On Witness and Respair
Essays
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On Witness and Respair
Narrated by:
Jesmyn Ward
Buy Now for £11.76
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Narrated by:
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Jesmyn Ward
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By:
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Jesmyn Ward
The collected creative nonfiction of a singular American writer, Jesmyn Ward, including widely shared classics, three never-before-published speeches, and an introductory essay.
Respair (noun, obsolete), fresh hope after despair.
From the two-time National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Jesmyn Ward, this collection of essays documents more than a decade of work in the life of a singular writer. “Known for her moving and award-winning fiction, this collection of essays gives readers a sense of the powerful Southern woman behind the unforgettable stories” (Garden & Gun). Beginning with her upbringing in a multigenerational household in rural Mississippi, the cradle of both her youth and her gift for storytelling, Ward brings her keen wisdom and hauntingly lyrical prose to a collection, following in her grandmother Dorothy’s footsteps when she promises always to “Tell it straight. Tell it all.”
True to her word, in these pages Ward contemplates the writers and novels of her youth and adulthood as well as her approach to both fiction and life: reflecting on the power of the novel, how to raise a Black son in an era of rising divisiveness and cruelty, as well as her own personal tragedies—including the titular essay of the collection, which tells the story of her partner’s sudden death on the eve of the COVID-19 epidemic. “You see from her buoyant writing about friends, family, food, and other topics that [Ward] would be one of our best Southern writers without so much agony. Her resilience is plain; so is the sense that she’d be happy to have trouble no more” (The New York Times).
As piercing and moving as her fiction, On Witness and Respair is a monument to hope, beauty, and personal and collective resilience.
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Critic reviews
"Ward claims she’s more comfortable as a novel writer, but this confirms her gifts as a storyteller no matter the subject."
"Ward reads her first collection of creative nonfiction essays with the lyricism that her poetic writing deserves. There is power in her ideas, and she expresses them in rich prose. Both are enhanced by her reading. She writes about growing up poor and Black in Mississippi, the deaths of her brother and her husband, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, the comfort she finds in Baldwin’s work, and her discomfort with Faulkner’s writing. Each essay carries a poignancy that is often breathtaking. Pieces vary in length and purpose, from book introductions to interviews to articles. She merges the personal and the political, balancing grief with the healing power of literature and art."
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