Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Jesmyn Ward Releases Essays Collection Dedicated to Late Partner

5/20/2026

49 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Ward Releases Collection

Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow, releases *On Witness and Respair*, dedicated to Dorothy, who died in 2025.
The title comes from Ward’s 2020 Vanity Fair essay about her partner’s death just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The collection assembles a decade of essays and speeches on Hurricane Katrina, William Faulkner, Prince and Ta-Nehisi Coates, and defines “respair” as fresh hope after despair.

Summary

Ward Unveils Heritage

Ward reveals that her grandmother Dorothy survived as a twin while her sister was stillborn and buried in a shoe box.
After the loss, Dorothy was placed in a drawer that served as her crib, where midwives later observed a membrane across her face and called it a supernatural sign.
Ward says Dorothy’s prophetic dreams and intuitive voice inspired the magical realism she blends with harsh reality in her essays.

Summary

Mississippi Writer Fights Injustice

She has spent the past year and a half writing daily to push back against injustice.
She lives in Mississippi among her subjects, which keeps her honest and stops her from simplifying their experiences.
Her brother’s death in 2000 by a drunk driver motivated her to become a writer.
She believes storytelling creates empathy and connection, countering powerful actors and systemic erasure.

Summary

Ward Connects

Readers at Ward’s “Men We Reaped” tour told her, “I felt like you were writing my life,” linking her essays to their grief.
Ward says writing about painful subjects exposes her vulnerability and intimacy.
She feels being witnessed by readers fulfills a responsibility to the people and places she writes about.
Although audience reactions initially felt jarring, she later grew grateful because they helped her feel less alone.

1 of 4

Ward Releases Collection

Jesmyn Ward, two-time National Book Award winner and MacArthur Fellow, releases *On Witness and Respair*, dedicated to Dorothy, who died in 2025.
The title comes from Ward’s 2020 Vanity Fair essay about her partner’s death just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The collection assembles a decade of essays and speeches on Hurricane Katrina, William Faulkner, Prince and Ta-Nehisi Coates, and defines “respair” as fresh hope after despair.

1 / 4