Jesmyn Ward : (6)

" I always understood my ancestry, like that of so many others in the Gulf Coast, to be a tangle of African slaves, free men of color, French and Spanish immigrants, British colonists, Native Americans – but in what proportion, and what might that proportion tell me about who I thought I was? " - Jesmyn Ward

" Part of me is stuck in my childhood in the Eighties. I actually watch ‘The Neverending Story,’ ‘Labyrinth,’ and ‘Legend’ over and over again. Also, ‘Willow’ and ‘The Goonies.’ " - Jesmyn Ward

" Before Hurricane Katrina, I always felt like I could come back home. And home was a real place, and also it had this mythical weight for me. Because of the way that Hurricane Katrina ripped everything away, it cast that idea in doubt. " - Jesmyn Ward

" I love my community. I love always being able to come back and have a home. " - Jesmyn Ward

" The ugly heart of the South still beats with this idea that one group of people is worth less. " - Jesmyn Ward

" I read everything. When I say everything, I read everything: children’s literature, Y.A., science fiction, fantasy, romance – I read it all. Each genre fulfills a different need I have. Each book teaches me something. " - Jesmyn Ward