Tayari Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tayari Jones
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Jones in 2010
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| Born | November 30, 1970 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
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| Education | Spelman College (BA) University of Iowa (MA) Arizona State University (MFA) |
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| Employer | Emory University |
Tayari Jones, born on November 30, 1970, is an American writer and professor. She is famous for her book An American Marriage. This book was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club and won a big award called the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2019.
Jones studied at Spelman College, the University of Iowa, and Arizona State University. She now teaches English at Emory University in her hometown of Atlanta. Before this, she taught at Cornell University.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Tayari Jones grew up in Cascade Heights, Atlanta. Her parents, Mack and Barbara Jones, were both involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. They both earned advanced degrees and became professors. Her father taught political science, and her mother taught economics.
Jones remembers learning about the civil rights movement as a child. She became aware of her race when she was given books and dolls that looked like her. Her name, Tayari, means 'she is prepared' in Swahili. She has two brothers and two half-sisters. Her sisters grew up separately, and their story helped inspire Jones's novel Silver Sparrow.
Childhood in Atlanta
When Jones was in elementary school, the Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 happened. She called this time "the most significant event of my childhood." Two of her classmates were sadly killed. Her experiences during this time later inspired her first novel, Leaving Atlanta (2002).
College and University Studies
After high school, Jones went to Spelman College. This is a special college for black women in Atlanta. There, she learned from writer Pearl Cleage. The college president, Johnnetta Cole, was also a role model for her.
Jones finished Spelman in 1991. She then earned a master's degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1994. Later, she got another master's degree in fiction writing from Arizona State University in 2000. She has received many awards and grants to help her writing, including from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Writing Career and Books
Tayari Jones has written several popular novels. Her books often explore family relationships and the experiences of African Americans in the Southern United States.
Leaving Atlanta
Jones's first novel, Leaving Atlanta (2002), tells a coming-of-age story. It is set during the Atlanta Child Murders of 1979–81. The book is told from the viewpoints of three children: LaTasha Baxter, Rodney Green, and Octavia Fuller. Jones wrote this book while she was a student, basing it on her own childhood memories. It won the 2003 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for new writers. This book is even being made into a movie!
The Untelling
Her second novel, The Untelling, is also set in Atlanta. This book looks at how the main character deals with losing important family members when she was young. Then, she has to figure out who she is again in her mid-twenties. This book won the Lillian Smith Book Award in 2005.
Silver Sparrow
Silver Sparrow is Jones's third novel, published in 2011. It became a top pick for independent bookstores across America.
An American Marriage
Her most recent novel, An American Marriage, came out on February 6, 2018. On the same day, Oprah Winfrey announced it was her new book club pick. The story is about an African-American couple whose lives change when the husband, Roy, is wrongly accused of a crime and arrested. Oprah Winfrey is also making a movie based on this book. Even President Barack Obama included An American Marriage on his summer reading list in 2018.
Other Works
Jones also put together a collection of short stories called Atlanta Noir in 2017. Her own short story, "Caramel," is one of 14 stories in the book. All the stories are set in different neighborhoods in Atlanta.
Themes and Style
A big theme in Tayari Jones's writing is family. You can see this in Leaving Atlanta, The Untelling, and An American Marriage. Her novels show the connections, sometimes broken ones, between parents and children, and between married couples.
Jones's books also show the experiences of African Americans in the Southern United States. They often highlight how unfair systems can affect their lives. For example, Leaving Atlanta shows how the black community felt let down by the government during the Atlanta Child Murders. An American Marriage was written after Jones researched how many people are put in jail and how it affects black men and women.
Jones has said that writer Toni Morrison has influenced her work. She especially likes Morrison's book Song of Solomon for how it shows the black middle class and its female characters.
Awards and Recognitions
Tayari Jones has received many honors for her writing. She won the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for her first book. She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Fine Arts. Her novel Silver Sparrow was added to a list of classic books for a national reading program in 2016. She is also part of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and was added to the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in 2018.
In February 2018, Oprah Winfrey announced that An American Marriage was her latest book club choice. Winfrey said she "could not put down" the book and immediately called Jones to talk about it.
On June 5, 2019, An American Marriage was announced as the winner of the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction.
