TRUTH SERUM
All genres hold truth; they just come at it in different ways. For this article, we interviewed three writers about finding and conveying truth in different mediums.
Pulitzer-nominated Karen Russell writes fantastical short stories, novellas, and novels influenced by the magical realists of Latin America. Her newest book, Orange World and Other Stories, covers much of the eerie, mystical American landscape as well as the beauty and horror of romance, friendship, and motherhood.
Esmé Weijun Wang’s memoir in essays, The Collected Schizophrenias, depicts life with schizoaffective disorder and addresses the stigma of mental illness, especially schizophrenia. It was the recipient of the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize and a Whiting Award for Nonfiction and is a New York Times bestseller. Her debut novel, The Border of Paradise, also deals with mental illness.
The poet Jericho Brown is the winner of an American Book Award, among others. His third book of poetry, The Tradition, dares the reader to confront violence against children, sons, lovers, and black men. When asked by Lumina Journal what tradition he is writing in, Brown responded, “I’m a black gay Southern poet. I’m writing poems that tell the truth and that encourage someone to be more truthful.”
Do you feel that
