Jesmyn Ward
Encyclopedia
Jesmyn Ward is an American novelist. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction
with Salvage the Bones, a novel about familial love and community in the 12 days leading up to Hurricane Katrina
. An assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama
, she is currently working on a memoir. Ward was the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi
for the 2010–2011 academic year. From 2008 to 2010 she had a Stegner Fellowship
at Stanford University
.
. She developed a love-hate relationship with her hometown after having been bullied at public school by black classmates and subsequently by white students while attending a private school paid for by her mother’s employer. Ward chose to become a writer to honor the memory of her younger brother, who was killed by a drunk driver the year she graduated from college.
In 2005, Ward received her MFA
in Creative Writing
from the University of Michigan
. Shortly afterwards, she and her family became victims of Hurricane Katrina. With their house in De Lisle flooding rapidly, the Ward family set out in their car to get to a local church, but ended up stranded in a field full of tractors. When the white owners of the land eventually checked on their possessions, they refused to invite the Wards into their home, claiming they were overcrowded. Tired and traumatized, the refugees were eventually given shelter by another white family down the road.
Ward went on to work at the University of New Orleans
, where her daily commute took her through the neighborhoods ravaged by the hurricane. Empathizing with the struggle of the survivors and coming to terms with her own experience during the storm, Ward was unable to write creatively for three years – the time it took her to find a publisher for her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds.
and received a Black Caucus of the American Library Association
(BCALA) Honor Award in 2009. It was shortlisted for the Virginia Commonwealth University
Cabell First Novelist Award and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
. Starting on the day twin protagonists Joshua and Christophe DeLisle graduate from high school, Where the Line Bleeds follows the brothers as their choices pull them in opposite directions. Unwilling to leave the small rural town on the Gulf Coast
where they were raised by their loving grandmother, the twins struggle to find work, with Joshua eventually becoming a dock hand and Christophe joining his drug-dealing cousin. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly
called Ward "a fresh new voice in American literature" who "unflinchingly describes a world full of despair but not devoid of hope."
In her second novel, Salvage the Bones, Ward homes in once more on the visceral bond between poor black siblings growing up on the Gulf Coast. Chronicling the lives of pregnant teenager Esch Batiste, her three brothers, and their father in the 12 days before Hurricane Katrina, Ward uses a vibrant language steeped in metaphors to illuminate the universal aspects of love, friendship, passion, and tenderness. Writing in The Washington Post
, Ron Charles
called Salvage the Bones "a trim, fiercely poetic novel" which "has the aura of a classic about it".
In July 2011, Ward announced on her blog that she had finished the first draft for her third book, calling it the hardest thing she had ever written. A memoir with the working title Men We Reaped, it explores the lives of her brother and four other young black men who lost their lives in her hometown.
On November 16, 2011, Ward won the National Book Award
in the Fiction
category for Salvage the Bones. Interviewed by CNN
’s Ed Lavandera on November 16, 2011, she said that both her nomination and her victory had come as a surprise, given that the novel had been largely ignored by mainstream reviewers. "I understood that I wanted to write about the experiences of the poor, and the black and the rural people of the South, so that the culture that marginalized us for so long would see that our stories were as universal, our lives as fraught and lovely and important, as theirs," Ward stated in her acceptance speech.
National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction has been given since 1950, as part of the National Book Awards, which are given annually by the National Book Foundation. Of all the awards given, the Fiction award is the only one that has been given consistently for the entire history of the Award...
with Salvage the Bones, a novel about familial love and community in the 12 days leading up to Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. An assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level university in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. No other areas of the state were willing to support such a...
, she is currently working on a memoir. Ward was the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
for the 2010–2011 academic year. From 2008 to 2010 she had a Stegner Fellowship
Stegner Fellowship
The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner , an historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty member who founded the university's creative writing program. Ten...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Early life and education
Jesmyn Ward grew up in DeLisle, a small rural community in MississippiMississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. She developed a love-hate relationship with her hometown after having been bullied at public school by black classmates and subsequently by white students while attending a private school paid for by her mother’s employer. Ward chose to become a writer to honor the memory of her younger brother, who was killed by a drunk driver the year she graduated from college.
In 2005, Ward received her MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. Shortly afterwards, she and her family became victims of Hurricane Katrina. With their house in De Lisle flooding rapidly, the Ward family set out in their car to get to a local church, but ended up stranded in a field full of tractors. When the white owners of the land eventually checked on their possessions, they refused to invite the Wards into their home, claiming they were overcrowded. Tired and traumatized, the refugees were eventually given shelter by another white family down the road.
Ward went on to work at the University of New Orleans
University of New Orleans
The University of New Orleans, often referred to locally as UNO, is a medium-sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a member of the LSU System and the Urban 13 association. Currently UNO is without a proper chancellor...
, where her daily commute took her through the neighborhoods ravaged by the hurricane. Empathizing with the struggle of the survivors and coming to terms with her own experience during the storm, Ward was unable to write creatively for three years – the time it took her to find a publisher for her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds.
Literary career
In 2008, just as Ward had decided to give up writing and enroll in a nursing program, Where the Line Bleeds was accepted by Doug Seibold at Agate Publishing. The novel was picked as a Book Club Selection by EssenceEssence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
and received a Black Caucus of the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
(BCALA) Honor Award in 2009. It was shortlisted for the Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
Cabell First Novelist Award and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
The Hurston-Wright Legacy Award is a literary award given by the National Community of Black Writers.The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award is the first national award given to black American writers. The award namesakes are two of the most influential black authors, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard...
. Starting on the day twin protagonists Joshua and Christophe DeLisle graduate from high school, Where the Line Bleeds follows the brothers as their choices pull them in opposite directions. Unwilling to leave the small rural town on the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
where they were raised by their loving grandmother, the twins struggle to find work, with Joshua eventually becoming a dock hand and Christophe joining his drug-dealing cousin. In a starred review, Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
called Ward "a fresh new voice in American literature" who "unflinchingly describes a world full of despair but not devoid of hope."
In her second novel, Salvage the Bones, Ward homes in once more on the visceral bond between poor black siblings growing up on the Gulf Coast. Chronicling the lives of pregnant teenager Esch Batiste, her three brothers, and their father in the 12 days before Hurricane Katrina, Ward uses a vibrant language steeped in metaphors to illuminate the universal aspects of love, friendship, passion, and tenderness. Writing in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Ron Charles
Ron Charles
Ron Charles is deputy editor and a weekly fiction critic of The Washington Post "Book World", the book review section of the Post...
called Salvage the Bones "a trim, fiercely poetic novel" which "has the aura of a classic about it".
In July 2011, Ward announced on her blog that she had finished the first draft for her third book, calling it the hardest thing she had ever written. A memoir with the working title Men We Reaped, it explores the lives of her brother and four other young black men who lost their lives in her hometown.
On November 16, 2011, Ward won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in the Fiction
National Book Award for Fiction
The National Book Award for Fiction has been given since 1950, as part of the National Book Awards, which are given annually by the National Book Foundation. Of all the awards given, the Fiction award is the only one that has been given consistently for the entire history of the Award...
category for Salvage the Bones. Interviewed by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
’s Ed Lavandera on November 16, 2011, she said that both her nomination and her victory had come as a surprise, given that the novel had been largely ignored by mainstream reviewers. "I understood that I wanted to write about the experiences of the poor, and the black and the rural people of the South, so that the culture that marginalized us for so long would see that our stories were as universal, our lives as fraught and lovely and important, as theirs," Ward stated in her acceptance speech.
Works
- "Cattle Haul", A Public Space 5