Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing was published by Scribner in 2003. The collection gathers Johnson’s essays on two subjects that, in his work, are inseparable: Buddhism and the practice of writing. Johnson came to Buddhism in the 1970s through his study of martial arts (he holds a black belt in chuan fa kung fu) and his philosophical training, and his fiction has been informed by Buddhist concepts — impermanence, interdependence, the illusory nature of the fixed self — since his first novel.
The essays address the relationship between Buddhism and African American experience with characteristic directness. Johnson argues that Buddhism’s emphasis on the constructed nature of identity is particularly relevant to Black Americans, who have lived within a racial identity system that treats race as essential and permanent. The Buddhist insight that all identities are impermanent constructions — including racial identity — offers a path to liberation that complements rather than contradicts the political project of racial justice.
Other essays address the craft of writing (Johnson’s technical advice is practical and grounded in decades of practice), the relationship between Buddhism and creativity (meditation, he argues, enhances the writer’s ability to perceive the world without the filter of preconception), and the visual arts (Johnson was a professional cartoonist before he became a novelist, and his understanding of visual composition informs his prose).
Collecting Turning the Wheel
First edition (Scribner, New York, 2003): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $10–$25
- Very good/very good: $5–$12