Yesterday, Oxonians crammed Off Square Books to attend the much anticipated return of Jesmyn Ward.
Ward, a native Mississippian, first came to Oxford in 2010 as the John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence for the 2010-11 academic year. She taught fiction workshops to undergraduates and graduate students and worked on her second novel, “Salvage the Bones.” It was this book that launched Ward into national success and garnered much critical acclaim. “Salvage the Bones” went on to win the National Book Award in 2011 and was lauded by NPR, The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and many others.
In her return, she read passages and signed copies of her new book “Men We Reaped,” which is a memoir of personal experiences about five men she lost in her life, including her beloved brother. When she began her reading she stated, “This is the hardest books I’ve had to write. I never want to do it again.”
Ward then read two excerpts from her memoir and took questions from the audience.
