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American Morning

Yale Law Professor Stephen Carter Authors "The Emperor of Ocean Park"

Aired June 06, 2002 - 08:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Life is good certainly these days for Yale law professor Stephen Carter, the author of seven nonfiction books. He's now written his very first novel called "The Emperor of Ocean Park." And right now, it's being touted as a must-read this summer. Carter picked up a whopping $4 million advance for this book here, and another one on top of that. There's already a movie deal in the works. It is good to be the emperor, and the emperor is with us this morning.

Stephen Carter, live in New York. Good morning to you.

Does it scare you when people say this is the must-read of the summer, you got to pick this up?

STEPHEN CARTER, AUTHOR, "THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK": It surprises me to some extent. When I wrote the book, I was really just trying to give voice to some characters bouncing around in my head for a while. The enthusiasm and affection that have greeted it have been a great surprise.

HEMMER: I wonder if it's a curse. We shall see. Give us the plot quickly.

CARTER: Well, the idea is that there is a very conservative, patriarch, one of the old black families, used to be a federal judge, tried for the Supreme Court, and didn't make it. In the beginning of the book, he dies, and his death is suddenly shrouded in mystery. His son, really all of his children, are drawn somewhat against their will into a search for what really happened to him. They find out the truth about his life, as well as about his death.

HEMMER: How much does race play a part in your plot?

CARTER: It's not so much race in the plot, but certainly race is an important part of the story. On the one hand, I think the book opens a window into a sector of African-American society we don't see very much in literature. These are these older families who have been achievement oriented, have been college educated for many generations.

At the same time, I try to draw sharp contrast in the book between the experience of these very well off, smaller number of black people, and the larger number of black people, who of course society can (ph) leave behind. HEMMER: You were the first tenured African-American professor at Yale University Law School. Do you think readers expect you to address issues of race, whether it's directly or indirectly?

CARTER: I don't know if readers expect it or not, but it's certainly the case as a writer, whether you're writing fiction or nonfiction, that aspects of what we have lived seep into our work. And while I -- the book is not autobiographical in any sense, certainly race plays an important role in the book, as it must.

HEMMER: I heard you say, some of what might look real in the book is fiction. Some of what looks like fiction is real. How so?

CARTER: Well, that's right. There's a lot in the book, for example, about the confirmation process for Supreme Court justices and other judges and a lot of that seems very unfortunate and manipulative, and a lot of that is true. On the other hand, there are a lot of things in the book, real-life events, that I shifted around to fit the narrative, because a lot of the narrative is about politics in the 1980s and 1990s in Washington.

HEMMER: An author's prerogative. You're an avoid fan of chess. Between chess and your wife, that enables you to write, is that what you're telling me?

CARTER: Plus, I have got a day job, I've got two wonderful children as well, but a lot of the book is written, late at night and on weekends. That's why it took four years to write it, because I had other things to do, other priorities in life.

HEMMER: A bedtime check, about 2:00 a.m.

Quickly, the second novel that I mentioned under this contract will address what? Do you know yet?

CARTER: All I want to say about the second novel is, like the first one, it comes about because there are characters in my head whose stories are yet to be told. That's all I'll say.

HEMMER: Who is going to play you in the movie?

CARTER: I'm not even in the book. It's not autobiographical in any sense.

HEMMER: Stephen Carter, thank you. Great talking to you.

CARTER: My pleasure. Thank you.

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