improvement like Britain’s own author Bernardine Evaristo. Bernardine uses the process of self actualization to help her in identifying key areas in her life that quite frankly, needed work. Bernardine has also remained open to allowing those with extensive knowledge in the realm of creative writing to help her gain a firm understanding of the writing process. Bernardine has made the appropriate adjustments throughout her life which has resulted in her professional career taking off to new heights.
In the memoir Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo, Bernardine provides a critical account of her lived experiences through self-analysis and accountability. Leaning heavily on the outcomes, Bernardine is intent on her evolution and shares her stages of development in becoming a more experienced writer. Bernardine highlights her career successes and unforgettable relationships that have shaped her life over the years. She also gives a personal account of her early years as a biracial girl growing up in the UK. Bernardine recounts the discriminatory behavior her family endured during her childhood in the sixties and beyond as their safety became compromised day to day in a predominantly white neighborhood.
Bernardine Evaristo was born in South London to an English mother and Nigerian father and was the fourth child out of eight children. Her father, the disciplinarian of the family, was often hell-bent on maintaining his authority when managing his children. He enforced the house rules and provided guidance in the form of long lectures and intimidation. His mindset and beliefs were predicated upon the way he himself was raised as he felt it best to keep up with tradition. Although her father enforced harsh disciplinary tactics, these early experiences with authority and societal expectations profoundly influenced Bernardine’s later work. Her mother trained her and her siblings in how to present socially in order to help counter the negative stereotypes of young black youth in Britain.
Her mother, a British native and teacher, understood the importance of social etiquette and education and used both as a tool to help her children assimilate into British culture. Her mother was purposeful in finding ways to balance out the negativity that was projected onto her family and prevalent throughout their lives. Growing up black in the UK during that time according to Bernardine ment that you had minimal opportunities and considered less than.
Bernardine’s family home became under attack and vandalized regularly. She hated having to deal with the overt racism that took place in their community. Bernardine describes the intense moments of harassment to the point of having to watch her father sleep with a blunt object at his bedside to protect the family. Young Bernardine didn’t understand the depth of what was happening. The injustices that were brought up against them eventually caused Bernardine to feel a sense of resentment at being black.
As a child Bernardine had a love for the arts and loved being on stage. Bernardine was a creative who thrived off of self expression and taking on various characters. Bernardine spent her formative years attending the youth theater program where she developed her acting skills and gained self esteem. Her participation in the youth program afforded her the opportunity to travel, exposing her to other nearby countries. Bernardine became intrigued by other races and cultures mainly by their differences in clothing and physicality as she made observations of her surroundings in a new environment.
Soon after her eighteenth birthday, Bernardine left home to attend Rose Bruford College to participate in the Community Theater Arts program. After completing college, Bernardine opened a theater company with close friends and worked tirelessly writing plays, performing and managing the company with minimal experience. Naturally they would devise plays that dealt with topics which served their particular interest. Recognizing the odds clearly not in favor of black British woman writers, Bernardine remained adamant regarding her desire to live a full productive life in her hometown on her own terms as an accomplished writer.
In her adulthood Bernardine focused on perfecting her craft, personal development and marketing her completed projects. Bernardine invites us all into her unique process as a writer of poetry and fiction as she brings each character into life. Her process entailed welcoming and being open to the views of others. In her memoir Manifesto, Bernardine Evaristo emphasizes the importance of accepting constructive criticism, stating, ‘As writers, we can be too close to the text to see clearly what we’ve written, and unless we are only writing for ourselves, we need people to assess our work-in-progress critically, and offer constructive responses’ (Manifesto by Bernardine Evaristo page 167).
This reflection highlights her belief in the necessity of external feedback for personal and professional growth. By sharing her own experiences with receiving and applying feedback, Evaristo encourages writers to embrace a community driven approach to improvement. Working in academia, Bernardine would naturally reach out to various Universities as well as the British Council in an effort to get her completed projects out to the masses while simultaneously remaining committed to promoting the work of others.
Bernardine has initiated prize payment organizations to support and shed light on unknown writers and poets internationally. Bernardine funded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2012-2022 and initiated The Complete Works Poetry Mentoring Scheme 2007-2017. She has also chaired the Caine Prize for African Writing and organized the first major black British writing conference, Tracing Paper in 1997. Bernardine has advocated on behalf of upcoming black British writers and poets while championing the need for inclusion, advancement and better publishing opportunities which has been useful in resolving the lack of black British writers and poets published.
Bernardine’s activism not only paved the way for black British writers but also challenged the publishing industry’s norms. Her creation of a theater company provided a platform for marginalized voices and opened doors for others to follow, demonstrating her devotion to fostering diversity in the arts.
Bernardine Evaristo’s Manifesto is not just a memoir, it is a blueprint for resilience and creative courage. Her life story inspires a new generation of writers to push boundaries and demand their place in the literary world.
How about you? What kind of person do you want to be? More importantly… Are you willing to do the work?
