LARB Radio Hour: "Would You Have Waited for Me?" Tayari Jones's "An American Marriage"

By LARB Radio HourJune 22, 2018

LARB Radio Hour: "Would You Have Waited for Me?" Tayari Jones's "An American Marriage"
Author Tayari Jones joins co-hosts Eric Newman and Medaya Ocher to talk about her latest novel, An American Marriage, that tells the story of an African-American couple that gets separated when the husband is falsely accused of a crime and receives a 12-year sentence. Tayari relates her inspiration: she set out to research the impact of mass incarceration on families; but, fittingly, she made no progress until she overheard an exchange from a couple at a mall. She realized that the key component for any novel to have a powerful political impact is having fully realized, fully human, central characters. 

LARB Contributor

The LARB Radio Hour is hosted by Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf.

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