In Jesymn Ward’s new book, “Let Us Descend,” the protagonist is a young woman sold down the river to New Orleans during slavery. Ward, a native of Mississippi who teaches at Tulane University, is a master of lyrical writing, and tough subjects. She won National Book Awards for “Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017) and “Salvage The […]

Fatima Shaik
Fatima Shaik is the author of seven books including "Economy Hall: The Hidden
History of a Free Black Brotherhood," the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities 2022 Book of the Year. She is a native of New Orleans’ 7th Ward and has worked as a daily reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, assistant editor for McGraw-Hill World News, and freelancer for several national and international magazines. She was the 2021 recipient of the Louisiana Writer Award.