HeyJaredDrBri.’s Substack
This substack is currently dedicated to The Octavia E. Butler Mixtape Course
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 20
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- Oct 1, 2026
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- Aug 19, 2026
Latest issues
What Ward Couldn’t Write (opens the original)
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Full disclosure: I’m on a plane heading back to the U.S., typing this in my notes app. It’s cold, I’m a bit tired, but I want to get these thoughts out.So the Katrina chapter pales in comparison to the pressure I experienced leading up to landfall. Hear me out.From the book’s opening through landfall, Ward skillfully builds pressure. For instance, we feel the dread compounding, we see the sentences tighten, and we hold our breath, waiting for Katrina to arrive. Then it arrives in Chapter 11, and
Salvage the Bones Discussion Questions (part two) (opens the original)
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Disclaimer: I still have two chapters to go, but I wanted to get these to you. I’ll update the list soonWard’s Craft: From Chapter Seven through Chapter Eleven, as Katrina closes the distance toward landfall, Ward’s prose itself seems to change registers, building a looming dread that holds readers in something like suspended breath, an anxiety that mirrors the storm’s approach. What specific techniques might Ward be using to create this effect: pacing, sentence length, repetition, the way time
Replay: Salvage the Bones (part one) (opens the original)
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If you missed last night’s live discussion on Salvage the Bones (part one), here’s the replay. Reminder: No class next week.DrBri.’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.<input class="button primary" type="submit" value
Interview: Jesmyn Ward on Writing Salvage the Bones (opens the original)
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Adultification in Black Women’s Writing (opens the original)
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Ok, so adultification.In 2017, Rebecca Epstein published a landmark study, Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood, through the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. Using statistical analysis, the study surveyed adults across both ethnic and racial backgrounds and found that they perceived Black girls as needing less protection and less nurturing than white girls. Mind you, they thought this about girls as young as five years old. Wild! Anywho, participants also s
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