Through loss, Jesmyn Ward will always return to the word

19 May 2026 · 44m

Fresh Air

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Show notes

Jesmyn Ward learned the term "respair" — the recovery of hope after despair — in 2020, shortly after her partner died suddenly. Her new book, ‘On Witness and Respair,’ is an essay collection on grief, motherhood and survival. She spoke with Tonya Mosley about writing through painful things and why she returned to her native Mississippi. Her previous National Book Award-winning novels are ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ and ‘Salvage the Bones.’

Also, jazz critic Martin Johnson reviews an album from Tomeka Reid.

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