If Kehinde Garrison passed you on the streets of D.C., riding his bike or walking with a cigarette in his hand, you would probably never guess he’s a published author and that he’s homeless.
“The impetus of the book basically came out of the economic downturn and being unemployed and trying to create an opportunity for myself,” Garrison, 37, said over breakfast last month at a cafe in the District. He spoke briskly but with authority, frequently glancing through the rain-slicked window on a dreary April morning. “It was basically ‘What can I do that’s not dependent on anyone else?’ This is my thinking going into writing the book.”
The novel Garrison speaks of is “American Delinquents,” recently published through lulu.com, a Web self-publishing service that seeks to eliminate traditional publishing barriers. It is the story of a young Wall Street executive whose life gets turned upside-down. The executive ultimately crosses paths with a felon in a D.C.-area shelter.
Garrison stresses that “American Delinquents” is a work of fiction but was inspired by situations he’s witnessed and experienced. “My father used to always say that you should talk about what you know. That way you won’t look stupid,” Garrison said, smiling. “What have I known in the past 10 years other than being on the street, moving from shelter to shelter and doing day labor and stuff like that? I thought it would make for an interesting fiction novel to weave those elements into some sort of story format.”
He added, “Anybody who writes anything, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction — it comes from a place where you’ve heard stories about or you’ve experienced to a certain extent.”
Garrison is the child of military parents, born in England. He attended Oberlin College in Ohio and lived in Anderson, S.C. Garrison said his family moved a lot, and he recently returned to the D.C. area last summer and resides at a local shelter. His time at the shelters played a role in the inspiration for the work.
“I thought the shelter held so many interesting characters because there were so many people who are homeless,” says Garrison. “A lot of America has the potential to be homeless — maybe two paychecks away from being homeless. You miss two paychecks, you miss the car note, the mortgage and that stuff starts to pile up — you’re right in [the shelter] with me.”
Garrison began writing “American Delinquents” while incarcerated in an attempt to prepare for the future. “What can I do when I get out of here so I can support myself and not be dependent on looking for a handout from somebody else? If it doesn’t get done, it’s on me.”
The author won’t discuss why he was in jail, but he took a lot away from the experience. “Once you become incarcerated, what happens is, whatever you had on the outside world, you lose,” he said. “There’s no way you can sustain it. It’s impossible for you to sustain any kind of house payment or whatever, so you lose everything.”
Garrison has always had a love for writing. He wanted to study English in college but instead chose economics as a compromise with his mother, who wanted him to study science. He never finished his degree. Garrison works day-labor jobs when he’s not writing.
“I’m just trying to get enough money so I can sustain myself and do some more writing,” he said. “I’m not trying to be a millionaire or any of that. I don’t even want to be famous.”
Garrison isn’t looking for any accolades and wasn’t seeking to convey an overarching message through the novel. “I hope [readers are] entertained, first of all,” he said. “Secondly, I hope they learn something about people. I try to tell a lot about why the homeless situation exists in America and how it came about. I didn’t really offer any kind of solutions. I don’t know what the solutions are. If I knew what the solutions were, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in.”
Now that he’s done with his first novel, he’s contemplating ideas for his next. “Even if it doesn’t go anywhere, I want to continue writing,” he said. “I think it’s a good way to keep my mind on stuff and it’s something positive.”
For more information on Kehinde Garrison or to order a copy of American Delinquents, visit www.lulu.com.
