thank you. [ applause ] >> shane mccrae. that was beautiful. your most beautiful poem was when you thanked your wife. wasn't that beautiful? that was great. jezmyn ward, "sing unburied sing." as a young girl growing up in a rural area of the gulf coast of mississippi, jezmyn ward was haunted by the presence of mississippi state penitentiary, which was also known infamously as parchment farm. she told npr's "fresh air" i remember being 7, 8 years old and having nightmares about my uncles and my father being arrested and sent to parchment prison. as the "guardian" points out in its review of "sing unburied sing" the division between civilian life and incars rated is porous. the family struggles with entrenched racism, drug addiction and poverty, yet the family endures, supported by the land and by their spiritual inheritance. miss ward explained in an interview with powell's books, she study ied voodoo in a way t incorporate the spiritual world as an important aspect of her character's legacy, allowing them, i quote, not to transcend their realit

[applause] >> shane mccrae. that was beautiful but the most beautiful is when you thanked your wife. [applause] >> jesmyn ward. as a young girl growing up in the rural area of the gulf coast mississippi, jesmyn ward was haunted by the presence of the mississippi state penitentiary which was also known infamously as parchment farm. as she told npr's fresh air, i remember being seven, 8-years-old and having nightmares about my uncles and fathers being arrested and sent to prison. as the guardian points out in its review, the division between ththe cursor go into civilian le is porous in this world. along with the incarceration of the family struggles with entrenched racism, drug addiction and poverty yet the family and doris. supported by the lan their landd their spiritual inheritance is explained in an interview she studied in order to incorporate the spiritual world as an important aspect of her character's legacy allowing them and i quote not to transcend their reality but to access a different understanding o

no mccrae open and will listen to me and say you haven't been there when you have a think everything is good. for you you get a little thing on thing when you act. but just a funny thing is more than a dream she leads a group of young people fighting for immigrant rights in a states with a very conservative government and legislature and of dreamers no i'm afraid i'm afraid long legs but in few months ago she took part in a hearing to convince texans senators not to pass a law that would be tough on undocumented immigrants my little i don't know how you said but i will go i got be done but as i've gone through this i would have and i guess i wasn't here gets a bunk good luck in the document don't. you know if you got to move you on us. as we only go. mostly on this then most vocal it was built by me and i you that i want us here i must give you about this is one of the most almost gave all. the press have done this you also notice that mikey. said these papers but the no. no. yes and they does but i don't know what that is the last. they'll say but i sent this book out almost halfway