“I feel like if you aren't honest and if you don't let go and ease up off of the narrator, then the story doesn't take up a life of its own, and the characters can't take up a life of their own. You handicap the story when you try to protect your characters.” TryingCharacterHonestProtectLetting Go Author:Jesmyn Ward
“I think that we need to be more aware of how we are all interconnected, and how we actually need to invest in safety nets and in education, and that we need to come to the realization that health care is a human right and try to provide that for people.” PeopleThinkingTryingCareSafetyRealizationHealth CareSafety Net Author:Jesmyn Ward
“I think that I'm trying to hopefully change my children's ideas about what is possible, and about what is possible for them.” ThinkingTryingHopefully Author:Jesmyn Ward
“There are things about the South - the politics, the classism, the racism - that I hate, and I want to be here to fight those things. I don't want to be in California or Michigan just complaining about them. I'm here trying to make a difference in the way I can, writing about it. And I want younger people, especially kids from my community, to see that being successful doesn't have to mean leaving a place like this. You don't have to trade in your family or your sense of belonging for that.” PeopleWritingTryingMeanKidsHateFightingCommunitySuccessfulRacismI HateTradeLeavingComplainingOur FamilyMaking A DifferenceBeing SuccessfulBelongingI Want YouClassism Author:Jesmyn Ward
“Some people think that Southern hip-hop doesn't have any depth. They think it's just noise, all about people having a good time in the club. And some of it doesn't have a lot of depth, it's true, but some does. I wanted to work against that stereotype. These are verses by Southern artists who are really wrestling with what it means to be here, young black men who are trying to figure out how to live in the South. So I wanted the epigraphs in my novels to reflect that.” PeopleThinkingMenTryingMeanArtistBlackNovelGood TimesWrestlingSouthernVersesStereotypeHaving A Good Time Author:Jesmyn Ward
“I'm a failed poet. Reading poetry helps me to see the world differently, and I try to infuse my prose with figurative language, which goes against the trend in fiction.” WorldTryingHelpingReadingLanguageFictionPoetProseHelp MeTrendsReading Poetry Author:Jesmyn Ward
