Tayari Jones
Tayari Jones is a brilliant American novelist whose work traverses the complexities of contemporary African American experience. Through her works, Jones has crafted an impressive body of work that has been celebrated by both critics and readers alike.
Despite coming from humble beginnings – Jones was raised in an unconventional family structure and her mother was a single parent who went to school and supported the family – Jones has achieved a great amount of success. In 2012, she published her third novel, Silver Sparrow, which was a New York Times bestseller and became an Oprah's Book Club selection. This feat has led her to be one of the most prominent African American figures in the literary world.
Jones graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Spelman College, before going on to pursue a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Georgia. During her master’s program, Jones shocked her instructors by not opting to work on a thesis but instead creating a collection of short stories. And in 2005, Jones’ debut novel, Leaving Atlanta, was published and quickly rose to critical acclaim.
Subsequently, Jones released two more books in 2008 and 2012, respectively – The Untelling and Silver Sparrow. The Untelling, in particular, traces the life of a struggling young woman from Atlanta as she works to rediscover her identity and make peace with her past. In 2012, the aforementioned Silver Sparrow was published; the novel follows two girls who share the same father, but live in very different worlds – one in the public eye, the other seemingly invisible. Silver Sparrow was ultimately made into a feature film by OWN in 2021, with Jones serving as a consulting producer on the project.
In addition to her impressive output, Jones – who is also a professor at Emory University — is renowned for her activism and contributions to literary culture. Recently, Jones released an op-ed on School Segregation that received praise and further solidified her status as a leading voice in the literary community. She also founded an advocacy organization, Rigor & Relevance: The Millennial Literacy Project, that seeks to empower African American students through the power of literature.
All in all, Jones has secured her place in the annals of contemporary literature. She has written deeply moving works that eschew conventional tropes of female characters and narratives. And in her writing, Jones is able to capture the beauty and struggles of the African American experience. By recasting African American life in a fresh, honest light, she has made sure that readers everywhere can relate to her stories and find a measure of comfort in her words.
