In the face of devastating loss, Jesmyn Ward holds onto 'respair'
NPR • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Jesmyn Ward credits her maternal grandmother Dorothy as her "first storyteller," whose tales of trauma and supernatural vision shaped Ward's approach to blending harsh realities with elements of magic in her writing.
- Ward's new book, On Witness and Respair, is a collection of essays reflecting on grief and hope, inspired by the death of her partner and her exploration of "respair," the recovery of hope after despair.
- Ward discusses how personal tragedies, including the death of her brother and partner, have driven her commitment to writing as a means of processing grief and connecting with others experiencing similar pain.
- She highlights the significance of witnessing and pushing back against systemic erasure of Black experiences, especially in the context of historical and recent social justice movements.
- Ward chose to live and write in Mississippi to stay connected to the community that inspires her work and to maintain authenticity in portraying the lives and stories of the people there.