Joy Keys chats with Author/Poet Roje Augustin about Out of No Way

Rojé Augustin is a native New Yorker who grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Her first novel, The Unraveling of Bebe Jones, won the 2013 National Indie Excellence Award in African American fiction.  She wrote the novel while living in London and Sydney as a stay-at-home-mom.  Rojé continues to work as a producer while also writing in her spare time.  

Rojé Augustin has written a groundbreaking debut collection of dramatic poems about hair care entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter A’Lelia Walker.  Out of No Way: Madam C.J. Walker & A’Lelia Walker, A Poetic Drama tracks Walker’s phenomenal rise from penniless orphan to America’s first self-made female millionaire in dramatic verse. 

Out of No Way tells Walker’s remarkable rags-to-riches story by exploring thoughtful questions — What impact did Sarah’s busy work life have on A'Lelia?  What was the bond between a mother orphaned so young and the daughter who might wait days or weeks for her return?  Could the death of her parents when she was a child have compromised Sarah’s nurturing instincts?  How did A’Lelia feel about their newfound wealth?  What, if any, were the drawbacks of that wealth?