Ta-Nehisi Coates Interviews

After listening to Coates’ responses in these interviews, I observed that while Coates is confident in his answers, he is careful about they way he words his answers, especially because this is a particularly controversial topic and that it is easy for people to rephrase or make wrong assumptions about his responses.

From the three interviews, I noticed similar elements. Something that all of these interviews had were content about Ta-Nehisi Coates that was somewhat specific and required additional research. These interviewers clearly prepped for the interviews by gaining extensive knowledge on the topic, which in this case, is Coates’ Between the World and Me. In the interview with the New Yorker, the interviewer mentioned Coates’ two books and was able to compare them to one another and also had extensive knowledge about Coates himself along with Coates’ father. I also noticed that based on this research, the interviewers knew which kinds of questions to ask, and usually have an idea of the significance of the answer before even asking the question. For example, the importance of dedication to Prince Jones is based on a reflection of what Coate’s whole book is about. It talks about how African-Americans were blamed for their history, when it is not their fault, just like it was not Prince’s fault that he died. It is clear that the interviewer at least somewhat understood the context of the book and how it related to the dedication before asking.

Out of the three interviews, however, there were also variations. The interviewers focused on different aspects. The questions that the New Yorker interviewer asked were mostly based on the experiences that he had relating to the book and events that led up to it. The interview for PBS NewsHour, however, leaned more towards finding out about his reaction to other people’s reaction and criticism to his book. The interviewers sometimes had different ways of responding to Coates’ answers. In PBS, the interviewer mostly focused on asking the questions that were written ahead of time, one after the other. In the New Yorker, the interview was longer, allowing more time for himself to respond and to allow him to elaborate more on his answers by following up them up with more questions.

Overall, the interviews were enjoyable because they offered a glimpse of the author behind his powerful book; Coates is just another person who found a way to express his personal passion.