112 pages • 3 hours read
Jesmyn WardThe Fire This Time
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Teacher Introduction
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race
- Genre: Nonfiction; social commentary anthology
- Originally Published: 2016
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1230L; college/adult
- Structure/Length: 18 essays and poems with introduction; approximately 240 pages; approximately 5 hours, 30 minutes on audio
- Central Concern: Inspired by James Baldwin’s 1963 examination of race in America entitled The Fire Next Time, Jesmyn Ward gathers a collection of essays and poems by contemporary writers, reflecting on the past, present, and future of Black life in America. Addressing issues such as racial violence, the legacy of slavery, and the Black Lives Matter movement, the anthology provides a powerful commentary on the challenges faced by Black Americans and offers visions of hope for the future.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Discussions of racial discrimination, violence, trauma, and systemic oppression; raw and emotional accounts of personal experiences related to race; use of the n-word
Jesmyn Ward, Editor
- Bio: Born 1977; American novelist and educator; two-time National Book Award winner; known for her powerful prose and exploration of the Black experience, especially in the American South
- Other Works: Salvage the Bones (2011); Men We Reaped (2013); Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:
- Remembrance and Recognition
- Grief: A Private Pain, A Public Protest
- Finding Hope in Heritage
Related Titles
By Jesmyn Ward
