How Jesmyn Ward's memoir and the word 'buckra' helped one writer navigate grief
By
Jamilah King
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
A personal essay exploring how the author turned to Jesmyn Ward's memoir "Men We Reaped" and the obscure Gullah word "buckra" while processing grief after losing her father. The article reflects on how language can help articulate complex emotions of loss, particularly for Black Americans navigating generational trauma and death. Through Ward's work, the author finds a vocabulary for grief that standard English fails to provide.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledWhen I buried my father, a man who bequeathed me his entire face but very little of his time, I turned to words from Jesmyn Ward.
I could not stop the bullet that killed my sister or the fire that took my uncle, but I knew where to get good card stock for an obituary.
Maybe using that word was the first step out.
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