Jesmyn Ward, the author of SING, UNBURIED, SING, performs the moving speech she delivered at Tulane University’s commencement in 2018. Ward humbly recounts her belief that a college education would help her create a life not bound by poverty or the circumstance of her birth. With raw emotion, Ward describes her disappointment and disillusionment when, after graduation, she had no job offer or prospects for her passion, writing. These dark emotions were compounded by the loss of her brother in a car accident. Light musical accompaniment and Ward’s weighty pauses underscore her grief and struggle to stay on course to become a writer. Persuasive and authentic, Ward proclaims a short and powerful message: Look beyond the horizon, set your sights on a star, and sail toward it. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Jesmyn Ward — two-time winner of the National Book Award and 2017 MacArthur Fellow (the “Genius Grant”) — is one of the most indelible American voices working today. Drawing on a wide range of global influences running from Greek mythology and The Inferno by Dante Alighieri, to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Eudora Welty, and Nobel […]