New Beginnings
Wilks, Carla (2010-03-25)
>>CARLA WILKS: When you first asked me about doing this project I didn't know what I was going to say; I didn't feel like I have a story.  I didn't even have a memory and then I thought, "I read, run, Jane runs, Dick and Jane and Spot." And that's not exciting.  But then I remembered later on, as part of work, and I worked in the College of Humanities as a receptionist, and at that time when one of the staff people, the receptionist or something would be out in the other departments, I would go and fill in just to try to keep the office open, once in awhile.  So any ways, I went over to our Comparative Studies department, and it was slower over there; it was a smaller department not like the College office with a lot of activity.  They had a bookshelf and I looked through all these books and I picked up Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and I started reading that and it was just so interesting to me, I really enjoyed that. 
>>CARLA WILKS: And I went back again at another time, whatever it was, a few weeks or so later. There was Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Now that's in dialect and for some reason when I first looked at it and I saw all the "dats" and "dis's" and I thought that I couldn't read it.  But it was easy for me to do and I found out later because the dialect, I just it picked up.  And I really became interested in that and that sparked by interest in African American literature and history.  So what I ended up doing as a result of that was taking classes; I had left the college of humanities and got a position in the English Dept, and I would take classes.  I ended up, after 10 years, with a double major in English and African American studies.  In English the focus was on folklore, and an African American studies it was on history and culture.  So I put those things together and thought, that's really what sparked that.  I really didn't have a lot of memory necessarily of reading or writing I just did what I had to do in school; you do what you have to do right?
>>CARLA WILKS: But those two books were the start of my interest.  I'm still particularly interested in African American literature, folklore, culture and history.  That's my, not necessarily earliest memory, but a turning point in my life.  Actually now, I'm doing more leadership development things.  I'm reading Joe Olsteen's Its Your Time.  It's still kind of pleasure but it still professional development.  And then of course The Color Purple, but a lot of books are turning into movies and that's something where I think I'll wait for the movie.  But the book tends to, by and large, be better; after I see the movie then I'll want to do the book or do the book and then go for the movie.  But sometimes the movie comes out before I can finish the book.
[BOTH LAUGH]
>>CARLA WILKS: You know there are books on tape but it's not quite the same, you can still get the gist.  I think there's still nothing like engaging with up with a book, picking it up, turning the pages, reading the words.  So I think books are great.  For right now that's what I'm doing, I'm trying professional development things.