Interviewer
What inspired you to write 'This Side of Jordan'?

DP
Like everything I write--poetry, short stories, novels, the idea evolved from my vigilance to keep attuned to what’s going on around me. Not just in my own space, but I try to look out for social, spiritual, and important historical events that affect us all. I wrote this play during the summer of 2004 when there seemed to be a proliferation of news stories about young people losing their lives–dreams senselessly cut off too quick. Then I began to observe adults in their daily interactions--those that wore complaining faces and went through the motions like windup clocks. It struck me that here were some adults who’d already lived decades beyond these children, yet they took their lives for granted. They did not take time to think about others; did not follow their dreams. I began to wonder, are we squandering God’s gifts by worrying about trivial, meaningless pursuits that don’t do anything to enhance our spiritual growth or make us truly happy? For example, there’s this ‘false’ sense of accomplishment that comes from comparing oneself to someone less fortunate, from accumulating more possessions or achieving a more impressive title than someone else. So I created a ‘typical’ African-American family that depicted some of these negative characteristics. Then I wanted to show the characters’ evolution and growth by the end of the play.