Through loss, Jesmyn Ward will always return to the word

Jesmyn Ward’s essay collection, *On Witness and Respair*, examines the intersection of personal grief and systemic injustice. Ward defines "respair"—the recovery of hope after despair—as a vital framework for enduring the loss of her brother and partner while navigating the trauma of the pandemic and the 2020 racial justice protests. By writing about her experiences in Mississippi, she pushes back against the erasure of Black humanity, using storytelling to foster empathy and connection. The conversation highlights the profound difficulty of raising Black children in an environment marked by historical violence and the necessity of reclaiming words like "savage" to signify resilience and resourcefulness. Ultimately, Ward’s work serves as a testament to the power of returning to one's craft to find meaning and survival amidst overwhelming, recurring loss.