Welcome to all you bookcases.

Welcome to all you bookies.

It's good to have you with us again for another version of the bookcase with Kate and Charlie.

Hello, book nerds. I'm Kate. How are you? I'm the one that keeps him honest.

We have with us this week one of the most important voices I think in writing in America today.

Jesmond Ward has a new book out of essays that she has written over the last 10 years or so.

On Witness and Respair is the name of the book. And I have a sense of what

you may be thinking, oh, ho, a book of essays. Give me a mystery for goodness sakes. But bear me out.

Because when this book came to us, we had the same reaction that few people will want to read it,

but they should. They should,

right, Kate? I think they should. And I think also, too, we've made the case before and we'll

make it again here. Please try essay books. I mean, they really are. They're an amazing way to sit down

with a writer and pick their brain without picking their brain. It's a great way to get sort of washed

in their language and in their thoughts on deep and meaningful matters. And I loved this book. I think

it's beautifully written. It's remarkably written. It's a group of a lot of her different works.

And she sort of covers everything. Like there's an amazing literary essay on Gatsby.

There is her thoughts on raising a black son. Like, there's a little bit of everything in this

book, and all of it is worth a read. Yeah, I thought when we got this book that we should probably

take a pass. But when Jason Reynolds, who was with us a couple of weeks ago, said to us, you have to read this

book, I'm so glad we did. The Jesman Award writes great fiction. She's the only woman to win the

National Book Award twice, twice she's won it. Yes. And as this book... And she's not in her 80s.

No, no. She hasn't quite turned 50 yet, so that's quite an accomplishment.

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