Episode 19 --- Jacqueline Woodson
Photo Credit: Juna F. Nagle
Jacqueline Woodson is a rock star in the world of literature, particularly when it comes to writing for young people. Her memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature in 2014. This year her novel, Another Brooklyn, was a finalist in the fiction category.
Another Brooklyn is her first novel for adults in 20 years. Through flashbacks, it covers the story of four friends growing up together in Brooklyn during the 70s. August, Angela, Gigi and Sylvia, look out for one another in a world that isn't always safe for girls. They support each other from grade school to high school when their bonds begin to unravel. The story is told from the perspective of August, who has come to Brooklyn from Tennessee with her little brother and their father. This move comes following their mother having a mental break of some sort after the death of her brother in Vietnam.
I caught up with Jacqueline last month at the Miami Book Fair, and she was super laid back and super nice.
Interview Highlights:
Jacqueline reveals...
- how the novel functions as a love song to Black girlhood
- why she decided to write for adults again
- how she uses structure to evoke a certain mood
Click here to listen to the podcast.
We have a free, signed copy of Another Brooklyn to give away. It will go to the first listener to tell us which book Jacqueline is reading to her son now. You can contact us through Facebook or Twitter (@ReadMorePodcast) to provide the answer.
If you have won a ReadMore giveaway in the last 90 days, you're ineligible for this contest. Also, if you and I ever attended Band Camp together, you're probably ineligible. ReadMore does not have a friends and family plan! But we'll always have perfection in musicianship, precision in marching and quality in character.
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