National Book Award Whatnot
Congratulations to all of the National Book Award winners announced last night.
Below are some of my favorite tweets from a couple of the winners as well as an audio clip from fiction winner Jesmyn Ward. I recently interviewed her for the Marginalia podcast and I asked her if her awards–the National Book Award and MacArthur fellowship–affected her writing. This clip was a favorite from our conversation. (To hear it–and see a nifty SoundCite feature from KnightLab–click on the paragraph below.)
“I don’t have any of my awards at my house. I bring them all to my mom’s and she keeps them at her house. So out of sight, out of mind. You know, it helps so that I can forget them, in some ways, when I’m writing. Of course, when I come out of the writing daze I remember that I’ve been really lucky and that I’ve won these things. But while I’m writing I can’t think about it. It really affects my creative process.”
Watching Frank Bidart listen to Danez Smith read is the most beautiful thing #NationalBookAwards #poetry
— masha gessen (@mashagessen) November 15, 2017
My friends, this night has been magical and incredible. I can’t keep up with Twitter, but I see everything you’re saying. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 💗💗💗
— Robin Benway (@RobinBenway) November 16, 2017
