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Jesmyn Ward

ジェスミン・ワード

Jesmyn Ward

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1977-04-01 （Berkeley, California, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
DeLisle, Mississippi, U.S. (childhood–) → Mississippi, U.S. (current residence)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Professor
Active Years
2000-
Affiliations
Tulane University (Department of English), University of New Orleans (past employment), Stanford University (Stegner Fellow), University of Mississippi (Writer in Residence), University of South Alabama (Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, past)
Influenced By
James Baldwin

Education

Stanford University
English / Media Studies
Degree: BA
Period: 1995–1999
Year of Graduation: 1999
Country: United States
Bachelor of Arts in English
Stanford University
Media Studies and Communication
Degree: MA
Period: 1999–2000
Year of Graduation: 2000
Country: United States
Master of Arts
University of Michigan
Creative Writing (MFA)
Degree: MFA
Period: 2003–2005
Year of Graduation: 2005
Country: United States
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Awards

National Book Award for Fiction
2011
Work: Salvage the Bones
Category: フィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Won
National Book Award for Fiction
2017
Work: Sing, Unburied, Sing
Category: フィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: Won
MacArthur Fellowship
2017
Organization: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Result: Won
Alex Awards
2012
Work: Salvage the Bones
Organization: Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
Result: Won
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2018
Work: Sing, Unburied, Sing
Category: フィクション
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: Won
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award
2019
Work: Sing, Unburied, Sing
Organization: Mark Twain House & Museum
Result: Won
Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
2022
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Where the Line Bleeds

2008 Fiction

A debut novel set in a small Mississippi town following twin brothers whose divergent choices pull them in different directions.

familypovertycommunity

Salvage the Bones

2011 Fiction

Chronicles ten days surrounding Hurricane Katrina, focusing on pregnant teenager Esch and her family's struggle, love, and survival.

hurricane/natural disasterfamily bondssurvival

Men We Reaped

2013 Nonfiction / Memoir

A memoir reflecting on the deaths of the author's brother and other young Black men from her community, exploring race, poverty, and grief.

lossracememory

Sing, Unburied, Sing

2017 Fiction

Set in the fictional Mississippi town of Bois Sauvage, the novel interweaves perspectives in a family drama about young Jojo's coming of age, his mother Leonie's struggles, and the ghost Richie seeking closure.

familyghosts/supernaturalrace and history

Let Us Descend

2023 Historical fiction

A historical novel dealing with slavery-era themes, following Annis as she is taken from the Carolina coast and forced to work on a Mississippi plantation.

slaveryhistorical memorysurvival and resistance

The Fire This Time (editor)

2016 Essay anthology (editor)

An edited anthology inspired by James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, gathering contemporary writers' essays on race.

racepublic discoursegenerational dialogue

Navigate Your Stars

2020 Speech / Essay

A short book adapted from her 2018 commencement speech at Tulane University, offering guidance on direction and creativity.

personal guidanceadvice on writing

Bibliography

  • Where the Line Bleeds (2008)
  • Salvage the Bones (2011)
  • Men We Reaped (2013)
  • The Fire This Time (editor) (2016)
  • Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017)
  • Navigate Your Stars (2020)
  • Let Us Descend (2023)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical, metaphor-rich proserooted in Southern settingsrealist focus on characters' interiority
Recurring Motifs
family and sibling bondsloss and mourninghurricanes/natural disastersghosts and historical weight

Legacy

Jesmyn Ward is a major voice in contemporary American literature, known for powerful, lyrical portrayals of Black Southern life. She is the first woman to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice, combining literary acclaim with public influence.

Archives

  • Library of Congress authority/records

Quotes

  • “It infuriates me that the work of white American writers can be universal and lay claim to classic texts, while black and female authors are ghetto-ized as 'other'. I wanted to align Esch with that classic text, with the universal figure of Medea ... to claim that tradition as part of my Western literary heritage.”
    Source: Interview with The Paris Review (2011)

Trivia

  • First woman (and first Black American woman) to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice.
  • Moved with her family to DeLisle, Mississippi, at age three.
  • Her husband, Brandon R. Miller, died in January 2020 of acute respiratory distress syndrome.